“It’s going to be okay,” Mal said in a deep, calm voice.
Warmth stole over her, driving the cold and the fear she was feeling away.
“You are safe,” he continued. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
How had he become so important to her so quickly? She didn’t know, but she was so grateful he was there.
“I’m going to go get the car so we can follow them to the hospital,” he said.
She nodded and stepped back. He ran down the steps and headed up the street.
A minute later the paramedics grabbed a stretcher from the ambulance and were loading her aunt onto it.
“Is she going to be okay?” Opal asked.
“She’s alive. That’s a good sign,” the one told her.
They gave her the name of the hospital and after they carried Tanya out of the house Opal locked the door. A car pulled up behind the ambulance and Opal got in and told Mal where they were taking her aunt.
Opal and Mal had been sitting in the waiting room at the emergency room for over two hours and she felt like she was about to go out of her mind. Mal was holding her hand. He’d been by her side the entire time.
“She’s going to be okay,” he said suddenly.
“How do you know?”
He hesitated then finally answered. “I’ve seen something like this before.”
“Where? What was it?”
He was quiet.
“Where?” she asked again, turning to look at him.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.”
A doctor appeared, frowning at a chart in his hand. “Miss Grant?”
Opal shot to her feet and Mal was right beside her.
“How is my aunt?”
“We’re not sure what’s wrong with her. Normally in a case like this we’d look for things like heart attack, stroke, or aneurysm. However, there is no evidence of any of those things. Right now we just have to wait and see. We’ll monitor her and run some more tests.”
“Can I see her?”
“Yes, but you should know that she’s not awake.”
“Okay.”
“Come this way.”
She moved to follow him. Mal kept pace, still holding her hand tight.
The doctor turned and looked at him. “I’m sorry, family only at this time.”
“He’s my fiancé,” Opal said hastily. There was no way she was going to be parted from him at that moment.
The doctor nodded slowly. “I guess that’s okay then.”
They continued on their way and moments later walked into a hospital room. Her aunt was lying in a bed hooked up to all sorts of monitors.
“I’ll leave you alone for a few minutes,” the doctor said as he left.
Opal stepped forward and touched her aunt’s hand, willing her to open her eyes.
“Aunt Tanya, it’s me, Opal. It’s time to wake up,” she said, a catch in her voice as the tears she’d been fighting back for the last couple of hours threatened to fall.
She watched Tanya’s face for any sign of change, but there was none.
Out of the corner of her eye Opal saw Mal take Tanya’s other hand. She heard the faintest of sounds and realized Mal was whispering, but it was so soft she couldn’t make any words out.
They stayed like that for about ten minutes then Mal gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said.
She nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on her aunt. She heard Mal leave the room. A couple of minutes later he returned and the doctor was only a few seconds behind him.
“It’s late. You should go home and get some sleep. The moment there’s any change we’ll call,” he said.
Opal nodded and let Mal lead her outside. As they left the hospital and made their way to Mal’s car she felt exhaustion beginning to set in.
“Do you need any coffee, food?”
“No.”
“Okay, I’ll take you home,” he said.
The drive to the hospital earlier had seemed interminable so she was surprised that it turned out to be closer to home than she had thought it was. Mal parked out front and then walked with her up to the door. She unlocked it and tried not to shudder when she walked inside. She found herself skirting the area where her aunt had been as though stepping on the spot would somehow make everything worse.
She looked back over her shoulder and saw Mal hovering on the porch.
“Come in,” she said.
She walked into the living room, turning on the lights. Mal closed and locked the front door and then followed her into the room. She sat down on the couch and after looking around he sat beside her.
She leaned slightly against him, needing the contact to keep the feelings of isolation at bay.
I’m not alone, she kept repeating to herself.
“So, apparently I owe you a ring,” Mal said, straight-faced.
“What?” she asked, startled out of her own thoughts.
“An engagement ring. Sorry about that. My bad. I should have picked one out on Monday.”
“Oh, that,” she said, feeling herself blush slightly.
“Yes, that.”
“They were only going to let family in.”
“Yes. Frankly I’m glad you didn’t introduce me as your brother or cousin or something. That would have just been awkward.”
She laughed at the thought. “Yes, it would have. Now get right on that ring thing.”
“Don’t worry,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
“I expect a huge rock. One carat at least.”
“As you wish. Shall we set a date? I hear June weddings are all the rage.”
She laughed harder. “Why wait that long? Next month would be just fine.”
“Well if next month would be fine maybe next week would be better.”
“Maybe we should just get married tonight instead,” she countered.
He paused for a moment and then said, “Maybe we should.”
She laughed harder and then realized that he had stopped laughing and was staring at her intently.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head. “I was just thinking.”
“About what?” she asked.
