A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies - Christina Lee Page 0,15
on him. Except this time, Rhys was in the ICU in serious condition from a climbing accident, but he was still alive. Thank fuck. Still, it’d made Emerson’s stomach turn upside down, and he’d vomited in the toilet immediately after hanging up with the nurse.
“He has you in our system as an emergency contact,” she’d said, and that had only minimally surprised him. It made sense, considering Mrs. Lancaster no longer lived in the area and they had unquestionably become like family over the years.
Emerson changed into jeans, then called his aunt to ask if she could possibly check in on the kids for a couple of hours so he could get himself to the hospital.
Next, he broke the news to Audrey and Sam as they finished their breakfast.
“Will he die too?” Sam asked.
“Don’t say that!” Audrey scolded, then stormed out of the kitchen. Her emotions were often masked as frustration toward anyone in her path.
Emerson reached for Sam and hugged him tight, feeling a bit emotional himself. “No, buddy. He’s hurt, but we’ll help him get better.”
He would do anything needed to help his friend recover. Christ, he couldn’t believe this was happening. Laying eyes on him would hopefully help ground him.
“Can we see him?” Sam asked earnestly.
“Oh, buddy, I’m not sure.” Even though he worked in the billing department of another hospital, the rules were pretty typical for all of them. “I think they only allow family in the ICU.”
“We are his family.”
Yeah…yeah they were.
He sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
He stood and reached for his keys. He found Audrey curled up on the couch and gave her a peck on the head, knowing she needed time to process the information. But also trusting her to step up when she needed to as far as her brother was concerned. “Aunt Janice will be here within the hour. Hold the fort until then. I’ll text you soon.”
He called Rhys’s mom on the way to the hospital. She immediately burst into tears, and he gripped the steering wheel, trying to keep his emotions in check.
“Will he be okay?” she rasped as his chest tightened, in a viselike grip. She had been there for him when his parents passed, and now he needed to be strong for her too.
“Definitely. Try not to worry.” Easier said than done, he knew all too well, so he hoped his words did not ring hollow. “I’ll fill you in on the details as soon as I get them.”
“Thank you. You’re a good friend.” She breathed out as if in relief. “I’ll book my flight while I wait for your call.”
Once he parked and entered the building, he inquired about Rhys at the front desk. He was pointed to a bank of elevators, and he willed his legs to move as he stepped inside and pushed the button.
But fuck. It was worse than he’d imagined. Rhys’s boss, Martin, was in the waiting room when he arrived. His wrists were still caked with mud—though his hands looked cleaner as if he’d speedily washed them—and his fingers were shaky.
“What the hell happened?” he asked in a rush.
“Rhys was doing a free climb with Jill…” Martin trailed off, as if reliving the scene in his mind.
Suddenly a heated discussion between Emerson and Rhys arose in his memory, and he recognized the term. It meant the climber used a line to secure himself to the mountain with little other equipment to guide him. The idea was that he was unrestricted—free—to find his own way up, using whatever natural hand and footholds he found. Rhys explained you could climb the same cliff and have a different experience each time based on where you began your ascent.
“Isn’t that dangerous?” Emerson had asked Rhys at the time.
“You’re thinking of free soloing, the kind of climb you hear about on the news when people fall from the side of a mountain because they didn’t use any equipment or protection. I’m not that adventurous—or dumb,” he’d scoffed. “Though I get why it would feel exhilarating.”
He zeroed back in on Martin, hoping that Rhys had still taken some precautions. His climbing partner too.
“Is Jill—?” Emerson looked around, hoping she wasn’t in a hospital room too.
“She’s fine,” he replied. “A bit shaken. She was able to get out of the way of the debris. Rocks came cascading from the summit—we suspect they might’ve been kicked up by some animal—and one hit Rhys square on the head.”
Emerson’s stomach bottomed out. “Was he wearing a helmet?”