What We Do in the Night (Day to Night #1) - Stylo Fantome Page 0,105

“I'm an asshole who doesn't know what he's doing. You're the saint here, so you have to protect us.”

But she'd already drifted off again, which was probably for the best. She'd been protecting her grandmother for the last six months – she didn't need the added stress of protecting Ari, too.

So he stayed quiet, combing his fingers through her hair, and he prayed to the patron saint of love.

Please, please, help me do the right thing.

21

Valentine woke up alone.

Not a very comforting feeling after the emotional night she'd had, but then she saw a note on the pillow next to her.

Had to go to work, don't worry. You're home, you're fine, and I'll be back soon.

- Ari.

She smiled at his words. “You're home.” Because his place was her place, after all. She still had the key hanging around her neck.

She leapt out of bed and took a quick shower. Then danced around his closet, running her hands over his clothing. She loved him in a suit, but she adored him in a t-shirt and jeans, like he wore when he was spending a quiet evening at home with her.

Like he would be when they started spending even more time together.

She was just making her way back out to the kitchen when she heard her phone ringing. Her real phone, not the burner one. Thinking it was him calling her – for the first time ever – she rushed across the room. But the number on the screen wasn't his, it was one she didn't recognize. Frowning, she picked up the phone and held it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Miss Valentine.”

Nurse Grace's voice. Valentine winced. She'd been so caught up in Ari, she'd forgotten to stop by the house the day before; she couldn't keep doing that, it wasn't right. She took a deep breath.

“Hi, Grace, I'm so sorry,” she started right away. “I lost track of time yesterday and I -”

“Valentine, honey, I've got bad news.”

Val's mouth snapped shut. There was a slight ringing in one ear. She gripped the edge of the false wall and took a deep breath.

“What is it? What happened?”

“It's your grandmother. She's in the hospital. We think she had another stroke.”

No. No, no, no, no! They'd been doing everything right! All the right medication, all the right exercises. This couldn't be happening. Not again.

“Oh god,” she breathed, then she shook her head. She hadn't fallen apart the first time, and she wouldn't this time. “Which hospital are you at?”

After she got off the phone, Valentine ran around and got dressed in a rush, yanking on the first pieces of clothing she came across – light pair of skinny jeans and a t-shirt. She hopped into her Chuck's, grabbed her helmet and phone, then ran out the front door.

It took her half an hour to get to the hospital, and then an additional fifteen minutes to locate Nurse Grace.

“I'm here,” she panted. “I'm sorry, but I'm here.”

“You're the power of attorney?”

A doctor was standing with Grace, his eyes bouncing back and forth between her and Val.

“This is Mrs. Parker's granddaughter, she's her medical proxy,” Grace said, and Valentine nodded, still trying to catch her breath.

“Well, we won't know for sure until we get all the imaging and tests back, but it looks like your grandmother had a massive stroke,” he said, glancing over the file in his hands. Valentine reached out blindly with her hand and was glad when Grace grabbed it.

“She just had one six months ago,” she spoke softly. “I thought she was doing better.”

“Hmmm,” the doctor mumbled. “Maybe it was just the calm before the storm. We want to move her upstairs and ...”

Valentine was listening, she swore she was, but the words weren't going in. She didn't know what any of the medical terms meant, so how could she know what was best for her grandmother? She squeezed Grace's hand and wished it was Ari standing next to her. He was so commanding, he would know what to say, what to do.

“What should I do?” she finally croaked out, just barely holding the tears at bay. She turned to Nurse Grace. “What's best?”

“Whatever the doctor says,” Grace nodded her head. “Let them keep her here and run their tests, then we'll know what's what.”

Valentine nodded, so the doctor told them the next steps in her grandmother's case, and promised to keep them updated. When he finally walked away, Val collapsed into a chair.

“But I thought she was doing so much better,” she whispered. “She