“We are,” I said, managing a nod.
“You can come with me now,” she said gently.
We followed her silently out of the waiting area. At first I thought we were going to be led to a hospital room, where my father would be lying there in bed, pale and hooked up to machines but still alive, just like he had been several months ago, right after my honeymoon.
Instead, we were taken to an empty room.
“I’m so sorry,” the doctor said once the door closed behind us. “I know there is a lot of press hanging around out there and I wanted to give you your privacy.”
I didn’t quite understand and stared at her, confused.
“And my father—?”
Her face said it all, and I felt myself sagging against Stefan already. Her words sounded like they were coming from very far away.
“…has passed away, unfortunately.”
My blood was rushing in my ears, my body going numb, and I struggled to listen to the rest of what the doctor was saying.
“…initial heart attack…sudden cardiac arrest during surgery…everything in our power, but ultimately it was fatal. I am so sorry.”
Anja sank into a chair, silent tears streaming down her face. I knew they were not for her, but for me and for Max. For the tragedy that her son would never get to meet his father. The doctor handed her a tissue and held the box out for me. I shook my head.
I had no tears. Not yet. They would come, for sure, but right now I was still in shock.
The door closed and suddenly I looked up and realized that both the doctor and Anja had left the room. I turned to Stefan, confused, but he just took my hands.
“They thought you might need to take some time,” he said.
I nodded. “It doesn’t feel real. He can’t just be…gone. This doesn’t make sense.”
“I know,” Stefan said, pulling me tight against his chest.
Then my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Michelle.
Where are you?her text read.I just got to the ER entrance. What’s the room number?
My stomach turned over and I showed the text to Stefan.
“I don’t even know what room we’re in right now,” I told him.
He gave me a firm nod. “Don’t worry. I’ll find her and bring her back here.”
I grabbed his arm before he could leave.
“Don’t tell her what happened,” I told him. “Please. She deserves to hear it from me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I said, even though I wasn’t. “I should be the one to break the news.”
When he left, I dropped into a chair and let out a deep breath. The reality of the situation was finally sinking in. In just a few moments I was going to have to tell my stepmom not just that her husband was gone, but that he had left behind a previously unknown son. I would have to tell her everything.
I put my head in my hands, hating that I had to do this. Hating that my father had left this mess for me to deal with.
Finally there was a soft knock on the door, and when I looked up, I saw Stefan peering through the crack he’d opened up.
“Michelle is here,” he said.
