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Chapter 10
Teag wanted to open his eyes, but it felt like they’d been glued together. In addition to the uncomfortable sensation that suggested an elephant sat squarely on his chest, his limbs felt sluggish and heavy, like he was underwater. He tried harder to unstick his eyelids. When they fluttered open, he found himself staring up at a stark white ceiling.
His head weighed a ton. When he turned it ever so slightly to the right, a collection of monitors and machines beeped softly. He squinted at the rhythmic waves and blinking lights as his addled brain tried to make sense of his surroundings.
A shadow moved, and then a face appeared.
“Mum?” he gasped. His throat was on fire. It felt like he’d swallowed glass.
As consciousness fully took hold, his vision cleared, the sounds around him became almost unbearably loud, and the pressure in his chest turned to pain. He groaned and tried to pull in a full breath. Couldn’t manage it. Panic set in.
“I’m here, Teagan. I’m going to call the doctor. It’ll be all right.” His mother’s voice held a slight tremble, but it soothed him, nonetheless.
In moments, the room filled with doctors and nurses. His mother backed away from the bed and put an arm around his sister. Annabelle was here. Before he could make sense of what was happening, a doctor stood leaning over him.
“Mr. Tate, welcome back,” she said, while shining a light into each of his eyes. Someone else inflated a blood pressure cuff.
He tried to answer, but he could barely force any sound out of his parched throat.
“I’m Doctor Greene, your surgeon.”
His surgeon?
“How are you feeling?” she asked, pressing a stethoscope lightly against his chest.
“Hurts,” he managed to croak out.
She nodded, and her silver-streaked hair bobbed. “We can help with that,” she said, gesturing to the nurse.
Seconds later, a pleasant warmth spread through his body, driving the pain away. He licked his cracked lips.
A gentle hand reached behind his head and lifted. “You can sip the water.”
He sucked up the cool liquid as if he’d been stranded in the desert for a week.
“Slow and easy,” the nurse warned.
When she removed the straw from his mouth, he wanted to chase after it but didn’t have the energy. His head sank back onto the pillow, and he drifted off into peaceful dark oblivion.
The next time he opened his eyes, the world came into focus more quickly. Muted voices resolved into a soft conversation.
“Their publicist won’t announce any change in his condition. We need to keep it quiet for as long as possible.” The voice sounded distinctly like Cameron Taylor.
“I’m worried about the hospital staff. We can demand discretion and remind them of patient confidentiality, but all it will take is one offhand comment to a friend, and the cat will be out of the bag.”
“Maria?” Teag said, or thought he did at least, but obviously not since no one paid him any attention.
A rising wave of anxiety rolled through him as he tried to piece together what exactly had happened to him. In the deep recesses of his drug-addled brain, he knew it had been something terrible.
Turning his head toward the voices, he finally managed to open his eyes. Maria froze.
“Teag,” she whispered.
Then she was next to him, reaching out to touch him. Her warm hand covered his and she smiled gently, but she must have noticed the look of panic in his eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe,” she said. Her soothing voice brushed over him like a warm breeze and calmed his racing mind.
“Maria.” He tried again, his voice a rough whisper.
