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Abruptly, Ameline goes rigid in her chair, the tender scene shattered. Her limbs jerk and tremble, eyes rolling back. A guttural cry sticks in her throat as the violent seizure takes hold. Before her body can slide from the chair to the hard linoleum, I dart forward, catching her in my arms.
“I’ve got you,” I breathe, clutching her quaking form against my chest.
She’s stiff as stone, lost inside the seizure’s grasp. Helpless, I cradle her head, stroking her hair, willing the episode to pass. Even though my training compels me to time the event, count her ragged breaths, in truth my faculties desert me. There is only her, the racing of my pulse beneath her shuddering cheek.
“Help is coming,” I whisper fervently when nurses rush into the room.
My heart races as I surrender Ameline to the outstretched arms of the medical team. Tears blur my vision as I watch them take her away. My arms ache from the absence of her weight. I follow closely behind, giving them all the information I know about her condition while they work to control her convulsions.
Finally, she goes still. I gently brush her damp hair back from her forehead. As they move her to one of the rooms in the ER, Ameline slowly starts to come back. She seems disoriented and weak. Anxiously, I watch as the nurses begin to hook her to an IV, the heart monitor and . . . in no time she has tubes snaking up her arms.
“The doctor will be here soon,” one of the nurses says before they leave.
“Gabe?” Ameline croaks, barely able to speak. “What . . . What happened?”
I quickly take her hand, relief flooding through me at the sound of my name on her lips. “You had a seizure, baby.” I kiss her palm. “They’re taking good care of you.”
When the doctor arrives, he asks me to step out, so he can examine her. I hesitate, not wanting to leave her side.
“Only family is allowed to stay,” he says firmly.
Oh, that’s so simple. “Well, I’m her fiancé,” I lie, hoping he won’t press for details.
He eyes me skeptically but relents with a sigh. “Very well. Just don’t get in our way.”
I let out a breath, grateful for the chance to remain with her. As the doctor checks her vitals and shines a light in her eyes, she reaches for my hand again. I give it a reassuring squeeze, wanting to take her place. Become her.
The doctor wheels her away to run some tests. She’ll come back soon, he says, but the wait feels like an eternity. Hours pass before they come back. When they roll her in Ameline falls back asleep. I brush a strand of hair from her face and whisper that I’ll be right here when she wakes.
My protective instincts are in overdrive. Seeing her so vulnerable makes me want to wrap her in my arms and never let go. I’ve never felt this strongly about someone before, not even Leslie,I don’t think. Sure, I loved her but not to the point of wanting to be with her at every waking moment of my life. Not to the point of wanting to give up my life for hers.
And I do for Ameline. I want to switch places, make all this go away.
Just as I’m starting to doze off in the chair next to Ameline’s hospital bed, the door opens abruptly. I jolt awake to see an older man stride into the room, his face like a thundercloud. He heads straight for Ameline’s bedside, not even glancing my way.
“Ameline.” His voice bounces through the walls.
“Dad?” Ameline mumbles, stirring. “Who called you? I . . . This is nothing. I should be home soon.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he asks. “I got a call that my daughter was in the emergency room. Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
Ameline winces at his booming voice. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just . . . I was with Mom, and suddenly I had another episode.”
“You were with your mother?” His voice is like an explosion that blasts almost everyone in the hundred-mile radius. Soon enough the nurses come running in alarmed.
“Sir, I need you to keep your voice down,” one of them orders.
“I forbade you from seeing your mother,” he says, ignoring the nurse. “Why would you disobey? Are you here to donate something she doesn’t deserve?” he seethes.
As I try to intervene, Ameline’s father shoots me a glare that’s sharp enough to cut through steel, silencing me instantly. The tension in the room spikes, almost tangibly.
That’s when this woman in bright red lipstick sweeps in. She’s like a force of nature, touching the man’s arm with a deceptive gentleness. “Richard, please, lower your voice. We’re in a hospital. Let’s just forget about this one and go.” Her words drip with a cool, unfeeling detachment.
Richard takes a deep, steadying breath, his rage simmering down. “You’re right, Helen. She disobeyed me. Didn’t I tell her not to pull a stunt like this?”
Helen, with her back straight as a ruler, looks at Ameline with a gaze as cold as ice. “Why do you care, Richard? She’s not even your child. I’ve been saying for years, just cut your losses and let her go.” The venom in her voice could kill everyone in the room.
Ameline’s face goes pale. “What do you mean by ‘I’m not his child’?” she stammers out, disbelief and hurt crashing in her voice like a tidal wave. The machines beside her bed start to beep frantically.
