Thin Love (Thin Love, #1)(30)

“What about his driver’s license?”

“No, he doesn’t drive—”

He had to step back, look away from her pink face and chapped lips. She kept asking questions, wanting to know what she could about his tutu kane. But Kona had never been good when shit got hard and this was the hardest shit of his life.

“What about his primary care physician?”

Two…three…four…

“I don’t know. I think—”

Five…six…

“Is there any information at all you can give us, son?”

“No, dammit, there isn’t! I don’t know shit, okay?”

Kona’s voice broke over the loud commotion of the ER. Everywhere he turned there were people. Sick people, crying people, nosy people, gum-smacking people, people getting further under his skin with every question they asked. Everything had spiraled out of control and Kona hated it. Controlling things, keeping everything settled, in his hands, was often the only thing that kept Kona sane. He teetered away from that sanity, from his calm and it showed in his loud shout and the instant pause in all that activity around him.

The nurse tossed the folder in her hand onto the front desk and kept her voice soft, but the bite in her tone held a warning. “I know you’re upset, but getting angry isn’t going to help.”

He stopped counting. He stopped breathing and Kona was seconds away from breaking his rules, the one that reminded him not to touch, to scream, to be something everyone expected he was: low, violent and primal.

“Look, I can’t help you, okay? All I know is that I went by to see my grandfather and found him on the floor.” When the nurse didn’t react, didn’t do much more than continue to frown at him, Kona closed his eyes, focused again on the lift of his chest, the air moving into his lungs. Not looking at her, he scrubbed his fingers over his face, trying to block out the woman’s glare and cocked eyebrow. “He’s got a condition. A-something…A…A…f*ck, I don’t remember.”

“Atrial fibrillation?”

A new voice, a kind voice. A familiar voice. Kona turned toward that voice, trying to focus on the face, trying to make sense of why that particular voice was here in the swirl of all the details scattering his brain. Her smile was hesitant, but real, honest.

“Keira?”

He didn’t touch her. There were too much noise in this place, too many questions he didn’t have the answers to and more than anything he didn't want to be here, he didn't want this nightmare to be happening.

What is she doing here?

And then Keira shocked the hell out of him, and grounded him and kept him from spinning out of control. She stood at his side, her fingers threading between his, keeping the shake out of his hand, as she faced the scowling front desk nurse.

“Dr. Michaels is my stepdad. I’m pretty sure he went back there.” She was cool, calm and Kona could only watch her as she took control, talked to that nurse like an adult, like she had far more of a clue of what needed to be done than Kona ever would. “His mom teaches at CPU. History department. I’ll get her number and give it to you in a second.” Amazingly, the nurse smiled, barely glanced at Kona as she nodded.

Then Kona let Keira lead him back into the waiting room. She sat him down like a puppet master, making his knees bend, keeping his eyes away from the curtained area in the back where the paramedics had taken his tutu kane.

It took a minute for reality to settle in. An hour ago he was waiting on his grandfather, sipping a beer and watching the door at the Maple Leaf and then he was there, freaking out, sirens, fear, anger and…Keira.

He looked at her through his fingers, elbows on his knees. “What are you doing here?” he finally said when enough breaths had taken the rattle from his chest.

“Meeting my stepdad for lunch.” She was so calm. How could she be so damn calm? Kona knew he was staring. He knew she was probably wondering why his eyes moved over her face, why he was looking her like she was a miracle. Then finally, Keira nodded, a silent cue that she understood his reaction, that she didn’t think he was a freak. “Your grandfather?” At his chin dip, Keira leaned back against the chair and looked past the front desk. Her eyes were impossibly blue, bright and shining. “Well, my stepdad is supposed to be one of the best cardiologists in the city.”

“How did you know about that A-Fib thing?”

She smiled. “Doctors likes to talk shop at home. Mainly, I think my stepdad just likes hearing the sound of his own voice.” When Kona sat up, an unconscious fidget, Keira frowned at him, like she was worried, like she knew he wanted to dart back to the front desk and ask what the hell was going on. “This place sucks. This situation sucks, but you gotta be cool. But these people are good, they’re here to help. They’re just trying to get as much detail as they can so they know how to treat him.”

He could only offer her a small twist of his head, something vague, something flippant and then he looked toward that curtain, wondering what the silence meant.

Keira joined him, watching the back of that room, his quiet confidant waiting for whatever news would come. Without thinking, he leaned closer to her, liking the sweet brush of her hair on his hand and the way she didn’t move away from him when he needed someone close.

For just a moment, Kona wondered how they’d gotten there. When he left her dorm a few nights ago, he was pissed off at her. That night he hadn’t known how he’d manage the rest of their project without feeling stupid around her. He’d kissed her, thought she wanted what he did, thought he saw something working on her face, something that told him he could have her. But she didn’t want him. She thought he was dirty. She thought he was worthless. Kona’s pride had been bruised and he’d brushed off any thoughts about Keira as soon as he left her dorm. At least he tried to.