The hitching slowed but didn’t stop. Ty was going to have to try harder.
“Come on, Theo.” Ty squeezed his hand. “I need you to help me out, okay? I know it’s hard right now, but breathe in with me. We’re going to breathe in for a count of three.” Four would be better, but he didn’t think Theo could make it to four right now, and setting him up for failure could make things worse. “Here we go. One, two, three. Hold it for a second. Now when I stop squeezing your hand, you’re going to breathe out.”
By the time the paramedics arrived, Ty had talked Theo down from his panic. He was still obviously upset, and he struggled when they put him on the gurney to load into the ambulance, pulling at the oxygen mask over his face with one hand and reaching for Ty with the other.
“Leave the mask on, buddy. Don’t worry, I’m coming too.”
The paramedic in charge—Brent; Ty recognized him from the Mrs. Sanford fiasco—sized him up. “This your kid, Morris?”
“Uh, no, but close enough.” Ty gestured back toward the office. “Peggy can get you the paperwork to show I’m allowed to pick him up, if you need it.” He didn’t know the local policy on nonrelatives riding along with minors, or whether he could technically actin loco parentissince he was only an emergency supply teacher.
Theo clenched his hand tighter into the fabric of Ty’s shirt.
“Think Theo here made the decision for me. Let’s load up.”
It was strange to ride in the ambulance as a passenger and let others do the work taking care of Theo. All Ty had to do was talk to him and try to keep him calm, which was more difficult than he expected. Having other professionals present gave Ty’s brain the space to freak out.
By the time they arrived at the hospital, Ollie still hadn’t answered Ty’s texts. Maybe he was on the phone with Peggy? Ty could only hope. He trailed along behind the gurney into the ER, but a nurse stopped him before he could follow Theo behind the curtain.
“I’m sorry,” the man said firmly, “but if you’re not family, I can’t allow you back there right now.”
Shit. Ty had expected this. “I understand, but—”
“Mr. Morris here is Theo’s teacher,” Brent put in.
Ty fished his school ID out of his wallet and handed it over along with his driver’s license. “We also live together. His father’s my… roommate.” Talk about an inadequate word, but hedging over the right one wouldn’t help him. “I know you can’t tell me anything, and I can’t make medical decisions, I just—he’s a kid, and he’s scared, and I promised I wouldn’t leave him alone.”
The nurse glanced from Ty’s IDs to Brent and back before returning the cards. “He’s here for observation after an allergic reaction, yes?”
Ty’s paramedic mode activated. “Yes. The school administered 25 milligrams of diphenhydramine and two doses of albuterol.” He wasn’t sure of the dosage on that, so he fished the inhaler out of his pocket and handed it over. “And 0.15 milligrams of epi”—he checked his watch—“seventeen minutes ago.”
The nurse blinked at him, then at Brent.
“I’m also a paramedic,” Ty added, because yeah, he probably should’ve let Brent do his job.
“Tell you what,” the nurse said. “It’s not like this ER is particularly private. So why don’t you stand on this side of the curtain where Theo can hear you while we have a doctor check him out, and then when we move him for observation you can sit with him until his guardian arrives.”
Ty’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Thank you.”
The nurse smiled. “Patient care doesn’t end with physical health. You know that.” And then he disappeared behind the curtain.
Ty made sure Theo knew he was right there—“I’m just going to make some phone calls, buddy. You’ll hear my voice, all right?”—and then started scrolling through his list.
First he left Ollie a voicemail. Peggy had probably done that already, but Ty had more information now, and he wanted to cut any possible panic off at the knees.
Then he called the school.
“Hey, Ty. How’s our patient?”
“He’s okay. The doctor’s looking him over now, and then they’ll probably move him to observation for a couple hours. I’m guessing no luck with Ollie?”
“No.” She sighed. “And either their dispatch office is on the world’s longest lunch break, or they just never answer the phone.”
Shit. “Okay. Hey, uh, hypothetically, since I’m a teacher, would you be able to give me Cassie Kent’s number? For reasons?”
“Absolutely not,” Peggy said cheerfully as Ty’s phone pinged in his ear. “Good luck with that.”
“Thanks, Peggy.”
