Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“Can I go with him?” she asked as she walked briskly next to Grayson, holding his hand.
“Aren’t you his wife?”
The question gave her pause. Reid wanted to be. Ever since they’d met. She’d fallen head over heels for him. The one night they’d spent together after their holiday party had only made her feelings for Grayson worse. She’d thought they’d start the new year off as a couple; instead they were still friends. Grayson kept Reid at arm’s length when it came to romance and treated her like the best friend he couldn’t live without.
Reid couldn’t or wouldn’t live without him, either, and had resigned herself to thinking and feeling that he was worth it in some roundabout way. Besides, relationships were messy. Especially with your best friend. At least that’s what she told herself.
If lying meant she could stay with him, then so be it. She nodded quickly.
The ambulance ride was undoubtedly the longest, loudest, bumpiest, and scariest ride of her life. Reid held on to Grayson’s hand and spoke to him, letting him know everything would be okay, even though she was certain her expression didn’t match her words. She didn’t want to think about how she’d thought he’d been faking what the medic called a “myocardial infarction” when he spoke into his radio. She knew that meant “heart attack,” but Grayson was young and fit. He worked out all the time; only people with poor health had heart attacks. Not men like him. Not someone in his midthirties with his entire life ahead of him.
“We’re almost there,” she told him, even though she had no idea where they were going. There were multiple hospitals in the DC region, and she hadn’t a clue which one they were closest to. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Grayson blinked. He lay with his shirt cut up the middle. It was one of his favorite ones, and he was going to be pissed when he found out it was now a tattered rag. Those sticky electrode patches were stuck to his chest and arms, with wires leading to a machine, and he wore an oxygen mask.
Reid smiled and gripped his hand tighter as she looked into his eyes. Eyes that lacked life and vibrancy. What is wrong with him?
“Everything’s going to be okay,” she said again, more for herself than him. Her words were just that, words. She had no doubt that fear filled Grayson. She had to be the strong one, the one he looked to for comfort. Once she was alone, she’d have her breakdown. Until then, she’d smile and run her free hand through his hair.
“When we get to the hospital, I’m going to call your mom. I’m sure by the time she gets there, you’ll be ready to go home.” Even as she spoke the words, she didn’t believe them. “I bet she’ll take you out for ice cream, because at the end of the day, you’re still her baby boy.”
Reid loved Sydney and thought of her as a mother. Having lost her own mother before she’d turned three, she didn’t know what it was like to have one. Her father, Luther, had never remarried and very rarely dated. She recalled one time her dad had dated a woman for about a year, but then one day she was gone. Reid didn’t even remember her name.
“We’re here, ma’am,” the medic said.
“Did you hear that? The doctors are going to take care of you, and then we’ll be on our way.”
The back doors of the ambulance opened, and within a flash, Grayson was out of the back and the medics were running him through the door. Reid could barely keep up. She tried to follow him through the double doors, but a nurse with a pinched face and blue scrubs stopped her.
“That’s my friend,” Reid said, looking over the nurse’s shoulder toward the double doors, which read EMERGENCY ROOM. “I need to be with him.”
The woman placed her hand on Reid’s back and guided her toward the waiting area. Reid stumbled, unable to take her eyes off the doors. “I understand your concern, but it’s best to let the doctors work on him. Wait here, and someone will be out to speak with you when they know something.”
“But—” Reid sat and continued to stare at the space where, around the corner, the doors to the ER would have been.
“Is there someone we can call for you?”
Reid shook her head. “Um . . . no, but I’ll call his mom.”
The nurse nodded and left Reid sitting there. She glanced around at the others, each there for some reason or another. Some were probably sick and waiting to be seen, while others waited for news of their loved ones.
She stood and stepped into the hall, away from people, and dialed Sydney’s number. Her call went to voicemail. She hung up and dialed again.