“Just hurry. Please.”
I disconnected the call as I turned into emergency and screamed for help.
22
LUKE
SeeingCharlotte’s name light up my phone put the smile back on my face. The one that had been wiped out by a long ass day. When she’d sent me the picture of them earlier, Isla’s face covered in icing and Charlotte’s lips wrapped around the straw as much as I wanted to be there with them, seeing them getting along without me was a good thing.
I wasn’t testing Charlotte, at least I hadn’t thought I was at first, but I couldn’t think of anyone better to pick up Isla from school when Mrs. Neal had called. She’d had a doctor's appointment on the other side of town and had hoped to be back in time, but he was running late and she wasn’t sure she’d make it. Panicked that there’d be no one there to meet Isla, she’d rung telling me she was skipping her appointment and might be a couple of minutes late but she was on her way. Refusing to accept that as the answer, I’d called Charlotte who was only too happy to help out.
“Hey there, pretty girl,” I answered, wishing this was a video call so I could see her face.
“Luke! It’s Isla. She’s collapsed.”
My heart sank. I could barely comprehend what Charlotte was saying.
Isla.
Collapsed.
Hospital.
Fuck!
We were just pulling into the station when she’d called. Franklin hadn’t even put the ambulance in park when I was yelling at him to turn around and get me to the hospital now.
Normally I wasn’t one to flout the rules. I knew guys who did, but I’d never been one of them. I refused to put the lights and sirens on to get the pizza back so we could eat while it was hot, but this was different. This was Isla.
Thankfully, Franklin understood as he raced through the traffic, pulling up in the ambulance bay at the hospital entry.
“Let me know,” I heard him call from behind me as I was running through the doors needing to know what the hell was going on.
I waved over my shoulder, grateful Franklin knew me well enough to understand. The only thing that mattered right now, the only person who mattered was Isla.
One of the upsides to being a paramedic was you knew your way around the emergency department. Not something I’d normally appreciate, but right now I’d never been more grateful.
Rounding the corner, I came to a screeching halt when I found Charlotte sitting on the floor, head in her hands. Deja vu floored me. We’d been here before. This is how we first met. When I first fell in love with her. Seeing the way she loved and cared, how could I not.
“Charlotte?” I panted as I stopped beside her.
When she looked up at me through wide, fear filled eyes, I swallowed down the urge to throw up everywhere.
“L-L-Luke,” she stuttered, wiping away the tears that were trickling down over her cheeks.
“Where is she?”
“In there.” Charlotte pointed to the swinging doors in front of her. “They won’t tell me anything because I’m not family,” she admitted painfully.
I’d fix that. But first I needed to know Isla was going to be okay.
“Come on,” I told her, reaching for her hand. There was no way I was going in there without her. Even if she thought I was doing her a favor, I wasn’t. I needed her. I needed her to hold my hand and tell me everything was going to be okay. That it was a reaction to a bee sting or she’d overexerted herself. That it wasn’t anything scary.
With Charlotte’s fingers laced with mine, I marched up to the nurses’ station.
“Hi. I’m Luke Steele. My daughter Isla was brought in …”
As nervous as I was, as terrified as I was, I knew there was no point being a dick to the nurses. If you wanted anything, keeping them on side was key.
