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“You’re damn right it was stupid,” I spit. “What the fuck were you thinking, running in a thunderstorm?”
She wrinkles up her nose. “It was an accident,” she says in a tiny croak. “It just happened.”
“Excuse me.” We both turn around as the doctor walks in. His face pulls me back in time—seven years, to be precise. I recognize him instantly. The same leathery skin, the same thin lips, the same receding hairline, though it’s lost another inch since I last saw him.
He clearly recognizes me, too, because his eyes flare bright. “Mr. Egorov, how nice to see you after so long. Is Elena?—”
“This is Wren,” I snap, moving to the side so he can see her lying on the bed.
“Ah,” Dr. Falco says awkwardly. “I apologize, ma’am. I mistook you for?—”
“Doctor, if you don’t mind, I’d like to make sure everything is alright with the baby.”
He clears his throat and walks to Wren’s bedside. “Of course. How far along are you, my dear?”
I fade backward, reeling from invisible blows. When I blink, I can practically see Elena’s innocent smile beaming up at me from a hospital bed identical to the one Wren’s lying on now.
I like when he calls me ‘my dear.’ Makes me feel precious.
I float to the window as Dr. Falco examines Wren. Every time I glance over my shoulder, I catch her peeking at me anxiously.
“Well?” I demand after a few minutes have passed.
“The baby’s heartbeat is strong. Everything seems fine.”
“I don’t deal in probabilities, doctor. I want you to tell me that she and the baby are both fine. Not that they seem that way.”
Dr. Falco fumbles his clipboard and sighs. “What I meant is they are fine. Both the baby and Elena—” He stops short and for a moment, I think he’s on the verge of swallowing his own tongue. I’m right on the cusp of cutting it off so that it goes down a little easier. “I apologize—Wren. The baby and Wren are both fine.”
“Good. Get out.”
He scurries away like a beat dog while Wren looks at me, wide-eyed and accusing. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t like incompetence.”
“He misspoke. You didn’t have to be such a gigantic asshole!”
For fuck’s sake, the woman has a concussion and she’s still picking a fight with me. I stomp over to her bedside. “I wouldn’t have to be an asshole if you listened.”
“Oh, so now, this is my fault?”
“By your own damn admission, this is your fault!” I remind her.
She bites her lips. “It was an accident! I didn’t want to fall and endanger the baby. What is your problem?”
“You!” I growl, slamming my fist against her bedside table. “You are my problem.”
Her eyes have gone watery. At least she’s not fighting back anymore. But that just makes it all worse.
For the first time, she reminds me of Elena.
“From now on, you’re going to obey,” I snarl, backing out of the room and nearly slamming into Aleksandr where he’s standing guard in the hallway. “Get her discharged and bring her straight home.”
Then I get the fuck out of this hospital.
Before more memories of Elena can drag me back under those dark waters.
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