“Opal, why did you come to see me tonight? Why didn’t you just wait until tomorrow?” he asked.
“I knew I had to talk to you. I was planning on doing it tomorrow, but all of a sudden I felt this overwhelming need to talk to you tonight. It was this feeling that if I waited it would be too late somehow. My aunt asked me the same thing. I told her it was too important to talk to you tonight.”
A sudden, terrible thought struck her. “Maybe if I’d waited I would have been here when whatever it was happened.”
“You can’t think like that. You couldn’t have done anything more to help her if you had been here and it might have been disastrous if you were.”
“How?” she asked.
He took a deep breath. “I don’t think it was an accident. I think she was attacked,” he said.
11
Opal stared at Mal. “What on earth would make you think that?”
“Just a hunch.”
“But there were no bruises or bumps. Are you suggesting someone knocked her out?”
“Nothing that obvious,” he said. “Some medications and toxins can have the kind of negative effects that we saw, knock someone completely out with no obvious cause. When I left your aunt’s room earlier I went and asked the doctor if they’d looked for toxins in her blood stream. He said that was one of the things they were going to check.”
“But, what makes you think it would be some sort of attack?”
“Does your aunt take any type of medications?”
“Not that I know of,” she answered.
“Your aunt doesn’t strike me as the type to be careless about reading labels and mixing things she shouldn’t. The whole thing just feels off to me
.”
She shuddered. “I can’t even begin to think someone would want to hurt her.”
“She doesn’t have any enemies that you know of?” he asked, peering at her intently.
“I wouldn’t honestly know. She doesn’t seem like someone who would have enemies, though. She’s nice.”
“Maybe I’m wrong,” he said.
“I don’t know. I just hope they figure it out soon. I don’t want to be alone here,” she admitted.
“You could stay at my house,” he said.
“Wouldn’t your dad mind?”
“No,” he said, but he looked uneasy and glanced away.
“No, but thank you for the offer,” she said.
“I could stay here on the couch. That way you wouldn’t have to be alone in the house,” he said.
It was a tempting offer, but the truth was that no matter how he made her feel and how much she was trusting him, she’d still known him less than a week. It didn’t feel like the smart thing to do. Plus, she wasn’t sure her aunt would have approved.
She shook her head slowly. “Thank you. That’s sweet, but I’ll be okay. Besides, who knows how long my aunt will be in the hospital. I might have to get used to being alone for a while.”
A shadow seemed to pass over his face. He took her hand. “Opal, remember, no matter how you might feel you are never alone. If you need anything, I’m here for you.”
“Actually, right now I could use a little advice.”
“About what?” he asked.
“About what I should do in the morning,” she said. “I mean, do I go back to the hospital and just sit and wait? Or do I go to school if I haven’t heard from the doctors and then go the hospital when school’s out?”
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
“I’m not in the mood to go to school, but I can’t say I want to sit in that hospital all day just waiting and doing nothing. Plus, if I miss school I just have to play catch up later. I know that I can’t do any good by being at the hospital, but I don’t think she should be there by herself.”
“It’s almost two in the morning. I think you need to get some rest. Why don’t you go to bed and when you wake up go to the hospital for an hour or so and then go to school after lunch. That way you only miss three classes in the morning, but you can still get the homework assignments to work on during study hall.”
“That sounds like an incredibly sane, logical plan,” she admitted.
“I do occasionally have them.”
“So that just leaves the logistics of getting everywhere I need to go.”
“I’m sure your aunt would be fine with you driving her car.”
Opal winced. “I don’t have a driver’s license.”
“Oh, well, in that case, I’ll drive you.”
“I don’t want to make you miss school,” she protested.
“I can’t say that I’d be missing it,” he said. “Seriously, though, don’t worry about me, I can play catch up just fine. And what kind of guy would I be if I wasn’t there for my fiancée in her moment of need?” he asked, smirking.
“Okay. Text me your phone number and I’ll call you in the morning,” she said.
“That’s right. I forgot you didn’t already have it,” he said. He pulled out his phone. “What’s your number?”
She rattled it off and a moment later he nodded. “Done. I just texted you mine.”
“Thanks.”
He stood up. “Before I go I’ll just take a quick look around and make sure all the doors and windows are locked.”
“Good idea,” she said, feeling her nerves coming back. Maybe it was a mistake to send him away. Then again, the morning was only about four hours away. What could happen in that time?
Something happened to Aunt Tanya in just ten minutes, she reminded herself grimly.
It was best not to think about it. She should just lock up and go to bed before she did something rash.
Mal checked the downstairs and then checked upstairs. When he rejoined her in the living room he looked satisfied.
“Sealed up tight. You should be okay,” he said.
“Thank you for checking.”
“Not a problem.”
She gave him a hug and he held her tight for a moment before turning to go. She followed him into the entryway.
