“We’ll know more after the scan,” the doctor continues. “I don’t want to alarm you if there’s nothing to be alarmed about.”
Yeah, that sounds reassuring. I bite back the retort, not wanting to worry my dad,
not wanting to look worried for his sake. I have plenty of time to freak out on my own, once they take him away. For now, I square my shoulders and paste a smile on my face.
“It’s all standard procedure, Dad. Don’t worry.”
He protests while the nurse and I help him out of bed. He’s not steady on his feet, which is why she puts him in a wheelchair, and I swear to God, the sight of him in it breaks my heart. He looks so scared and defeated, sitting in the wheelchair in that huge hospital gown. An irrational fear grips me, and all I can think about when they wheel him away is my mom.
Please, please, please, Momma, don’t take Daddy to you just yet.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Caroline
Filled with too much energy to sit, I pace up and down the corridor, worry eating at me. Gathering my wits, I call the principal to let him know I won’t make it today. To be on the safe side, I take off tomorrow too, so I can dote on Dad. He’s very understanding. The man will have a batch of his favorite donuts on his desk on my first day back. What I really want to do is call Niall, but I’ll wait until they return with Dad so I can give him all the details.
God, how I wish Niall was here. I need to be next to someone who loves Dad just as much as I do. I can’t get the image of him in that wheelchair out of my mind. But I have to. Panicking would do no one any good. He’ll be back any minute now, and I can’t be in the midst of a panic attack when he does.
Fifteen minutes later, the nurse is back with Dad, a doctor on their heels.
“There are no signs of bleeding on the brain,” the doctor informs me. “But we still want to keep him under observation for a few hours, because he lost consciousness during the fall.”
Dad falls asleep almost as soon as they bring him back, so I head back to the corridor and call Niall. He doesn’t pick up, but after I text him Need to talk to you as soon as possible, he calls me right back. I tell him everything, starting with the article about Daniel and ending with Dad’s trip to the hospital.
“Jesus, how is he feeling?” Niall asks. “Is he coherent?”
“Yeah, just tired.”
“Can I talk to him?”
“He’s sleeping right now. He looks so small and vulnerable in the hospital gown, Niall.”
“Everyone does,” he says gently. “I’m going to try to talk to a doctor I know there. Maybe they can send me the scans over, so I can look at them too.”
“You—you think they might have missed something?”
“No, but it never hurts to have a second opinion. And well, I’ll feel more at ease if I look at them myself.”
I understand the sentiment perfectly. If I could read CT scans, I’d want to see them too.
“How are you feeling?” he continues.
“Scared... guilty.”
There is a short pause, and Niall says, “You shouldn’t have talked to the reporter.”
I swallow hard. “He was there, spewing nonsense about Daniel. Trust me, if you’d been there, you wouldn’t have been able to keep your mouth shut either.”
“Is there any truth in the article about Daniel?”
“No,” I say without hesitation. “Look, this will all blow over soon, and Dad is all right. No harm done.”
“What if it happens again? Daniel’s company is a revolving door for celebrities. Only a matter of time before he gets caught in the crossfire again.”
I press my lips together. I have no comeback because it’s something I fear too.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” I say firmly.