It couldn't be good.
"It's the hospital," she whispered, voice suddenly brittle. "My mom."
Ivy leaned forward instantly, her attention fully on Elena now.
Elena's hands trembled as she called back, her voice cracking on the edges. Ivy's hand found Elena's free hand instantly, squeezing with silent support.
I wanted to offer my own support, but decided against it with Grayson before me. She may not want it from me right now.
In the quiet of the waiting area, I could hear the nurse's voice through the phone. My jaw clenched involuntarily as I listened.
"She's stable now," the nurse was saying, "but earlier she was confused, sobbing. We think it was a reaction to the new meds."
"I'm coming right now." Elena's voice climbed as she stood up with Ivy. "Tell her I'm on my way." She was already heading toward the elevator, her voice tinged with fear I recognized. The fear of losing someone you couldn't save.
Ivy followed right behind her, silent but radiating fierce protectiveness.
They were both strong women who had been through hell in the last twenty-four hours.
I stood and turned to Grayson, decision already made. "I need a car."
He didn't hesitate, just tossed me his keys with a quick nod. "Take whatever you need."
The drive to Shenton was filled with heavy silence. Elena stared out the passenger window, her profile etched with tension, like she was physically holding herself together through sheer force of will. Every few minutes, Ivy would glance at her from the back seat, but seemed to understand that words wouldn't help.
I had the radio playing, but it was down low, giving Elena room to speak if she needed.
I kept my eyes mostly on the road, but found myself glancing at Elena. The afternoon sun caught the moisture in her eyes that she refused to let fall. My hands tightened on the wheel.
"Hey, I've been meaning to ask. The potted plant with the little fairy house with the two small clay pieces, does it symbolize anything? The butterfly and a frog?" I broke the silence, wanting to distract them both from the worry shrouding the car.
"We got the fairy house at a Celtic festival I dragged Elena to," Ivy spoke up as Elena turned my way.
"The butterfly and frog we got each other one year when we challenged one another to buy something that made us think of the other," Elena shared as she cast a small smile back at Ivy.
"I got Elena the frog, because she loves the rain and frogs. We used to dance in it as teenagers, and Elena always wanted a pet frog," Ivy said with a soft chuckle.
"Yeah, well, I got the butterfly because it started off from something inconspicuous and then evolved into something beautiful and vibrant, spreading its wings."
"Oh, I thought it was because of their short lifespans," Ivy joked, but then both their smiles faltered.
"Tell me more about you both. The things you've done. What's the wildest story you have?" I tried to keep them from sinking further into their own pits.
"Oh, Ivy has plenty of those," Elena said, her smile returning once more, albeit a little forced.
"Where to start. There was that guy who I dated, found out he'd gotten out of prison for shanking a man who hit on his last girlfriend."
"Which you thought was romantic, even though I said it was a major red flag," Elena groaned.
"Hey, ride or die is always nice, don't dis," Ivy gasped. "But he ended up knocking that ex back up. I left him, but he kept coming to my work, begging me to take him back, that his kid would need a good step-mom. I told him to beat it, and then when he trash-talked me to my own boss, I decided to spend some well-earned cash on a glitter bomb delivery. Sent him a nice little note explaining it could be worse and to back off."
"You sent a glitter bomb to a guy who shanked someone?" I arched a brow at her.
"Okay, not my finest or smartest moment. But he did stop after that," Ivy said with a shrug.
"Because he stabbed someone else and went back to prison," Elena stated.
"Whatever, he stopped being a problem."
