It felt like an eternity until the woman reappeared, but it might’ve only been minutes. Her face was a blank mask. “Are you family?”
“Yes,” I croaked. The Hartleys were more family to me than anyone else.
“Doctors are working on her now.”
“Grae,” I told the woman. “Her name is Grae.”
“They’re working on Grae now. Her heart stopped, but they were able to get it beating again. We’re stabilizing her, and then we’ll run tests to figure out what’s going on.”
Her heart. The thing that kept Gigi alive. Breathing.
Everything hurt. It was the kind of agony I never wanted to experience again.
The nurse cleared her throat. “We had to take this off Grae. Maybe you could keep it safe?”
She took my hand and placed a necklace in it. I stared down at the piece of jewelry. The present I’d given Grae on her thirteenth birthday. The sterling silver disc had a compass imprinted on it.
Because that was always what she’d been for me. The one person who could help me find my way. And now, I might lose her.
“Shit, Caden. Breathe. You’re going to pass out.”
But I couldn’t. Couldn’t get my lungs to obey. The vise was too tight.
“Follow me. Shallow at first.”
I could just make out Nash through the haze. He raised and lowered his hand in tiny movements. I tried to track them and get my body to follow.
There was nothing at first but a burning fire in my lungs. Then the smallest hint of reprieve came—a brief burst of oxygen.
“That’s it. Nice and easy.”
My breaths slowly deepened until the black spots abated. I collapsed onto the bench behind me, my chest still aching.
Nash stared down at me.
I didn’t say anything, couldn’t. I couldn’t even force myself to look at him.
“Caden…”
“It’s nothing.”
He gripped my shoulder, squeezing. “That wasn’t fucking nothing. That was you having a panic attack and almost passing out.”
I shoved to my feet, unwinding the wraps from my hands. “I’ve just been under a lot of stress, and last night didn’t help.”
“You need to talk to someone. If it’s not me, then maybe a therapist.”
My gut tightened. “I don’t need to see a shrink.”
“Then talk to Grae.”
I stilled, the wraps wadded up in my hands. She’d always been my person. The one whose feet I laid my burdens at. The one who understood me best. Maybe that was why my head was so screwed up now. Because I didn’t let myself fully have her anymore. “I’ll think about it.”
A muscle in Nash’s jaw ticked. “Don’t hurt her.”
I tossed the wraps into the hamper.
“If you can’t get your head on straight, if you’re not willing to try, then you need to let her go.”
