Unexpected Gift(9)

She cups my face, staring at me with brown eyes so similar to mine. “Have you heard anything?”

“No. We just got here. One of the nurses said they would go check.”

“I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe it.” She puts her hand to her heart and struggles to breathe. “I need to sit down.”

“Mom?”

My dad sits next to her and rubs her back. “She’s had chest pains for the last few hours.”

“Dad, she needs to get seen by a doctor—”

She swats my hand. “It’s just the situation. I’m healthy as a horse.” She clutches her chest harder and starts to gasp for breath.

“Mom! Help! We need some help over here!” I scream, gaining the attention of a few nurses and doctors.

“I can’t breathe,” she struggles for air, clawing at her throat.

The nurse kneels, putting an oxygen mask on her. “Take a deep breath, ma’am. You’re having a panic attack.”

Tears leave the corners of my eyes as I watch my mom try to breathe. My dad holds her as she nods, keeping the mask to her face as she takes deep breaths of oxygen into her body.

“Her pulse is slowing. I’ll keep the oxygen here. Come find me if it gets worse.” She pats my mom’s knee before getting up and walking away.

Air bursts through the doors, capturing my attention. Caden and Amelia’s father stop in the middle of the entryway. Jeff, her father, rubs his face, and Caden scans the lobby, looking for familiar faces. His gaze lands on me, and our eyes lock. Maybe it is just me, but something just broke. I don’t know what it could have been. The differences we have aren’t as important anymore.

He rushes over with Jeff close behind. He has dark circles under his eyes and red-stained scrubs. Of course, he was at work when I called, not with some girl. I feel bad for always thinking the worst of him, but it isn’t like he gives me much of a choice. He always seems so arrogant and on the prowl. He makes it difficult not to hate him.

“Molly. What happened? What the hell is going on?” His eyes drift to my mom, and he runs to her side. “Mrs. Lowell, are you okay?”

She pulls the mask away from her mouth and smiles. “Caden. I’m fine,” she wheezes before my dad sets the mask back on her.

“She had a panic attack,” my dad says.

Caden runs his hands through his hair and glances around. “Where’s the doctor? Have they updated you?”

“No. We asked when we got here, but they haven’t told Molly anything,” Kenna whispers.

“That’s ridiculous. I want to know what the hell is going on.” For the first time since we have known each other, Caden Jackson takes my hand and squeezes it. “I’m going to go get some answers, okay?”

He stands to his full frame, towering over everyone. I have to crane my neck to look up at him, but all I can see is the strong structure of his jaw. When he steps toward the front desk, a doctor in what used to be green scrubs, comes through the doors.

A pit of dread blooms in my stomach when I see the amount of blood on his scrubs; it grows bigger the closer he gets. “Lowell family?” he shouts. All of us sit still as statues. “Lowell family?” he repeats.

I can’t rip my eyes off the blood. I know in my bones that Brandon and Amelia are gone. I feel it. I don’t know how, but nothing around me gives me hope. The air, the people, the time... everything feels heavy and sad. It suffocates me—the pain. I stand, grabbing onto the chair for support. One by one, my family rises to their feet. My mother, Kim, gets up with my dad’s help.

The first step is the hardest. The closer I get to answers, the further away I want to be. I see it all over the man’s face. He looks grim, like he has just come face-to-face with death. The blood on his scrubs has to be their blood. I swallow, holding back all of my emotions. Kenna stands on my left and Caden on my right, both of them holding my hands, but only one feels soothing. Only one brings me some peace of mind.

“??Do you have news about my son? About Brandon?”

“??My daughter is his wife! Please. Anything.”

“—What happened?”

“—Are they okay?”

He holds his hand up to stop all the questions coming at him all at once. Everyone waits on bated breath for him to speak. He rubs his hand through his dark, greying hair. He still seems young in the face. “Brandon and Amelia Lowell came in from a MVC.”

“MVC?” Kenna asks.

“Motor Vehicle Crash,” the doctor and Caden say at the same time.

Kenna squeezes my hand so hard I think my fingers are going to break. My mom sobs, and my dad rubs her shoulders. Caden stays next to me, rubbing my inner wrist with his thumb. Amelia’s dad stands on the other side of my father, and my mom holds his hand. All of us are joined, ready to catch one another if we fall.

“Like I said, Brandon and Amelia, along with their daughter, came in from an MVC.”

“Posie! Is she okay? Please tell me she is okay!” I say while a sob tears from my chest. I can’t believe all this time has gone by, and I didn’t think to ask. What kind of person does that make me?

“She is unharmed and in the NICU being monitored, but so far, nothing except a few minor scratches.”

“Thank god,” I say as my shoulders sag. Caden puts his arm around me, and naturally, I find myself fitting in the nook of his arm. He kisses the top of my head, letting out a deep sigh. He is relieved as well.