Chapter Thirty-Eight Callum #3
My jaw locks, muscles tightening, and I swear my hands curl into fists on instinct. For a brief, sharp second, I imagine punching him hard enough to shatter every fucking tooth in his mouth. Maybe then he'd feel a fraction of the pain he'd put my Sophie through.
And as much as I want to toss his ass out of this hospital, snarling that Sophie's not going to want to see him, I can't.
I fucking can't because I realize that I am probably beholden to him regarding Sophie right now.
"Her fever spiked. They're stabilizing her now.
That's all we know," I tell him, practically grinding it out between clenched teeth.
I feel the fight leave my body, and I brush past him back to my chair, retaking my seat.
Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on my knees and bury my head in my hands, trying to ground myself while the helplessness ebbs and surges in me.
"Did you..." Paul says, his voice coming closer to me. I see out of the corner of my eye that he sits across from me, his movements tentative like I'm a temperamental bear. Hell, right now, I am. "Did you call her sister?"
"Yes."
"Okay... good." He exhales shakily. "I, uh... I didn't want to have to do that. Tess is probably not a big fan of me right now," he huffs out, sarcasm laced with self-loathing. "Wouldn't be surprised if she tries to kill me when she gets here."
"Sounds like a smart woman," Tonya mutters, plopping into the chair on my left side.
Atticus and Jane take their seats across from us, Atticus taking the chair next to Paul and purposefully making sure his broad shoulder jostles the man.
He glares at the blonde for a quick second before wrapping his other arm around Jane, who folds herself into Atticus's embrace.
My mom sits down next to me and lays a soothing hand on my shoulder.
We sit in awkward silence for a couple of minutes before I lean closer to Tonya, keeping my voice low. "Do you think she kept him as her emergency contact on purpose?"
Tonya scoffs, rolling her head toward me with a look that screams don't be stupid. "You think Sophie is the type to talk out of both sides of her mouth? Promising you things while leaving the door open for him?"
Shame hits me like a punch to the gut at my doubt.
No, I don't think that.
I think Sophie is good, true, and honest, and I trust her. Completely. She loves me. I know she loves me. She doesn't just tell me; she shows me every single day we're together.
"No, Sophie is..." I trail off because there isn't a word big enough to hold what Sophie means to me.
Love is close enough, but even that pales in comparison to what I feel.
It's not just a feeling, and it can't be condensed into simple words—it's some kind of action and language only she and I understand.
It's in the way she knows when I'm feeling stressed and lays a soft hand on the back of my neck, squeezing and grounding me.
It's the way she can make me laugh harder than anyone ever has just by being her silly little self.
It's the way she will cry with me at the end of The Princess Bride, not judging me for my emotions, just feeling with me.
It's the way I'm twice her size, but she makes me feel so safe and protected from the world, from my insecurities, from my anxieties.
It's the way she feels like home.
"No, Callum, I think Sophie was filling out paperwork for her cancer treatments and was scared but hopeful that the fucking asshole over there would be there for her," she spits the words, and I can see that Paul hears them by the way his shoulders flinch.
Tonya just shakes her head with a disgusted look on her face, dropping her voice.
"I think she got her shit rocked when that prick confessed to cheating, and she had to face the fact that she was about to start this battle alone.
I think she had a thousand changes hitting her at once and some things.
.. fell through the cracks. Hell, it took until last month when I went for my mammogram to realize Roxy was still listed as my emergency contact. "
My eyes immediately find Tonya's. Her icy blue eyes are a little wet as she gives me a weak, crooked smile. "Yeah, they would've needed a fucking Ouija board if—god forbid—I was ever in an accident."
She harshly wipes at her eyes, and I lay a gentle hand on her shoulder.
She playfully bats it away, a small smile on her face.
"I think this was just one of those things that she just overlooked because she was inundated with an ass ton of paperwork.
That's all. I think if she knew, your name and number would be on that form. "
Hearing her say it, hearing someone else confirm what my thoughts dared to hope, settles me. I nod, and Tonya affectionately bumps her shoulder into mine.
Eighty minutes without Sophie.
Eighty-one...
Eighty-two...
Eighty-three...
"How... how was she?" Paul asks me, his voice low and ignoring the venomous whisper of 'like you actually give a fuck' from Tonya.
I take a deep, calming breath and glance up at him. "Feverish. Coughing. Sleepy."
