Chapter 136 136

Chapter 136 136
Ashley POV

The ambulance arrived sooner than I expected. Or at least, that's what Mom kept saying as we were driven to Silvercross Healing Center by David. Her tone stayed cool and calm - perhaps in an attempt to appear less affected by Dad's condition than he really was - as she rattled off various reasons that he would be fine. But, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that she kept touching the small gold cross necklace she always wore around her neck.

"He will be fine," she said for the umpteenth time. "He's only fifty-five years old. He eats a healthy diet and exercises every day, I have made sure of that. He might not even have another heart attack, he might just faint from drinking too little water. I should have kept him hydrated while cooking."

My mom's explanation sounded quite reasonable. As I dashed back to the dining room while calling 911, I found Jayden's father trying to wake up my unconscious father, to no avail. I also initially thought that my dad must have just fainted and thought my mom was exaggerating the situation, but when I explained to the officer that my dad had had a heart attack before, he rushed to send an ambulance. I have no idea what that meant or why the ambulance attendant took my dad - after first going through all the security checks - in such a hurry. But as I waited for David's arrival in his BMW, I searched through my phone and discovered that fainting could be much more serious than just a heart attack. For fear that my mom would overreact or become even colder, I decided not to tell her. Instead, I bottled up my worries, wanting to remain calm like she was, even as learning of my Dad's potentially life-threatening condition made me rub my hands together nervously.

My phone buzzed constantly, signaling several incoming messages. I knew it was from Jayden, but I brushed it off. I was too distracted and anxious to care about social conversations. The food I had eaten felt like it was slowly crawling back down my throat, and I kept swallowing it. The taste was sickening.

He can wait. He had to wait.

As I followed Mom's hurried steps to the emergency department, I found Silvercross busier than I expected. Healers and nurses and other patients and patients' colleagues were circling like a crowd of frenzied canines. The sheer number of people crowding the rather small area made me feel seriously ill as I could only silently watch Mom talk to one of the healers she'd managed to catch. A faint odor of alcohol, disinfectant, and something heavier permeated the air, and it did not take me long to figure out what it was.

It was the smell of pain.

"Follow along."

At first, I agreed but halted as soon as I noticed that my mom was leading me out of the ER. "Where are we going?" I asked, my voice sounded faint and fragile even to my own ears. It took so much effort for me to maintain a brave face.

She softened her sharp gaze, but only slightly. "We should not get in the way of the experts. They are stressed enough already without family and friends weighing them down. Let's register your dad at reception and then get some refreshing drinks."

"But-" I trailed off, wanting to look around for wherever my dad was.

"Don't bother," she said hurriedly, cutting me off. "You need to be strong for him so he doesn't have to worry about you all the time."

"He worries about me?" I asked, guilt clawing at my chest.

She nodded. "Always. Now come on, the kind healer promised to give us an update on your dad's health as soon as possible."

With that, I quietly followed her out of the chaos in the emergency department. After speaking with the receptionist of the healing center about my father's arrival, Mom and I headed to the cafeteria where I bought coffee for the two of us. She grimaced as she took a sip of the black drink, while I had to pour milk and sugar into my cup to dilute the bitter and sour taste.

She busied herself with her cell phone, and even though mine still buzzed once every two minutes, I barely touched it. I did not even dare to try changing the sound setting, afraid that I would not be able to stop myself from reading all the messages that Jayden sent me.

I don't need any pity right now. I need to be strong, just like my mom said. And to do that, I could not allow myself to be comforted. I knew it would push me over the edge and plunge my emotions into whatever turbulent storm was going on inside my stomach.

The healer from earlier came to see me and mom sooner than I expected. He had not said anything about Dad other than the fact that he had been touched and offered to take me to him. To my great relief, he led the two of us away from the emergency department and took us to the fourth floor of the adjacent building which was reserved for inpatients and visitors. Numbered rooms bordered both sides of the long hallway that crossed the floor, where I followed the healer to room 4112, where he stopped and turned toward me. Without thinking, I reached for the doorknob, but Mom stopped me before I could twist it.

"I'm sure he has something important to tell us," she said.

I swallowed and backed away from the door. "Oh."

The healer gave me a comforting smile and tucked his clipboard under his arm before he extended his hand. He was well-built and only a few centimeters taller than me, and although he looked to be in his late fifties, his brown eyes still looked young. 

"I am healer Eddy Kim. A heart specialist and consultant."

"Nice to meet you, Healer Kim," Mom said briefly and shook his hand, without bothering to introduce herself.

I managed to crack a stiff smile when he turned to me and then took his hand in my sweaty palm. "Ashley Van Smith," I said quietly. "What's going on? Is my father going to be okay?"

"Thankfully," he replied, "he did not have a heart attack. His fainting - his fainting - was caused by dehydration combined with alcohol. He is still unconscious, but I advise you not to force him to wake up. He will be much less disoriented if you let him wake up on his own."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright. That's good to hear."

"But?" urged my mom, her eyes narrowing at Healer Kim.

Frowning at my mom, but as the healer cleared his throat nervously, I knew that my mom must have caught something from his tone that I had missed. Aiming my gaze back at him, I looked at him expectantly.

"...But, he might not fully get it." Physician Kim flipped through the notes and papers stuck on his clipboard, then stopped reading for a few seconds before he lowered the clipboard and found my gaze again. "There is a risk that he may suffer an attack of coronary artery blockage, or Coronary Heart Disease. This is a serious condition where plaque, a waxy substance, accumulates on the inside of the coronary arteries, making it difficult for oxygen to reach the heart." He paused for a breath. "There is no cure, and the chances of your father having other serious heart-related problems besides a heart attack are very high."

My body froze. In my peripheral vision, I caught sight of my mom doing the same. Neither of us spoke.

"But, again, I'm just saying that there is a risk of your father suffering from CHD. I want him to stay at least a day so that we can perform the necessary tests to confirm whether my suspicions are correct or not."

"You're the expert on this," my mom said in a somewhat calm tone. "How likely is it that he has this heart disease? Give me a percentage figure."

Healer Kim looked genuinely dejected as he answered. "In my opinion, there is an eighty percent risk that your husband has CHD."

Even though she did not seem visibly affected, I knew her well enough to know how shocked she was. "All right," she said. "Thank you."

He nodded, then left. Mom and I stood outside room 4112 for a long time, though it was hard for me to absorb what he said, I could not imagine how terrible the news must have been for my mom. Though I loved my dad like a daughter who adores her parents, the relationship between my mom and dad was something that could be considered rare even in fantasy romances. They were like two puzzle pieces made for each other, connected by a mate bond so strong that they could end each other's sentences.

What would happen to my mom if my dad died?

"Let us go in."