Page 33 of Undoing

Lainey smiled at Cass’s confusion. “Eve is on the board here at the hospital.”

“Right. Should have known,” Cass grinned. She looked at her watch. One good thing about having friends around was the time went by a little faster. Fifteen minutes had passed. “Well, I’m going to get back to pacing. Uh, thanks for being here.”

Willamena, Lainey, and Eve watched Cass pace and mutter to herself.

“Coping mechanism,” Willamena said. “Let’s leave her to it.”

“Shrink,” Eve muttered, receiving a light smack from her wife.

“I think I’ll call Blaise,” Lainey announced. She saw Cass stop in her tracks and look over at her. “Don’t worry, you’re still off the hook. I’ll tell Rebecca it was all my doing.”

“I already called her.” Ellie came in with handfuls of coffee and snacks. “I saw the two of you coming in,” she explained. “If Blaise knew everyone was here and left her out, I’d never hear the end of it.” She held out the cup carrier with an offering. “The one on the right top is black coffee for Eve. Below that is tea for you, Lainey.”

“Thank you,” Lainey took the cups Ellie indicated, handing one to Eve, then turning back to Ellie. “Let me help you with that.”

“Ah, ah. This is what I do. And I’m very good at it. Aunt Wills, this is an oat milk latte with agave for you.”

“You are a saint!” Willamena took the cup and sipped from it carefully. “Perfect.”

Ellie went to Cass. “Cass? I know you said you didn’t want anything, but I brought you some chocolate milk and a protein bar. You have at least another two hours of waiting. Keep your energy up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cass murmured a thank you and took her nourishment to a corner where she could be alone. She loved that her friends were there for her, but Cass just needed a minute to herself. Rebecca was going to be pissed at her. Yeah, Lainey was right. Cass technically didn’t blab, but technicalities didn’t count. It was okay, though. A mad Rebecca meant she was fine. Cass could live with that.

“Cass?”

Cass looked up sharply. Her numb ass from sitting on the floor was completely forgotten when she saw Hunter. She scrambled up, wiping the dust off as she hurried to Hunter.

“Is she okay?”

“The surgery was a success. We got the tumor and didn’t see evidence that it had metastasized, so…”

“Hunter!” Cass interrupted. “First things first, then you can go into all the medical mumbo jumbo. Is Rebecca okay?”

“Yes. She’s headed to recovery.” Hunter glanced over her shoulder, locking eyes with Willamena, who immediately came to Cass’s side. “Now, it usually takes four to five hours for the patient to wake up after a surgery of this kind. However, we’re going to keep Rebecca in a medically induced sleep for a little while longer.”

Cass frowned. “What? Why? You just said she was okay.”

“And she is. However, a piece of the tumor was in a challenging spot. While Dr. Lima was able to remove the entire tumor without damaging vital brain tissue, it did cause some irritation and swelling. The MIC is simply a precaution.”

Cass was having trouble understanding all of what Hunter was saying. Mainly because the moment she heard “medically induced sleep,” all she could think about was her wife being in a coma. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Cass had been thinking positive thoughts all day. She wouldn’t allow any negativity in. When she thought about what would happen after the surgery, it was Hunter coming to get her, telling her Rebecca was ready to see her. Of course, she knew about the potential complications. They’d gone over everything before the surgery. But Cass was so sure everything would be fine that this blindsided her.

“How long?” Willamena asked, allowing her doctor’s side to take over for Cass’s sake. The calmer Willamena was about this situation, the easier Cass would take the news.

“A day, maybe two. We’ll monitor Rebecca closely, and if the swelling goes down before that, we’ll wake her up.”

“Aunt Wills?”

Willamena’s heart broke for Cass. She looked so scared and lost. Willamena threaded her arm through Cass’s and smiled up at her. “This isn’t uncommon, Cass. The brain is delicate, and right now, Rebecca’s is a little pissed off at being messed with. A little rest will do it good.”

Cass stared at Aunt Wills, trying to gauge if she was telling her the truth. When she was satisfied that Aunt Wills wasn’t too worried, Cass fixed her eyes on Hunter. “When can I see her?”

Hunter pursed her lips. She knew this wouldn’t go over well, but she would put it out there anyway. “You should go home…”

“Did you?” Cass interrupted hotly. “When Ellie was in a coma, did you go home?”

Hunter visibly winced. That was still a sore spot for her. “Fair enough. How about this? I will let you back in recovery for ten minutes.” Hunter lifted a hand to stop Cass’s argument. “That’s all I can do. Other patients are back there, and I don’t want to disturb them. After that, you go and get some fresh air, maybe some food, and by the time you get back, Rebecca will be in her private room ready for you.”

Cass contemplated that for a full minute. “Deal. Let’s go.”

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