"I saw you guys were at a gala this weekend," he says, and my muscles tense. "She looked... she looked beautiful."
"She always does," I whisper immediately, closing my eyes and picturing her sweet face, smiling at me, giggling when I kiss her neck and tickle the skin there, her bright eyes shimmering as she tells me she loves me.
"Yeah," Paul murmurs, staring down at his shaking hands. "She does."
Eighty-eight...
Eighty-nine...
Ninety...
I'm about to text Tess an update when I hear, "For Sophie Bracken?"
I'm on my feet before I register the movement, and Paul rises too, both of us moving fast toward the nurse standing by the doors. She looks startled at the sight of two full-grown men rushing her.
"Oh, okay..." the nurse glances back down to the tablet, "Uh, who is Paul?"
My heart plummets straight to the floor.
Paul steps forward, and I feel a cold dread wash over me. He has priority. He has a clear opening to reach Sophie and to shut me out. And, damnit, it seems like he's going to take it.
Paul glances back at me, and I bite the inside of my cheek hard. My hands curl into fists, but I nod my head and take a step back.
Paul's face is a mess of emotions. It looks like the oddest combination of pain, love, sadness, determination, and resolve. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and steps toward the nurse.
Tonya's hand clamps onto my shoulder, grounding me as my entire world tilts and I slowly turn to walk back to my seat.
Maybe I can find out more from Paul later.
Maybe Sophie will wake up and not want anything to do with him.
Maybe Tess will get here and put Paul in his own hospital bed.
Guess I'll just have to wait and see.
I can't argue this. I can't argue against the paperwork or protocol, and I won't risk being kicked out of this hospital.
"Me," Paul says, nodding to the nurse. "I'm Paul."
"Okay, you're the conta—"
"Actually, I'm just here because there's been a mistake."
My head snaps up at his words, and every other noise in this hospital fades away.
The nurse tilts her head. "A mistake?"
"Yeah, I shouldn't be her emergency contact still," Paul says, glancing back over his shoulder at me. "She's my ex-fiancée. We broke up. I know she wouldn't want me still listed. I just came to... make sure I was removed."
Hope surges so violently through my body that I'm on my feet again before I can think.
He's not taking the opening. He's not pushing me out.
"Okay..." the nurse says slowly, flicking her eyes between us as I walk back over. "Who's her next of kin?"
"Her sister, Tess," I tell her. "But she's in Germany. Military. I talked to her on the phone earlier."
"Can you call her?" she asks, and I reach into my pocket, taking out my cellphone.
"I can try," I nod, lifting my phone to my ear. My heart feels like it's in my throat right now, my hands a little shaky. It keeps ringing before it goes to voicemail, and I quickly send her a text to call ASAP, but I turn back to the nurse. "She's not answering."
The nurse nods once, professional but a little unsure. "Right. Okay. Well, if we can't reach next-of-kin—"
"She'd want him," Paul says, interrupting her with quiet certainty, nodding toward me.
The nurse looks back at him.
So do I.
"She would want him," Paul says, speaking like every word hurts, but nodding toward me with a resolute expression on his face. "Callum and Sophie... they're together."
Paul steps back, giving us some privacy, and I keep my eyes on him for a moment—confused and also a little grateful—before the nurse pulls my attention.
"Okay... Callum?" she says, glancing down at her tablet, trying to find her place. "We have an update on her condition. She's stable right now. We've started fluids and antibiotics. She's responding well."
My entire body sags in relief. "Can I see her?" I ask desperately.
The nurse gives me a sympathetic smile. "Dr. Rashid will be out in just a bit to update you further and take you back. He'll walk you through isolation protocols. He's with her right now."
She's stable, the doctor is with her, and that's enough for right now.
"Thank you so much."
The nurse nods before turning and disappearing back behind the doors. I turn back toward my group, toward my mother, whose eyes are shimmering with tears and who is wearing a wide, relieved smile.
"She's stable," I choke out to them, but mostly to remind myself.
Tonya cackles, "Sophie, you little badass!"
Atticus and Jane beam, and my mom smiles, opening her arms for me. I fall into them, squeezing her tight in relief, while Tonya hugs me from behind, her gravelly laugh at my back.
"I fucking told you," Tonya laughs, squeezing me. "Our Sophie's strong as fuck."