Fallen Rose (Beauty and the Beast Trilogy #3) - Amelia Wilde Page 0,63

breathing evens out.

I ease myself off the bed and fold myself into a hard plastic chair nearby.

“Miss Constantine?”

“Yeah?” I watch my dad’s chest rise and fall under the hospital gown and scratchy sheet.

“Could we speak in the hall?”

“Of course.” I leave my coat on the chair and follow her out. This is a different nurse from before. One with green scrubs and a clipboard. She has dark hair and kind eyes.

“I wanted to talk with you about your father’s situation. The doctor can go over things with you in more detail in an hour or two, but I like people to have their bearings.”

I’m not going to have my bearings for a long time. Maybe forever. I feel perpetually off-balance, like my head is swinging heavily toward the walls, a different direction every time I move my eyes. My heart keeps searching for Leo. He’s not here, and he’s not going to be. I can’t go back.

And I can’t think about that now.

“Thank you,” I tell the nurse.

“You’re welcome.” She pats my elbow, then flips over the page on her notebook. “Your father has suffered a major heart attack involving at least two arteries. The surgeon can tell you more about the procedure in the morning, but for tonight we’re focused on keeping him stable. The event sapped a lot of his strength, so after the surgery, he’ll require a lot of assistance to recover. First steps, we stabilize his condition for the surgery. We have all the signatures we need to go forward with that, but we can’t help you with funding for in-home care.”

“Signatures?” My brain hangs up on that word. My dad is one person.

She flips another page and scans down it. “Your father is currently in a gap in his insurance coverage. There’s a chance you can apply for reimbursement after the fact, but hospital admin won’t let us proceed with the surgery without a funding agreement. It’s so lucky that his sister was here when he arrived.”

“That was my aunt. She’s his sister-in-law.”

“She’s a good one.” The nurse shakes her head, her eyes going wide and sympathetic. “It takes a little finessing with the paperwork, and we have to check for her approval at several points along the way, but your father’s surgery and care here will be paid for.” She leans in and studies my face. “Are you all right, Miss Constantine?”

“I’m—” Dying. I’m dying. “I should call my siblings. Is there anything else I need to know?”

“Not for now. Go make your calls.”

Another plastic chair waits outside the door to my father’s hospital room. I lean in to check on him before I dial Petra.

He’s asleep, but it’s a restless sleep. His hand is up on his chest. Every so often, it flutters up and comes back down again. I can’t watch for very long, or else I’ll cry, and I have to hold it together.

I sink down onto the rigid plastic and dial Petra’s number with my hand over my eyes. She answers on the first ring. “Hey, Hales. What’s up?”

“Hey, listen.”

That’s all I manage before the sobs get the better of me. The more I try to keep them quiet, the worse they sound. Petra makes a bunch of soothing noises over the phone, but I can tell she’s freaked out. I would be, too. I feel like I’m swallowing broken glass but I do it until I can speak.

“So.” I wipe my whole sleeve over my eyes. “Dad had a heart attack.”

Petra drops her phone. It thunks against her kitchen counter and there’s a static sound as she grabs it back up. “Is he okay?”

“No, he had a heart attack. He’s not dead, but he’s in the hospital. I’m here with him.”

“I’m on my way.”

“Petra, no. No—don’t come over here. It’s late at night, and there’s nowhere to sit. He’s asleep anyway.”

“What did the doctors say?”

“I haven’t talked to them yet. But the nurse said it was a bad heart attack. There’s going to be a surgery in the morning. I think he’s going to be here for a while, and then—then someone’s going to have to be home with him. To help him. He’s really weak.”

“I should be the one to do that.”

“You’re married. You have a life. And Cash has school. I’m the only one with the time. I can—I can defer the last semester of college and graduate next winter instead.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” I can see her pacing around her kitchen. Petra used to do the same