Secrets Whispered from the Sea - Emma St. Clair Page 0,87

I said. “Just a moment.” I had to turn my back to him just to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

“Clementine, Lucy fell,” Vivi said, speaking so fast that it took me a moment to process. “She’s in the hospital. Can you come and call Ann?”

“Of course. I’m on my way.”

I was already moving toward the door when Alec grabbed my arm. “I’ll drive you.”

“The hospital,” I said. “We need to get to the hospital.”

“I’ve got you, Clem,” he said.

I wanted to fight him off so I could go alone. I didn’t want to rely on this man, didn’t want to bring him with me into something emotional. The physical connection had been almost too much, leaving me wrecked, just as he said he was.

But I was too worried about the way Vivi had sounded thin and panicked, too concerned by the idea of Lucy being in the hospital. I nodded and let Alec help me walk to his car.

I could fall apart—and I knew I would—later.

29

Alec dropped me off at the emergency room doors, and I practically fell out of his still-moving car. “Clementine,” he called, but I waved him off.

“Thank you! Just go.” I ran inside without glancing back.

I couldn’t think about Alec right now or that kiss. All the flames he had ignited needed to fizzle out. I needed to be present now, for Lucy. Not thinking about his kisses or his declarations or what they could mean.

I spotted Ann across the room. I’d called her on the way, but she lived closer to Sandover’s small hospital.

“Have you seen anyone?” I demanded.

She shook her head. “I texted Vivi. She’s coming down to show us the way.”

And at that moment, Vivi appeared in the doorway, looking paler and somehow older than she had just a few days before when I’d seen her. “I’ll take you up to Lucy’s room. They finally got her out of triage just a few minutes ago.”

“How is she?” Ann asked.

I didn’t wait for Vivi to answer. “What happened? Is it serious?”

A nurse held open a set of doors leading further into the hospital. Ann took one of Vivi’s arms while I took the other. By the time we got into the elevator, she had shrugged us both off.

“I’m not an invalid,” she said. “Let me walk. And yes, she’ll be fine. Probably.”

Ann gasped, and Vivi rolled her eyes while pressing the button for the third floor. “Let’s face it—any time you go into the hospital, it’s a crapshoot if you’ll ever get out again.”

“Vivi,” Ann said.

“What? It’s true.”

“Can you at least give us some details?” I asked.

Vivi sighed as the doors slid open. “It’s her hip. Not sure if it’s broken or not. We’re still waiting on X-rays, but they’ve given her something for the pain.”

Broken hips were the kinds of things that happened to other older people. Not the Three Terrors, who played weekly tennis—albeit without a lot of running around the court—and were arguably more active than I was. But even Vivi looked more stooped tonight. Was it my imagination, or was she moving more slowly?

Before we got to Lucy’s room, a voice called to us. I turned, shocked to see Dad emerging from a stairwell. Why was he here?

As if sensing my question, he said, “I was at Ann’s when you texted her. I drove us over. Thought I’d come along for support.”

I nodded, though I was still surprised. And, if I was being honest, a little hurt that I didn’t get an invite to the family dinner. Not that there was anything new about feeling out of place. “Where’s Nadia?”

Dad scratched his cheek, looking down at the floor. “She left. Not the hospital. The island. And me, I guess. We’re splitting up. Or she’s leaving me. Same difference in the end, I guess.”

Ann didn’t look surprised, so he must have broken the news to her over dinner. I didn’t have time to feel any more petty jealousy.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” I said, managing to mean it. At least for his sake.

He smiled, but it fell away immediately. “At least now I can eat donuts again.” He chuckled, but it wasn’t a happy sound. Clearing his throat, he waved a hand. “Go on. I don’t want to make tonight about me. I’ll wait in here.”

I hadn’t realized that the four of us had come to a stop in front of a small waiting room lined with narrow chairs with a TV blaring some game show. I felt like I should hug him, but he