“Her pulse is fast and her breathing is shallow,” Kellan said urgently. “Where is that ambulance?”
Eli glanced around as though he could conjure an ambulance out of nothing. Then they heard the siren and he sighed with relief.
Thank God.
Please let her be all right.
He couldn’t lose her. Not now. He’d only just found her.
21
“Hi, Ms. Bridges. I’m Doctor Marsten.”
She smiled wanly as an older, friendly-looking doctor walked into the cubicle. From what she’d already been told she was in an observation area in the local hospital after having an anaphylactic reaction to cake.
Cake.
It was meant to be her friend! And it had tried to kill her. That really wasn’t cool.
“How are you feeling now?” the doctor asked.
“Tired,” she told him. “And dumb.”
He smiled. “I guess you don’t need a lecture on being careful about what you eat.”
“I know it seems like I need that. But I just . . . I meant to do it. I asked for the ingredient list and then I got distracted. I almost took the mouthful by habit. You know when you write a text message but don’t intend to send it for a while, then you automatically press send?”
He stared at her like he had no idea what she was talking about.
Yeah.
She got that a lot.
“I’m such an idiot,” she groaned. “I can’t believe I did that. I’m usually so careful.”
He gently patted her thigh. “It’s all right, dear. This time. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how serious this was. You must be very careful.”
“I will be.”
“I’ve written a script for a replacement EpiPen. Get it filled immediately. Are you having any trouble breathing? Does your throat feel swollen?”
“No, I’m just really tired.”
He nodded. “I’m sure you are.”
“Can I go home? I really don’t like being in the hospital.”
“Nobody does. Including me. Horrid place.” He shuddered. “I really chose the wrong job, didn’t I?”
She smiled.
“Now, let’s see, your vitals are all steady. Good oxygen levels and your pulse is strong. Blood pressure is good. I’d like to keep you a bit longer to keep an eye on you. But if everything is fine by this evening, I’m happy to discharge you then. Although I don’t want you to leave here on your own. In fact, I’d prefer you weren’t alone for the next seventy-two hours.”
“Oh.” She bit her lip, thinking that through. That seemed a lot. The last time this had happened she’d taken an Uber home because she’d had no one to come get her.
She could lie and tell him that she had someone to look after her. But right now, she was feeling a bit fragile and scared. What if something went wrong?
Wait.
