“Ha ha ha. Yes, I know where it’s parked. I plan to Uber over later to pick it up.”
“Well, then, I’m right on time.” He spreads those delicious arms as though he has the world figured out. He’s wearing shorts again—no surprise there—and a T-shirt with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Super casual today.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. There’s really no reason for me to decline. But why is he offering? We’re more than twenty minutes in the suburbs so it’s not like he was just passing this way and decided to help a sister out. He has an ulterior motive, and I’m not sure I want to discover what it is. Nothing good can come from a Knox Everheart concealed incentive. When I open my eyes, he’s patiently waiting, but his grin has faltered. “Okay, sure. I need to check in with my mother first though.”
I trudge through the kitchen to Mama’s office, the door still shut. My knocks are met with silence. I know she’s mad, but I promised Daddy to look after her tonight so we need to make up. “Mama, can I come in?”
Still no response so I try the door which is locked.
Knox comes up behind me. “Is something wrong?”
“No.” I sag against the door. “Yes. She’s upset with me because I replaced her in the competition. She hasn’t been well, and I thought it would be too much strain.”
I renew my knocking and jiggling of the door. “I know you’re upset, but let me know you’re okay in there.” A panicked electricity travels up my spine. She’s been mad before, but never childish.
Hannah also joins our little party at the door. “What’s going on?”
“Mama’s not answering. You try.”
She raps on the door. “Ms. Lillie. Everything okay?” No response.
Knox frowns and narrows his eyes. “We need to get in there.”
Tears spring in my eyes and I kick the door. “Mama, please.”
“Move, Rowan. And call 911.” Knox pushes me out of the way, but I’m frozen in place.
Hannah fumbles with her phone and connects with the emergency line.
Knox shoves his shoulder against the door, but it doesn’t budge. He backs up and charges the door. It splinters open and he kicks it the rest of the way.
I finally loosen my limbs and speed past him into the room. “Mama!”
She’s collapsed on the floor by her desk, gasping for air.
I fall down by her side, pulling at her arms, feeling her head, calling her name.
Knox leans down next to me and asks Mama, “Are you okay?”
She doesn’t respond so he taps her on the shoulder. When she doesn’t acknowledge him, he bends down to her mouth and listens, then checks her pulse. He starts compressions on her chest, and the realization of what’s happening hits.
I cry harder and back against the wall, paralyzed with fear. “Mama! Mama, please.”
Time passes—it could be five seconds, five minutes, or five hours for all I know. The EMTs barrel in and take over. One stands over me and starts asking me questions. I can’t hear her through the rushing in my ears.
Knox is there with me, pulling me into his chest, rubbing my back. “She’s okay, Rowan. They need to take her to the hospital though.”
I rush to where they’ve put her on a stretcher. “Mama.”
Her eyes are open and she’s responsive, but she’s weak and can only blink at me.
“They need some information from you.” Knox again, leading me by the elbow over to the EMT waiting with a tablet.
I’m buoyed by Mama looking at me from the stretcher. I stiffen my back and take some deep breaths, then answer the woman’s questions as they wheel Mama out of the office. When we finish, I look around. Her chair is turned on its side and there are electrode stickers littering the floor but otherwise nothing else seems disturbed. I look in the desk and retrieve her purse in case they need identification or something else at the hospital.
Hannah waits at the door, tears staining her face, anxious eyes following me.
I ask, “Where’s Wyatt?”
She rubs her arms and takes a breath. “He left right after filming. I haven’t been able to reach him.”
“Keep trying.” I pass her at the door and head for the parking lot through the back porch. When I can’t find my car, I scream in frustration.
Knox grabs me from behind and holds me against his chest.
I crumple against him, still standing only because he’s holding me up.
“I’ll drive you.”
He pulls me along to his car and settles me in the passenger seat, then speeds all the way.
When we get to the hospital, he lets me out at the emergency room door and I hurry to the desk asking for Mama. They buzz me through and point me to her room.
She’s hooked up to an EKG, and her mouth and nose are covered with an oxygen mask. I steal myself but seeing her like this breaks my resolve. I stand back in the hallway until I can get myself together and be strong for my mother.
*
Knox and I sit in identical armless plastic chairs, hard and unyielding. I take whatever comfort he offers as we watch Mama. They’ve taken her for tests, drawn blood, and given her medication, and she’s been completely cooperative, a fearful glint in her eyes. She’s finally resting while we wait for a room to be made available for her upstairs, the steady beeping from the monitor an odd comfort.
I’d been running on adrenaline, but now that she’s stable, I’m a tired mess. I lean against Knox, and he puts an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer into his chest. “Thank you for saving my mother.”
He squeezes my shoulder, and I think plants a kiss in my hair. I’m so tired, I could have completely imagined it. “I’m just glad I could help. I’m happy it was only a minor attack. Is
