With a grateful smile, I climb out of the car and walk into the emergency room. After asking the nurse at the front desk, I find the elevators and go up to the third floor. As soon as I step off the elevator, Law straightens up from where he was leaning against the wall.
“Where is he?”
Law holds out his arm for me to precede him and together we walk down the hall to room 307. Once we enter, I notice the bed is empty. My mom looks up and then lets out a soft cry.
“Anya! You’re here.”
I walk over and hug her. She’s sitting so it’s an awkward hug but I immediately feel better.
“What happened? Is Pop okay?”
She sniffs. “He’s okay. They just took him for more tests since he was confused when they brought him in. He hurt his arm but it’s not broken.”
All the emotion that’s been building since I first saw the flood of messages on my phone finally breaks. I burst into tears.
Law grabs my hand and then my face is pressed against his chest. He rubs his hand up and down my back while I sob. Finally, I lift my head.
“Sorry. I just saw all those messages and didn’t know what to think.”
Mom puts a hand to her chest. “I only left for ten minutes to take a shower. Then I came out and the front door was open.” She stops, shaking her head at the memory. “Anyway, I went looking for him. I didn’t think to check the stairs at first. We never use the stairs.”
“You couldn’t have known he would leave the apartment, Mom. He’s never done that before.”
She nods but I can see that she still feels guilty.
“Well, I think I’m going to get some coffee. They said the tests would take at least an hour.”
Law steps forward. “I can get that for you, Marta.”
“No. I need the distraction. You two stay here and talk.” She smiles slightly as she picks up her purse. If she’s pushing us together it means she’s feeling better.
After she leaves, I look over at Law. He’s been so quiet I almost forgot he was still here.
Wait, why is he here?
“How did you end up here with my mom?”
He shrugs. “She had my phone number from the flowers I sent. She called me when she couldn’t reach you.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” I close my eyes, wishing I could undo my decision to turn my phone off earlier. But just like I told my mom, there’s no way I could have foreseen something like this happening. So there’s no point stressing about it now.
“Thank you for leaving that message. It got my attention when I turned my phone back on. My mom had left so many it would have taken me longer to figure out what was going on and where I needed to be.”
“Of course. Don’t even mention it.”
“You don’t have to stay. I’m sure you have other things you need to be doing. Although I appreciate you staying with my mom so she wasn’t alone.”
“She needed someone here. So I’m here. And I’m not leaving until I know you’re both okay.”
My mom comes back with her coffee a few minutes later. Law gets a bottled water from the vending machine for me and checks some emails while we wait for my father to come back. An hour later, a doctor enters the room. He glances at us uncertainly before my mother tells him we’re family.
The look on his face immediately scares me. I look over at Law. He takes my hand and squeezes it.
While the doctor discusses the test results, I try to listen but none of it makes much sense to me. Luckily Law is paying close attention and asks several questions. I’m grateful that he’s here and I can tell by the worshipful expression on my mom’s face, that she is, too.
He’s such a good man.
Just not my man. Not any longer.