Defiant Princess (Boys of Oak Park Prep #2) - Callie Rose Page 0,66
one way to put it. I’m Doctor Garrett, by the way.”
He held out his hand, and I stepped forward to shake it, glancing over at my grandfather again. “He’s really going to be okay?”
“Well, we’re optimistic. At this stage, we can’t make any guarantees, but I don’t want you to worry too much, okay? He’s in good hands.”
I nodded, a little of my relief dissipating at his vague response. “Can I stay with him?”
“Of course. Pull up a chair, make yourself comfortable. There are vending machines and coffee in the hall. A nurse will be in to check on him in a while.” He hung Philip’s chart up near the end of the bed, then turned to leave before stopping in the doorway. “Oh, and we still haven’t been able to reach your grandmother. We’ll keep trying, but you’re welcome to try too if you’d like.”
“Okay.”
I waited until he left, then pulled a chair from the corner nearer to the large bed Philip lay in. This chair was plush and comfortable too, padded on the arms, seat, and back. I folded my body up into it, gazing at my grandpa as I wrapped my arms around my knees. It was probably completely uncouth to put my feet up on the seat, but I didn’t really care at the moment.
After a few minutes of silence, punctuated only by the beep of the heart monitor, I dug into my backpack where it rested against the chair and pulled out my cell. I’d deleted Jacqueline’s contact info from my phone, but like a bad song that you hear once and find yourself singing later, I was pretty sure I remembered it.
I didn’t want to call her. She didn’t deserve any kindness from me.
But when I glanced back up at Philip, I sighed.
Part of me hoped I’d remembered the number wrong as I listened to it ring. But when it went to voice mail, my grandma’s voice was the one on the recording.
I hung up quickly. The hospital had already tried contacting her, so they must’ve left a message. She didn’t need one from me.
Time oozed by, and I stared at Philip like he might open his eyes and jump out of bed at any moment.
But he didn’t.
He was still asleep when Jacqueline arrived. She pushed open the door and entered in a hurry, stark fear on her face as she took in Philip’s appearance. Then her gaze landed on me, and she did something like a triple-take.
Huh. Guess Philip really had managed to keep our little meetings secret.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice was strained, and the muscles of her neck tightened.
“My grandfather is in the hospital. I have a right to come see him.” I’d leapt to my feet without realizing it when she entered, and I stood like I was about ready to physically fight her. I would too, if she tried to make me leave. “I know you knew I was back in Roseland, so don’t act so surprised. Maybe you want to check on your husband.”
I jerked my head toward the bed, and Jacqueline started, shaking her head as if to clear it as she crossed closer to him. She came to stand on the opposite side of the bed from me, gripping his hand in hers. An expression of genuine tenderness crossed her face, and I looked down. I didn’t want to see that shit. Knowing she was capable of love only made the shitty things she’d done to me and my mom worse.
“The doctor said surgery went well. He said they’re optimistic,” I told the floor.
“Good.” Her voice was cool, distant.
I clenched my teeth. “Look, we don’t have to talk. In fact, I’d love it if we didn’t. But you can’t make me leave. So get over it.”
When I glanced up at her, she was staring at me with an almost shocked expression on her face. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then snapped it shut abruptly and moved daintily to sit in a chair in the corner. She was obviously too high-class to drag it closer to the bed like I’d done with mine, and I celebrated my mental victory over her for not having a stick up my ass.
We stayed like that for several hours. Long enough that I ducked out to the hall to grab a snack and some surprisingly decent coffee from the vending machine. Jacqueline shifted irritably as I crunched on my bag of chips, and I chalked