Erica steps closer by a half step. Not aggressive. Not physical. Just refusing to be pushed backward.
“Because you didn’t, did you?” she says. “You obviously forgot.”
For just a moment on the doctor’s face, the truth is there. A tiny delay before his eyes meet hers again. A crack. It’s only for a moment before he smooths it over, but I see it.
And so does Erica, if her sharp inhale is anything to go by.
“That is what happened,” she says, and this time her voice is quieter. Stronger. Like the rage found its mark. “Isn’t it?”
Dr. Shah starts to speak.
Erica doesn’t let him.
“You forgot,” she says, and the words are harsh in the fluorescent-coated room. “You forgot to order the CT scan.”
Her throat bobs once.
“You fucked up,” she says. “And now my dad might be dying, so you’re trying to cover your ass and put it on me.”
It’s language Erica almost never uses. But if there were ever a time for it, this is it.
The waiting room around us blurs. People glance over. Someone looks away fast. A receptionist pretends not to hear.
My attention shifts, just for a second, because I feel movement at my back.
Not one person.
More.
There’s a beat of silence, then a silky voice slides in from the side—casual, almost conversational.
“Is that what happened, Doctor?” my father says.
The air changes the way it does when my family walks into a room. Not because they’re loud. Because they fill it with their collective energy.
I didn’t come alone.
When Erica called, I was at my father’s house. Everyone was still there. Dinner hadn’t fully ended, not really. The second I said “her dad’s back in the ER,” chairs moved. Keys were grabbed. Questions started before I could answer them.
Now they’re here.
The doctor stiffens and turns his head, not sure who the owner of the voice is, but absolutely sure it’s not someone he wants to fuck with.
It’s an aura that’s as natural to my dad as breathing.
And at the same time, from the opposite side, Vito steps in close enough to invade the doctor’s space and drops his hand on the man’s shoulder.
He jumps and looks around, realizing for the first time that he’s surrounded.
Antonio appears on his other side, really playing up the crazy eyes for the good doctor.
Erica is still focused on him.
“I believe I asked you a question,” my father says.
The doctor’s eyes bounce between us—me, my father, Vito, Antonio, Roberto, and Giovanni—not sure where to land.
“I-I know my rights,” he stutters.”
