Chapter 111 In Over My Head
I'm a little in over my head at the office but I do my best to keep a smile on my face. If I look confident, that's half the battle, or at least that's what my grandma would say.
It's hard to concentrate when I'm waiting for the post to arrive. It's been a few days since I visited the police station and I've been impatiently waiting for the police report to arrive. I try to not let it distract me from my work but it's easier said than done.
"Post is here," Martin says, popping his head around grandma's office door. It still feels weird using her office as my own.
I try to seem indifferent. He doesn't know anything about my visit to the police station and I'd like to keep it that way, at least for now. I wait until he's dropped several envelopes and a larger bubble-wrapped envelope on the desk and is turning to leave again before I reach for it.
He turns back though and I pull my hand away.
"Can I get you something for lunch?" he asks.
"Sure," I agree with a smile. "Thank you, Martin."
"Will Noah be joining you?"
I hesitate. We haven't discussed lunch so I'm not really sure.
"Maybe," I say uncertainly.
"I'll get him something just in case."
"Thank you."
Then Martin is leaving the office and I'm finally reaching for that envelope, ripping it open. I'm eager to know what it holds. I'm both apprehensive that I might learn something that I don't want to while also being terrified that it might tell me absolutely nothing. There is no positive outcome right now.
I've barely got the case file out of the envelope before Martin is making his way back into the room in a hurry.
"Eden, we need to go," he says, sounding harassed.
"What's wrong?" I ask, hurriedly pushing the case file into my handbag.
"The hospital just called," he says and all the air seems to be expelled from my lungs. "Your grandma has had another heart attack."
Gathering my things, I make my way around the desk. There are questions on the tip of my tongue, questions that I'm too scared to ask.
"Is she..." I can't get the question out of my mouth.
There's no time to waste as we leave the office. I try not to let on that anything is wrong. I don't want to make people worry but it's almost impossible to hide the fear that I feel and when I pass Noah in the corridor, I know he sees it. He knows just from the look on my face that something is very wrong.
He doesn't say anything but I hear my phone buzz a moment or so later just as I'm climbing into the backseat of the car, preparing for Martin to drive us to the hospital.
"Wait a moment," I tell him. "Noah says he's coming with us."
Martin nods his head but doesn't speak. We're both quiet as we wait and I grow more anxious with every passing second. As soon as Noah lets himself into the car, coming to sit next to me, Martin is driving off, not waiting for him to buckle up.
"What's going on?" Noah asks urgently as he pulls on his seat belt before taking my hand.
"Grandma has had another heart attack," I tell him nervously.
His face drops into a frown as his fingers tighten around mine.
"Do we know how she is doing?"
I shake my head. We know absolutely nothing. And I feel sick to the stomach. Noah's hand wrapped around mine is the only thing keeping me calm. There are tears threatening to spill from my eyes but I don't want my grandma to see them when we arrive at the hospital. The last thing she needs right now is to be worrying about me.
Taking several deep stabilising breaths, I lean over so that I can hug Noah, taking the comfort I need from him.
The journey to the hospital feels like it goes on forever, and when we finally arrive I hurry out of the car, leaving Martin to go park. Noah takes my hand, walking with me into the towering building. I hate everything about the hospital; the smell, the noise... Even the colour of the walls. It's the same hospital my parents were brought to before they died.
"Miss Clancy," the nurse is waiting for me when we arrive, "your grandma is..."
"Is she okay?" I demand.
"She's resting," the nurse tells us. She keeps talking but most of what she is saying is going right over my head. My body sags against Noah's in relief. She's still alive.
My eyes wander to the doorway of grandma's room. The door is open and I can see her. She's lying flat on her back and the beeping noises of the machines are a clear indication that her heart is still beating.
All the panic and tension that I felt on the way over feel like they're about to overwhelm me.
"She's okay," Noah whispers supportively against my ear. I'm shaking, possibly in shock.
"Perhaps you should sit down, Miss Clancy," the nurse offers, guiding us towards a small sitting room just as Martin comes barraging through the ward doors. He looks stricken with fear. That's not the look of a man who killed his boss's son. Even in this moment, I can see that concern and fear are written all over his expression.
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