“I love the smile on your face when you talk about him,” she said.
He chuckled. “He’s a teenager and he alternates between being a big goofball and trying to be the adult he isn’t ready to be.” He shook his head, laughing. “But back to Alyssa’s story, they couldn’t afford daycare if she went back for her nursing degree so … she made a sacrifice but she’s happy now.”
“That’s… Well, I don’t know what to say really. I’m sorry she missed out on the career she wanted but glad she has a family she loves.”
“Exactly how I feel. Except I hate my father for not being there for her when she needed her parents the most. Hell, I hated him anyway,” he said, feeling his hands curl into fists and immediately releasing the tension before Scarlett could notice.
“I wish you’d had it better growing up,” she murmured, her soft hand cupping his cheek. “You deserved better. You and your sister, both. You already know my childhood story.” At the memory, she stiffened, the reminder of where they were headed suddenly front and center once more.
Luckily there hadn’t been much traffic and the car pulled up in front of the emergency room, and they exited the vehicle. He let her take the lead, his hand on her back so she knew she wasn’t dealing with things alone.
Scarlett gave her mother’s name at the desk and a woman directed them around the corner, down a long hall, to the waiting room.
As soon as they walked through the doors, Scarlett called out, “Dad!” and ran into her father’s arms.
Tanner took a slow walk over, giving them a few seconds together before he joined them.
She stepped back, her eyes red as she met his gaze. “Dad, this is Tanner Grayson. He brought me here. Tanner, this is my father, Mack.”
Tanner shook the man’s hand. One look and he saw the father-daughter resemblance, the sandy-blond hair and the green eyes.
“They have her in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber,” Mack said, wringing his hands. “Apparently oxygen is the treatment for this kind of thing but the basic inhalation isn’t working. This is one of the few hospitals that has the chamber, and when she wouldn’t come around with oxygen the regular way, they resorted to using it.”
Scarlett nodded, and though Tanner wanted to haul her into his arms, he couldn’t make a scene.
“What do the doctors know?” she asked.
Mack ran a hand through his already wild hair. “Not much. At least not yet. It’s my fault. I told Colleen she could leave. I rushed right home. I was at a call nearby and I went right home. She couldn’t have been in that car with the engine running for more than five minutes.”
“That’s all it takes,” Scarlett said, grabbing her father’s shaking hands. “It’s not your fault. It’s a symptom of her depression. You had to let Colleen go to her daughter.” She drew a deep breath. “When will we know something?”
“The doctor said he’d update me periodically.”
“Can I get you coffee? Food? Something to drink?” Tanner offered them both.
They shook their heads in unison.
The three of them sat down and time ticked by slowly. Occasionally one would get up, pace, sit down again. Then someone else would begin. Tanner called the guys and explained why he wouldn’t be at the club tonight, despite Scarlett insisting he should go. He wasn’t leaving her alone.
He knew what it was like to worry about a loved one. Maybe not a parent but Levi. He’d sat in the ER after they’d carried him, unconscious, out of that fucking frat house, walking until a campus van picked them up on the road. He’d been DOA but none of them knew for sure. They’d waited and waited in a room just like this one for news. So he wasn’t leaving her.
An hour and a half after they’d arrived, a man in a white coat walked into the room. “Davis? The Davis family?”
Scarlett and her father jumped out of their seats.
“She’s awake,” he said and Tanner flew out of his seat, getting his arms around Scarlett before her knees buckled. She felt so fragile in his arms.
“Thank God,” she said, her voice cracking.
“When can we see her?” Mack asked.
“I’d like to talk to you first.”
Scarlett leaned into him. “Go on,” she said to the doctor.
The balding man gave her a nod. “We’re going to keep her overnight. Run some tests, make sure there’s no damage that we can assess right away. But I’ve spoken with Mrs. Davis’s psychiatrist and we are in agreement that she’s a danger to herself, and with her years of treatment-resistant depression, we believe she belongs in a residential psychiatric facility at this time.”
“I tried so hard at home but it’s become so difficult. Beyond what I can do. I–” Mack’s voice shook with emotion.