Office Grump An Enemies to Lovers Romance - Nicole Snow Page 0,109
up.
His moods can be volatile and I wonder what today will bring. He seemed a bit lighter yesterday, but I wonder if it was looking forward to a shiny new year.
Jordan walks out of the door ahead of us.
“I told you. He’s going to kill me,” Mag whispers in my ear.
“You’re very patient with him,” I say encouragingly. “You guys will be fine. It’s just going to take time. Big changes.”
I’m not wrong about the last part. All three people in this penthouse have had their worlds flipped upside down over the past week.
How long can this go on?
How long until some new disaster sends us plummeting into the abyss?
At the hospital, a doctor comes out of Marissa’s room just as we get to the entrance.
He stops and looks at Mag.
“You must be Mr. Heron.” He holds his hand out.
Mag shakes it with a fierce glow in his eyes. “Yes, and you’re Doctor Bahkta? From Johns Hopkins?”
“Yes.” His gaze drops from Mag to Jordan before returning to Mag. “Do you want to talk for a minute, alone?”
Magnus nods. “Of course.”
“No,” Jordan says, tensing.
We all look at him for a beat.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“I’m her son. Not him.” He looks at the doctor. “You’re not telling him anything you can’t tell me. He shouldn’t be making decisions for my mom.”
“Jordan—” Mag starts.
“Mag?” I say quietly, laying a hand on his shoulder.
He looks at me, his harsh eyes softening.
“He’s fourteen,” I say, remembering other conversations.
“Exactly. Too young,” he growls.
“He deserves to know,” I hiss back.
Magnus goes quiet, thoughts leaping back and forth in his eyes.
“I’m sure you’re a wonderful son,” Dr. Bhakta says. “However, as a minor, I’m not allowed to provide you with information unless I have—”
“It’s okay,” Mag cuts in. “He’s old enough to hear the truth. Tell us all.”
“You’re sure?” The doctor raises his bushy eyebrows.
Mag nods.
“Well, the good news is she has a lot of healthy brain activity. Odds of survival are overwhelmingly in her favor...” His voice trails off.
“But?” Magnus snaps.
“Sir, with a coma like this, there’s no way to pinpoint when she’ll wake up. Fortunately, I don’t think it’s a question of if. I just don’t believe it’s going to be soon. We’re giving her anti-inflammatories to bring down the swelling. We could be looking at a week or two—” Dr. Bhakta stops.
Jordan lets out an audible sigh.
“You okay, big guy?” I tussle his hair with my hand.
He smiles. “Yeah, weeks aren’t so bad.”
“I wasn’t done,” Dr. Bhakta says reluctantly. “It could be weeks, or months.” His eyes move away from Jordan and he looks at Mag. “Or years, I’m afraid.”
God. I think I can hear poor Jordan’s heart smashing in his chest like fallen glass.
We sit at the hospital for hours. Jordan never says anything to his unresponsive mom, but he never wants to leave the room either.
He won’t go to the cafeteria to eat, and when I offer to bring food up for him, he refuses.
If his bleeding weren’t totally invisible, I’m sure it would look like a crime scene.
“Jordan, we’re going to have to go soon,” I say, lowering my voice.
He nods like his head weighs a ton.
“If we went out for dinner, what’s a place you’d like?” Magnus asks, stepping up next to us.
“Hell if I know.” Jordan shrugs and sighs.
“I know you like pizza.” I smile at Mag. “I could go for a nice warm pizza tonight.”
“Where at?” Mag asks. “I know a place downtown.”
“Oh, no.” I shake my head. “I’m picking the place. We’re not doing fancy pizza.”
He snorts. “How can pizza be fancy?”
“Even his pizza’s fancy?” Jordan asks. “Jesus.”
Mag lifts an eyebrow. “Thanks, Brina.”
“Sorry,” I say. “I just meant you probably do something crazy like put imported pineapples on it.”
“Gross!” Jordan mutters.
Mag’s eyes dart around helplessly as he says, “Please, I’m a civilized man. I do not put fruit on my pizza.”
I fight back a smile.
“How ’bout Pizza Shack? The reviews are great and it’s tasty without being weird and experimental, but it’s a little bit of a drive.”
“Armstrong doesn’t mind,” Mag tells us.
The Pizza Shack is closer to my parents’ house than downtown, and the drive takes over half an hour. Mag makes a few awkward attempts to talk to Jordan on the way, but he doesn’t get more than one-word grunts back.
When he gives up at last, he places his hand over mine in the dark car.
I enjoy his touch, and my heart aches for him as hard as my body does.