to take it away.
The curtain brushes back roughly, the noise startling Zoey awake. “What’s going on?”
The phlebotomist pulls a cart in with her and smiles. “I’m here to take some blood.”
“Ugh, great.” Zoey rolls her eyes to me. “I hate needles.”
I squeeze her hand. “Focus on me, then.”
She holds my gaze as her blood is taken, wincing a little when the needle first goes in.
“All done,” the lady announces. “You did good.”
And then we’re alone once more. “I called your dad,” I admit, wanting to give her a heads up before he shows.
“What?” Her eyes threaten to bug out of her head. “Why would you do that?”
“Because you’re in the hospital and he’s your dad. He deserves to know.”
I expect her to get mad, but she lets out a sigh and jerks her head in a nod. “You’re right.”
“How are you feeling now?” Before I can stop myself, I’m smoothing a curl away from her forehead. She relaxes into my touch. I don’t think she even realizes she does it.
“Better. Whatever they gave me really helped.”
“Good.”
“Thank you for coming with me.”
“I wasn’t going to let you go alone.”
She touches her fingers to my jaw, the barest hint of pressure. “Why are you so perfect?”
“I’m not perfect, Zoey. Not by a long shot.”
Her dark eyes focus on mine. “You are to me.”
We’re interrupted by transport arriving to take her for an ultrasound since there’s no room for the machine in the tiny area we’re sectioned off in.
“Sir, you’ll have to stay in the waiting room until she’s back.”
I jerk my head in a nod. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”
She gives me a thumb’s up as they wheel her away.
Sitting down in the waiting room, my leg bounces up and down with nerves. I’m glad whatever they gave her has helped with her pain and she’s no longer hurting, but I want to get answers on what’s going on.
Every time the doors from the parking lot to the ER open, I glance over in search of Coach Reynolds. About five minutes after I sat down, he enters, and I wave him over.
“What’s going on?” he asks, out of breath. He’s tossed on a pair of gym shorts and a zip up jacket. Two different sneakers adorn his feet.
“Not sure. I got back to the apartment and found her on the floor like I said. She threw up but she was really in a lot of pain in her abdomen. She seems to think it’s food poisoning, but I’m not convinced. That’s when I insisted on calling an ambulance.”
“Can I see her?”
I shake my head. “They took her for an ultrasound and sent me out here.”
Finally, a lightbulb must click in his head. “How the hell do you know my daughter, Anderson?”
I look up at him since he’s still standing in front of me, refusing to take a seat. “She’s my roommate.”
“Your roommate,” he parrots. “How did that happen?”
I run my fingers over my hair. “My friend Teddy was supposed to rent the apartment with me, but shit happened, and he couldn’t. Zoey was his replacement. I didn’t know she was your daughter.”
He gives a resigned sigh, finally sinking into the chair beside me. “I’m not surprised. I don’t know how much she’s told you, but our relationship … it’s a work in progress.”
“She loves you.”
He lets out a gruff laugh. “It wasn’t my daughter that called me here tonight, Anderson,” he reminds me.
“She’s getting there.”
“She talks to you about me?”
“Yeah,” I admit, not sure if I might be better off keeping my mouth shut, but I kind of want to give the poor man something. He looks saddened. Defeated. I don’t have kids yet, don’t plan on it for a while, but I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I was in his position. “I didn’t know it was you until Friday when she showed up at your office.”
“Ah,” he breathes.
The nurse who’s been working with Zoey appears in the corner of the waiting room. “Mr. Anderson,” she calls, “your wife is back from the imaging center. You can see her now.”
Coach arches a brow, pressing his lips together not to laugh. “Your wife, huh?”
I smile sheepishly. “They weren’t going to let me come, so I said I was her husband.”
He claps me on the back. “Well, come on then, son.”
I straighten at his words, taken by surprise. After telling the nurse his relation to Zoey, she gives him a sticker and permits him to go into the back.
I open