“I know but we had a fight, and I think it’s for the best if I’m not here.” His voice hitched. “Um, will the hospital tell us if anything happens? He doesn’t have anyone since his parents are gone.”
“I don’t know, kiddo,” Clark said with a sigh. “We’re not family but we can ask. That’s all we can do.”
More footstep sounds and the door noise again followed by a lonely silence that was only broken by the beeping of the hospital equipment.
Chapter Nineteen
Dex
Five days after the alarm sounded on Otto’s monitor, he was still in a coma. After I left that day, the hospital had firmly informed my dad that his political clout had stretched all the rules possible. We could still visit but due to privacy laws, they couldn’t release any more updates until either Otto woke up or next of kin arrived to give consent.Otto wasn’t showing any signs of waking up and he had no next of kin. He was all alone in the hospital with nobody to advocate for him and my heart broke every time I thought about it.
I held mostly true to what I told my dad and tried to stay out of Otto’s room, limiting myself to three short visits each day, one in the morning, at noon, and at night. I didn’t speak to him while I was there, just spent a few minutes watching him sleep to assure myself that he was still alive.
If I spent most of the rest of each day camped out in the hospital lobby during visiting hours, that really wasn’t anyone else’s business. A theory that my boss at the coffee house apparently disagreed with given the text message telling me if I missed another shift I’d need to find a new job. That was two days ago, so I was pretty sure that I was unemployed but couldn’t quite find it in me to care. My dads wouldn't let me starve.
At lunchtime on the fifth day, I was back in the lobby when my papa’s scent caught my attention. An Omega like me, his scent was sweeter than Dad’s but just as familiar.
“Hey, sweetie.” His hand settled on my shoulder, squeezing gently. “How are you doing?”
I tried to smile. “I’m trying to hang in there, papa.”
He lifted a small paper bag and wiggled it enticingly in front of my face. “You promised Dad that if we didn’t nag you about hanging out here, you would eat.”
“I did,” I sighed, accepting the bag and pulling out a sandwich. I took a large bite and nearly groaned. “You made me a rotisserie chicken sandwich on homemade bread?”
Papa winked at me. “No. I made you a pan of rotisserie chicken enchiladas that are waiting in the freezer and used the leftovers on a sandwich using the bread I baked this morning.”
“Oh, that’s completely different.” I smiled despite the turmoil in my heart. “You know I love you, right?”
“Oh, sweetie, of course I do.” Papa settled onto the small sofa beside me, laughing when the vinyl made a farting noise. “Dad tried to call you earlier.”
I pulled my phone out but it was dead. “I must have forgotten to charge it.”
“You know that without anyone to make decisions for Otto, he petitioned the court for an emergency order to appoint a guardian.”
I nodded.
“This morning the court appointed a temporary guardian.”
“They did? Do we know who it is?”
Papa nodded. “Yep. It turns out that Myke Kravets is registered with the county family services as an emergency foster placement guardian. He usually manages emergency placement for minors until long term situations can be arranged, but the certification process is the same.
I swallowed the last bite of my sandwich. “Otto was kind of a jerk to him.”
“The night Otto got tossed out of the bar?”
I nodded.
“Dad was at the hearing. He said that Myke told the judge about that but assured him that it wouldn’t impact his judgment. Do you think it will?”
“Not really. Myke was trying to look out for me when Otto was being all..” I waved my hands, unable to find the word I needed but Papa just smiled at me.
“Yeah, I get it. Your dad gets those moments, too. It’s an Alpha thing. Myke is in the hospital administration office filing the guardianship paperwork. He was hoping to talk to you when he’s done.”
“Okay.”
Papa sat with me while I finished the chips and apple slices in the lunch. He was crossing the lobby to throw the trash away when Myke appeared.