“Remember, call me for whatever,” he said. “And lock the door after me.”
He left. She locked the door and after a moment’s hesitation decided to leave some of the downstairs lights on. She headed upstairs and barely managed to change into her pajamas before she crawled into bed and fell asleep.
She didn’t end up sleeping in as long as she anticipated. She got up, got dressed, called the hospital, and then called Mal.
“Are you ready for me to take you to the hospital?” he asked.
“No, to school.”
“Why the change?”
“I called the hospital and they said they were going to be running a bunch more tests all morning and that I wouldn’t even be able to see her until this afternoon.”
“Makes sense.”
“So, if we drove to school maybe we could go to the hospital right after. I mean, if that works for you.”
“It does. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
She hung up and headed downstairs. She was waiting in front of the house when he pulled up and she got in.
“I can’t believe I didn’t notice what a cool car you had last night,” she said.
“Yeah, you had other things on your mind.”
The car was a black Mustang and it was a classic. “What year?” she asked.
“It’s a 66.”
“Is this your dad’s car?”
“No, it’s mine.”
“Yours?” she asked, amazed.
“Yeah, my grandfather gave it to me before I could even drive. The old cars are harder to tamper with.”
“Tamper with?”
He looked slightly flustered. “Sorry, a bit distracted, I guess. I meant, there’s not a lot of fancy electrical stuff that makes them so temperamental and hard to fix yourself. Cars back then were a lot more straightforward.”
“My dad used to say that, too,” she said with a nod. “He liked classic cars as well. He once told me that he suspected that my mom agreed to go out with him the first time because of his car and not him.”
Mal laughed. “That’s a bit harsh.”
She shrugged.
They made it to school and she got out of the car.
“We’ve got a few minutes before homeroom gets out,” he said. “Why don’t we sit for a while?” he asked, leading the way over to a low stone wall.
“Okay,” she said, hopping up on it next to him. Her feet dangled and she kicked them slowly back and forth. The truth was she was in no mood to deal with Mrs. Jennings so waiting it out until she could go to her next class seemed like a good plan.
“I have something for you,” Mal said, taking her hands in his.
“What?” she asked.
“Close your eyes,” he said.
She did and waited, wondering what he was doing, especially since she could still feel his hands holding hers. The pressure increased ever so slightly on her left hand and a moment later he said, “Open your eyes.”
She did and she met his gaze. The expression on his face was one that she couldn’t quite pinpoint.
“Look down,” he said softly.
She did and gasped.
There, on the ring finger of her left hand, was a gold ring set with a large ruby that was shaped like a heart. She stared at it for a moment in shock. “What is this?” she asked, finally finding her voice.
“It belonged to my grandmother. It connected her to my grandfather. Wherever she was she could feel him near, looking out for her, protecting her, caring for her, as long as she wore the ring. I want you to wear it so that I can do the same for you.”
“I can’t take your grandmother’s ring,” she protested.
/> “You’re not taking it. I’m giving it to you.”
She could feel panic rising up in her as she thought about their conversation the night before. When she had teasingly suggested they get married right away he had stopped laughing and smiling and said it was a good idea. Had he been serious?
“I can’t marry you, Mal,” she blurted out.
“Not now or not ever?” he asked, eyes boring into her.
“Not…now,” she said. “And as for ever, I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring let alone next month or next year. I mean, look at what happened to my aunt.”
He smiled gently at her. “It’s because of what happened to your aunt that I’m doing this. It’s why I want you to have it now, to wear it now. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring so now is all we have.”
What he said hit her hard. Deep down she knew that the realization that life was fragile, that things could change in a single heartbeat like with her father, was why she had been willing to plunge so quickly into a relationship with Mal even though she barely knew him. They had chemistry, a connection, and she didn’t want to waste whatever time she might have with him. Clearly she wasn’t the only one feeling that pressure. Now, with her aunt in the hospital, the urge to embrace what she had while she had it was even stronger. It was only fear that was holding her back. But she couldn’t let it master her. Mal had told her the night before that he couldn’t lose her again. The truth was that she felt the same about him. Maybe that was the real reason why she’d told the doctor that Mal was her fiancé and not some other relative.
“I was joking about you getting me a ring,” she said, trying to voice her last protest.
“I know you were. And wearing it doesn’t mean that you’re pledging yourself to me for all eternity. Think of it like wearing a letterman jacket or something else like that.”
“If I wear it, I should wear it on my other hand.”
He shook his head fiercely. “No. Ancient civilizations believed that the vein in the ring finger of the left hand led directly to the heart which is why wearing a ring on that finger symbolized a bond with another. The ring only…works…if you wear it on that finger. If you take it off or change fingers I can’t find you, I can’t protect you.”
Now You See Me Page 10