“Oh, my God.” Mrs. Denali drops down beside me but I hear Victoria on the phone with emergency services.
“…don’t know, he collapsed…we’re doing CPR…yes, hurry!”
“Grampa?” Charlie comes outside looking bewildered.
“Take him inside,” I hiss to Victoria, who quickly ushers him back into the house.
“What happened?” Mrs. Denali whispers.
“He was playing with Charlie and then just went down. I couldn’t find a pulse and he stopped breathing…” I’m breathing hard as I continue compressions. I hear Chloe’s voice in my head reminding me that keeping the blood circulating is important.
Luckily, I hear sirens in the distance.
Help is coming.
I just hope it’s not too late.
Everything is a blur once the paramedics arrive. Mrs. Denali is crying, Victoria is white as a ghost, and Ivy is trying valiantly to keep Charlie upstairs, away from the chaos.
I hear words like cardiac arrest and AED but my focus now is on Victoria. She’s pale and scared, and all I can do is keep my arm around her as they lift her father onto a gurney and put him in the ambulance.
“I’m going with him!” Mrs. Denali cries, jumping into the ambulance.
“Let’s follow,” I tell Victoria, who nods.
“Let me get my purse and my mom’s—she left without it.”
Ten minutes later we’re at the hospital, waiting.
Mrs. Denali looks like she’s going to fall over at any moment and I go get some coffee for her. Victoria looks a little green around the gills too, and I pull her close.
“You need to eat something.”
“I can’t,” she whispers.
“You have to. You’re going to puke if you don’t.”
She doesn’t respond, merely rests her head against my chest.
“Let me go find you something to eat. The cafeteria may still be open.”
“Okay. Bring something for Mom too. Just in case.”
“All right.”
As I go, I pull out my phone and text Chloe.
JORDAN: I’m at General West. Victoria’s dad had a heart attack. We don’t know anything yet. Are you at work today?
CHLOE: I am. Give me his name and I’ll see if I can get you any info.
I tell her the basics and then put my phone back in my pocket.
It takes me about ten minutes to buy burgers, fries, and bottles of water, and by the time I get back to the waiting area, Chloe is approaching us.
“Hey. Have you heard anything?”
She nods. “He had a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest. Whoever did CPR literally saved his life.”
