I wanted … to die.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Evelyn
He didn’t cheat on me.
I knew it in my heart. It still hurt.
Everything hurt.
“Hello, dear. How was your day?” Sue looked up from the sofa where Anya sat on her lap holding a book.
Franz zoomed past me dropping his coat and backpack on the floor. We encountered an accident after school pick-up, and he nearly wet his pants holding it for the extra twenty-minute detour.
My day was terrible. “Good. How was your day?” I frowned at Mrs. Humphrey, begging for my attention. It wasn’t her fault that Adrianne forced her into our family. Still, I wondered if I would forever look at that dog and think about the woman who tried to break up my marriage. I gave Mrs. Humphrey a few strokes on her head before turning my attention to Anya hopping off the sofa and barreling toward me.
“Lazy.” Sue laughed. “We had the best intentions, but she quickly fell asleep after lunch. I wonder if she’s running a low fever.”
I kissed Anya’s forehead. “You do feel a little warm, baby.”
“Bye, Franz,” Sue yelled as she slipped on her jacket and opened the front door.
“Bye!” Franz returned from the bathroom.
“Thanks, Sue.”
“Of course.” She closed the door behind her as I carried Anya to my room to take her temperature. Just as I set her on the bed, my phone rang. I jogged back out to the kitchen to retrieve it from my purse. “Hey, Noah.”
“Hi, Evelyn. Don’t panic, but I’m on my way to the hospital with Ronin.”
I stumbled backward a few steps as a familiar fear gripped my lungs. “What happened? Did he save someone? Did he get injured?”
“No. Actually, we were having a meeting and he started clawing at his throat like he was choking, but we weren’t eating or drinking anything. His coloring was fine. No obstructed airway, but he kept gasping and whispering that he couldn’t breathe. Before the ambulance arrived, he gasped a full breath and fell to the floor, seeming better but really weak. We don’t know what caused it, but they’ll run all the tests and hopefully figure it out. He doesn’t have any allergies listed on his medical form. Do you know of any?”
“Um, no.” I grabbed my purse, but Franz was still in the bathroom, and Anya was still on the bed, only she’d lain on my pillow, a sure sign she wasn’t feeling well.
“I already messaged Tami. She’s on her way to your house to watch the kids. I’ll see you in a bit. But he’s better. He’ll be fine.”
“O-okay,” I mumbled while fishing through things in my bathroom to find the thermometer. “Thanks. Tell him …” What? I didn’t even know, so I dropped my phone before officially ending the call.
“I want a snack,” Franz declared, emerging from the bathroom as I took Anya’s temperature. “Franz, Tami’s coming over to watch you and Anya for a while. She’ll be here soon and get you a snack. You can have your hour of screen time now if you want it.”
“Okay.” Man, that kid knew when to go easy on me, even if he could be so stubborn at other times.
“One hundred and one, baby. Do you feel okay?” I kissed her forehead again.
Anya nodded, but it didn’t match her lethargy.
Within minutes, Tami arrived, reassuring me that Ronin would be fine and my kids were in good hands. I hated leaving my sick child, but something wasn’t right with Ronin, and that seemed more serious than a fever. As I pulled onto the main road, I called Lila. The last time Ronin had this happen to him, he thought it was Lila. It wasn’t. But I still had to know for sure that this wasn’t him feeling something awful happen to her.
“Why aren’t you picking up?” I murmured to myself as it went to voicemail. After redialing two more times and two more times it going to voicemail, I started to really worry. Once I parked the car at the hospital, I brought up Graham’s number, but before I could press the call button, Lila texted me.
Lila: Sorry, I can’t talk. Graham took me to the ballet and it’s past intermission. He’s the best! What’s up?
In the midst of my chaos, the last thing I wanted to do was give Graham Porter credit for anything good. But the relief of knowing Lila was not only okay, but at the ballet—something she loved—lifted a tiny bit of weight from my suffocating chest.
Evelyn: Nothing important. Have fun.
Until I knew more about Ronin’s situation, I didn’t need to alarm anyone else.
“Hey.” Noah pulled me into his arms when I reached the waiting room at the ER. “They’re running some tests. He said his neck is really tender and his voice is hoarse. But their initial exam didn’t show anything. It’s … weird.”