“Continuing CPR,” the lead medic says.
Maddie clings tighter to me, trembling so hard I can feel it in my own bones. Mason stands frozen beside us, tears sliding down his cheeks as the room fills with the heavy thud of compressions, clipped commands, and the soft hum of machinery.
“Got a rhythm!” someone shouts a moment later. The monitor chirps with a faint, stuttering pulse.
“Okay, let’s move,” the medic says. “We’re taking her now.”
They strap Anna into the stretcher with practiced efficiency. The mask on her face is fogged with her breath, her eyes still closed, head flopped to the side.
“Sir, are you riding with us?” the medic asks Mason.
“Yes,” Mason blurts immediately. His eyes flick toward me, desperate. “Can you give Maddie a ride and meet us at the hospital?”
I nod quickly. “Yes, of course.”
They wheel Anna outside and load her into the ambulance. Mason climbs in and clutches her bony hand, thumb smoothing over the protruding veins.
Maddie sniffles beside me. I wrap an arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently as I guide her toward my car.
“Come on,” I whisper. “Let’s go.”
***
Bright fluorescent lights hang overhead in the waiting room, filling the sterile space with cool-toned light. The stiff chairs dig into my back, but I haven’t moved in hours. Maddie’s head rests against my shoulder, her breaths slow and even, finally worn down from crying. My arm feels numb under her weight.
Every time a nurse in scrubs passes by, I lift my head, waiting, hoping—but no one has come to talk to us yet. The anticipation claws at my insides.
The automatic doors slide open, and a familiar figure walks inside with frantic urgency.
Stephen walks toward us, his mechanic’s jumpsuit stained with grease, hair sticking up in all directions. He looks exhausted, but when his eyes land on me and Maddie, something softens in his expression.
“Hi, Hunter,” he greets quietly, lowering himself into the chair beside me. “It’s good to see you again. I wish it was under better circumstances.”
I swallow hard. “Yeah. Same.”
“Have you heard any news about Anna yet?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s been hours.”
He hums. “She’s a strong woman. She’ll be fine.”
I want to believe him, but the way she looked this morning, unresponsive and lying on the floor—it was a terrifying sight. She’s a shell of the woman she used to be.
For a moment, we just sit in the silence, broken by the occasional beeping from down the hall. Throughout the waiting area, patients and families sit together, filling the room with a mixture of coughs, sniffles, and whispers.
Stephen glances sideways at me, a small smile tugging at his mouth. “So, I heard you and Mason are official now.”
My throat tightens, but I can’t help the way my lips curve. “Yeah. We are.”
“I’m happy for you two. He… he deserves to be happy.”
Something in me eases at his words. It’s strange—Stephen used to feel like an evil shadow over Mason’s past, but right now, all I see is someone who cares about him, about Maddie, about their whole family.
I glance down at Maddie, her small hand still clutching mine even in sleep, and whisper, “Thanks, Stephen.”
He leans back in his chair, eyes closing for a moment. “Just… take care of him, alright? He’s been carrying too much alone for too long.”
“I will,” I promise, and I mean it.
