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My heart stops.
“But she died a long time ago.”
I know. I’m interested in what happened before that, though, and I’m about to open my mouth to ask when a maid interrupts us.
“Miss Vivian,” she says. “Your father, he’s having trouble breathing again.”
Vivian gets on her feet. Her face looks pale again. When she runs, I go after her.
“Can I come with you?” I ask her. “I’m a doctor, too.”
She thinks about it just a moment, then continues running. I follow her.
When we reach Samuel’s room, we find him in his bed with an oxygen mask over his face. A doctor and a nurse stand by his bed.
“What happened?” Vivian asks immediately.
The doctor approaches her. “He had a hard time breathing and his blood pressure went up, but he’s fine now.”
I glance at the screen of the heart monitor by the bed. His numbers do seem fine right now, but I can imagine his difficulty breathing must be putting a strain on his heart. It might not last much longer.
“Can I have a minute?” the doctor asks Vivian.
Vivian nods. She and the doctor leave. The nurse checks on the oxygen tank. I approach the bed slowly.
I know I probably shouldn’t. I should go and let him rest. Still, my body moves forward. One foot goes in front of the other.
He’s my grandfather. I can’t tell him that because the shock might kill him, so I won’t, but I’d like to hold his hand and talk to him at least once while I still have the chance.
I stand by his bed. “Mr. Northup.”
He opens his eyes and looks at me. I smile.
“I’m Ellis. I’m a doctor, too.”
His eyebrows furrow as he takes off his mask. “So they’ve finally given me a young, pretty one, huh?”
I grin. He may be old and sick but he still has a sense of humor.
“Mr. Northup, please keep the mask on,” the nurse says.
“Can’t you tell him to loosen up?” Samuel glances at the nurse. “Nurses listen to doctors, don’t they?”
The look the nurse gives me tells me he won’t. I look at Samuel and touch his arm.
“Why don’t you put the mask on, Mr. Northup?” I say. “I’m sure if you do, he’ll loosen up a bit. He’s only uptight because he’s worried about you.”
Samuel glances at the nurse then looks back into my eyes. I give him an encouraging smile and he puts the mask back on.
“There.” I stroke his arm. “You really do look better with that mask on.”
He smiles. The nurse rolls his eyes.
“Hey,” I tell him. “It doesn’t cost anything to be kind to a sick man.”
The nurse just turns his back on me as if to say I’m not his boss. I ignore him and turn back to Samuel.
“How do you feel?” I ask him.
“Like hell,” he answers. “But just now, I think I might be in heaven because I’ve been visited by an angel.”
I chuckle, then give him a serious face. “Mr. Northup, you shouldn’t be flirting with your doctor.”
“Why not?” he asks.
“Because she’s young enough to be your granddaughter,” the nurse pipes in.
“Shut up,” Samuel tells him.
He’s not wrong, though. In fact, he’s more accurate than he knows. But I ignore him again.
“Because I’m engaged,” I tell Samuel as I lift my hand.
Samuel frowns. “Now you’re breaking my poor heart.”
I glance at the monitor. “Well, it seems fine.”
He chuckles, then starts coughing and wheezing.
“Now you’ve done it,” the nurse scolds me.
Still, I ignore him. I grab the stethoscope and listen to Samuel’s lungs. He seems to have more decreased breath sounds on his left lung.
“Let’s turn him on his right side,” I say.
The nurse hesitates.
“Nurse!” I snap.
Finally, he moves. He helps me turn Samuel on his right side. Gradually, he stops coughing.
I let out a sigh of relief as we get him back in a supine position. He closes his eyes as he catches his breath.
I hold his hand and brush the other against his forehead. “Just rest, Mr. Northup.”
He opens his eyes and looks at me. Then his eyebrows furrow.
“Samantha?”
My heart stops at the sound of the name, which confirms all the suspicions I’ve had.
Samuel takes his mask off and wraps an arm around me. “Sammie, my butterfly!”
Butterfly?
“Mr. Northup.” The nurse tries to pry us apart but fails.
“Daddy!” Vivian shrieks as she comes back into the room.
She succeeds in tearing us apart. I stagger backwards.
“Daddy, what’s wrong with you?” She puts back his mask.
“Samantha!” he shouts through it.
I hold my hand over my aching chest and fight back tears. I want to tell him I’m Samantha’s daughter. I really do. But the words are stuck in my throat. I can’t breathe.
“Ellis.” Vivian leads me out of the room. “I’m so sorry. Samantha was my sister, his favorite daughter, and he still can’t accept the fact that she ran away and died.”
