Page 4 of The Alpha

“Yeah, I’m not walking all the way.”

Pari took one last look at the wide door leading to the emergency room. “Do you think Raina and Halden will be all right, Uncle Leo?”

“I don’t know. All I do know is they’ve been more trouble than they’re worth for you.” He turned toward the exit. “Come on, let’s go home.”

Tears stung the backs of her eyes as she mashed her lips together. She didn’t want to leave; it didn’t feel right. But there was nothing she could do here, so she followed Uncle Leo and left the hospital.

Later, at home, she lay awake in bed, half expecting the phone to ring. Halden and Raina would need her to come get them. They wouldn’t know how to get home from the hospital.

But her phone never rang, and Pari fell into a fitful sleep.

In the morning, she called the hospital and learned that both Raina and Halden had been admitted, and that both were undergoing more tests. They also told her what room Raina was in, but not Halden. At least she’d get to see one of them before she had to take over for Uncle Al at the shop.

When she arrived at the hospital, Pari entered Raina’s room slowly. She was asleep, and Pari wasn’t sure if she should wake her or not. Had Raina come out of whatever it was that kept her from moving or talking? Was she still paralyzed?

A male nurse came in and checked a few things on one of the machines, then Raina’s IV.

“Excuse me,” Pari said. “But what’s Raina’s status? Is she better?”

He smiled at her and nodded. “Yes. She ate her breakfast earlier and has been resting ever since.” He picked up a clipboard and wrote a few things down.

Pari noticed Raina didn’t stir at the sound of their voices. She must really be tired, poor thing. “What did the doctor’s find out?”

“Are you a relative?”

She shook her head before catching herself. “Roommate.”

“Ah, she’ll be sorry she missed you.”

Pari looked at him. “What?”

He smiled again. “We gave her something to help her sleep.”

She looked at Raina again. “Oh. Well, when she wakes up, tell her I’ll be back later this evening after I get off work.” She left the chair by the bed. “And Halden Kolbeck? They were brought to the hospital together last night.”

“I couldn’t tell you.” He smiled one last time and left the room.

Pari sighed in frustration. “Fine.” She stared at Raina then the medical equipment nearby. She wasn’t sure what any of it was, but it made her think something serious was going on. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about any of this except support her friends as best she could.

She left the hospital, went to the shop, and buried herself in work by doing inventory. There were a lot of smaller items Uncle Al had in his shop, and he’d been meaning to tackle the inventory the last few weeks but hadn’t got around to it.

“You sure you want to do this?” he asked when she started. “It’s going to take all afternoon.”

“I know. But since I’m closing, I’ll have time.”

“Okay, go for it.”

And so, she did. It allowed her to think about her time spent with Raina and Halden and how much she liked having them around. Maybe after they went back to Germany, she’d advertise for a roommate and see what happened.

After work, she went to the hospital as planned and was happy to find Raina awake. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as awakeas Pari thought. She was groggy, and then the nurse waltzed in and told Pari she couldn’t stay long; that they were taking Raina for more tests.

Pari had a brief conversation with Raina, wrote her phone number down on a piece of paper, and gave it to her. Pari told her to call if the doctors told her anything. In the meantime, she’d have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to see Raina again. It was her turn to open the shop. Maybe by then the doctors would know more. So far it sounded like Raina didn’t have a clue what was wrong with her. Poor thing was almost too tired to talk; that or too doped up. Pari wasn’t sure which. She was also seriously worried about where Halden was. But like yesterday, no one seemed to know.

The next day she didn’t hear from Raina so called the hospital to see if they’d give her an update. All they would share was that she was stable. Pari supposed it was better than hearing she was in emergency surgery or something.

When Pari got off work, she went straight to the hospital and noted where some eating places were. Raina might want something besides hospital food by now, and it would be easy enough to run and get her some decent food.

She checked in at the front counter on the main floor and handed the security guard her driver’s license. He was middle-aged and looked kind. “Who are you here to see?” he asked.

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