Page 62 of A Break in Communications

That… didn’t make any sense. Veronica had heard it from me. “What?”

“I’m glad Lucy has you there for her right now, but don’t forget you have your whole family here for you too. We love you and we love Lucy and we want to help.”

“With—what?” My head was fuzzy.

“With anything we can be helpful with,” she said, her voice soft. Patronizing, almost. More just… I think she thought I wasthis fuzzy because of sleep deprivation and she was speaking like I was a child. I kind of needed it right now, embarrassingly. “Veronica said that Kelcey said that Lucy said that the doctors said—” I heard her start over. “I’ve heard her grandmother’s supposed to make a full recovery, but I know what it’s like to have an elderly relative in the hospital for a while. It’s not easy.”

I wasn’t fuzzy anymore. The wordhospitalcleared it all up for me like adjusting the radio making the sound suddenly come in perfectly, and my stomach dropped hard.

Lucy’s grandmother. The reason she’d disappeared so suddenly. She hadn’ttoldme?

I mean—why the hell would she tell me?

That didn’t matter. I wanted her to tell me. And I didn’t want to talk to Mom right now. I stood up, pushing my coffee away.

“It’s not—I’ll let you know if we need help with something,” I said, my voice tumbling out in an urgent rush. “Sorry, Mom—it’s really nice to hear from you, but Lucy needs something—”

“Oh, go, go,” she said, matching my urgency. “Just wanted to let you know we love you both and we’re here for you. Go do what you need. I love you and I’ll talk to you later, Veronica.”

“Thank you—I love you too and I’ll see Veronica later,” I blurted, hanging up the phone, only realizing then that I’d put Veronica’s name in where it didn’t belong too. Guess I was turning into my mom with age. I didn’t care.

I was out the door before I even realized it, and I didn’t notice I was sending a message to Dobbs telling him I had an emergency outside the office to attend to until I’d sent it, and I didn’t even realize I was in the car until I was halfway there, crawling through busy streets in the city center with my heart in my mouth straining at every traffic jam through snow-lined streets full of Christmas decorations that I wasn’t really feeling the cheer about right now.

I didn’t actually question what hospital it was until I was in the doors, but—given where Lucy’s grandmother lived, it would make sense she’d be here, and I guess I just—had to hope. I was in luck, though, as the woman at the information desk smiled when I gave her my name in a rush, told her I was here for Charlotte Masters.

“Anna Preston?” she said, tapping at her computer. “It looks like Miss Charlotte Masters has you listed as an approved contact… you’re clear to go on up. You’re looking for room B604. Take the elevator on your left and follow the signs for Orthopedics.”

“Thank you—thank you so much.” Lucy’s grandmother had named me specifically as an approved visitor? Maybe Lucy was right about her liking me, despite… well… appearances. I turned and hurried down the hall towards the elevators, and I felt it crawl up to the sixth floor, every second taking an eternity.

I found what I’d come for in the waiting room just around the corner from B604—leaning over a coffee station with sleep-heavy rings around her eyes, talking to a nurse, Lucy Masters, rumpled and weary. I felt my stomach drop, heart pounding, as I came to a sharp stop in the hall, standing there staring at her, and I didn’t really realize that I’d dropped everything and run to the hospital until I was here.

What the hell was I doing? Honestly, that was a question to ask myself a while ago.

The nurse, a man with dark hair and a strong build, turned to look at me with a slight smile. “Can I help you find something, ma’am?”

I barely heard him. Lucy glanced my way, and she almost dropped the paper cup of coffee she clutched in one hand, jaw dropping at the sight of me.

“Anna—”

“You didn’ttellme?”

She blinked fast, looking wildly around the waiting room. “Was I—was I supposed to?”

“You backed out of the competition for the promotion and you weren’t going to tell me why? Honestly?”

She stared a while longer before she laughed, short, breathless. “You won, Anna. I know when I’ve been beaten. I’m focusing on other things.”

She wasn’t focusing on her own wellbeing, judging by that heavy look in her eyes, the rings of sleep deprivation and the frizzy hair. I hunched my shoulders. “Lucy, have you been sleeping at all?”

She looked away. “I didn’t realize you were so… worried.”

“Yes, I’m worried,” I said, throwing my hands up. “You just disappeared, and I had to hear from my mom who’d heard from Veronica who’d heard from Kelcey who’d heard—” I shook my head. “Lucy, you look awful.”

The nurse cleared his throat, and it took that much for me to remember he was even there. “I’ll give you two a second,” he said, turning away. “Talk to you later, Lucy.”

Was he flirting with her?

Ugh—what kind of a thought was that? Lucy was a lesbian anyway. And I didn’t care. She could flirt with and be flirted with by anyone. I just needed her back in the office, back… competing… with me.

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