a cup. His eyes widen when he finds me awake, and he shuts the door quickly behind him.
“I’ll let him tell you, and I’ll send a doctor in. They’ll want to talk with you.”
“Give us a few moments alone before you do that?” Felix requests. His gentle nature radiates from him, and she agrees easily.
If Felix is here, then that means…
“Oh God,” I blurt out. “They called you. They called…” My family. More importantly, my father. Of course, they would. That’s what happens when you wind up in the hospital. I just wish I could remember why I’m in the hospital.
“Yes,” he says soberly. “But please don’t stress. It’s not good for you—either of you.”
“You know?” My voice is so small I’m not sure I even said it aloud until he gives me a grim nod. “And my father?”
“He’s out at the moment, tending to some business. I expect he’ll be back soon.”
“Does he know?” I don’t have to clarify about what. There’s some minuscule piece of me clinging to the idea that my dad might be more concerned with seeing to business affairs than me. Maybe he sent Felix to handle it. Maybe he hasn’t been here himself.
“He knows about the baby, if that’s what you mean. Certain decisions needed to be made, and he is your next of kin. We flew out as soon as we heard. Your father has been staying at your apartment. Only one of us can be here overnight.”
I stare blankly at him, trying to process what he’s telling me. My father knows, but he’s not here. Not for the moment. Naturally, it’s Felix that stayed. I wonder if he even had to fight him on it. Dad doesn’t like hospitals. He sees them as places of weakness, as though illness is a fault of character.
“He’s going to kill me,” I whisper.
Felix’s mouth thins into a line. His lack of response tells me that my father is as angry as I expected.
“You are an adult now,” Felix says. “You make your own decisions.”
“That’s a lovely lie,” I murmur. “I wish I could believe it. What happened anyway?” Maybe it’s whatever they’re pumping through my IV, but I can’t seem to recall more than bits and pieces.
“Your horse startled and you fell.”
“But I’ve fallen a hundred times.” I grasp for why this happened now. I’m a good rider. I’m better than good. I know how to take a fall. It’s been drilled into me since I started riding as a child.
“You hit the back of your head on a tree. It knocked you out. Your friends got you to the hospital.”
Poppy. Cyrus. I cover my mouth with my hand. Everyone will know now.
“They’re quite worried about you,” Felix continues, coming over to adjust my pillow. “They weren’t allowed to see you at first, and as soon as we arrived, your father had you moved to a private hospital. He’s not allowing visitors.”
“Have they come by?” I ask.
“Yes, but they don’t know everything,” he says significantly, guessing the real question that I’m asking. “They are very discreet here.”
My relief is short-lived because the door opens and a doctor steps into the room.
“Miss MacLaine, I’m Doctor Thompson. It’s nice to see you’re awake. You must be feeling rested.”
I think she means it as a joke, but it falls so flat I swear I hear it thud against the tiled floor.
“Mr. MacLaine?” she asks Felix.
“No.” He shakes his head. “I’m Felix, her…”
“Uncle,” I butt in, afraid she’ll make him leave.
“Well, then, Uncle Felix we’re going to be doing some tests and…”
“I’ll step into the hall,” Felix offers, before he can be asked.
I want to stop him. I want to beg him not to leave me. But the word tests has me frozen in place. What kind of tests? How hard did I hit my head? I wiggle my toes, relieved to feel them.
“The baby is okay?” I press once I’m alone with Doctor Thompson.
“We’re going to check on that.” She flips through some paperwork, furrowing her brow as she reads notes, and then checks the monitors. As she does, a nurse wheels a cart into the room. “Let’s have a look, shall we?”
I force myself to nod, reminding myself of the strong heartbeat on the other monitor. The doctor applies some blue gel to my stomach and fiddles with the machine, typing and adjusting.
“There we are,” she says, turning the screen to face me. “Everything looks alright, but let’s just take a closer look to be sure.”