Page 52 of Coral Prince Conundrum
Seero!
“S…Seero,” I say with a croaky voice. That was a mistake because more pain shoots up my chest and to my throat. The doctor tells me not to talk, but he disappears, and the nurse who stays behind calms me down. She explains how it will take time for me to fully recover and slowly wean off each of the tubes that do something, but I’m allegedly doing better. Not bad for a dude who was just on life support.
I nod and look around, but I don’t see anyone I recognize in this private hospital room. The last thing I remember is being in an underwater castle and water flooding my lungs. I grasp the nurse’s hand because she’s the only one with enough empathy to stay by my side. While I feel like multiple trucks ran me over, my heartache is somehow worse.
Where is Seero?
I go to sleep for probably twenty more hours, then wake up to a familiar voice. “That snake man better not mess up the café, I swear,” she mutters.
“Layla?” I ask. My voice is stronger, and I’m grateful to be able to sit up right. There are fewer tubes in my body, so that’s another good sign, I hope.
“Mr. Tishman!” Layla puts away her phone and smiles fondly at me. Then, she moves close to my bedside. There are no nurses in sight, but having her here is a lighthouse in a stormy sea. “You’re awake! How do you feel?”
I groan and touch my ribs. I don’t even have the strength to roll my eyes, I’m in so much pain. “Like a moldy fish stick,” I grumble.
Layla sniggers. “That is to be expected,” she says.
“How long has it been?”
She takes a deep breath and looks away. “It’s been…a rough six days. For both you and your dad.”
“My dad’s here?” My chest pangs in pain as I try to sit up again.
“Relax, Daryl,” she says, touching my hand. “I sent him out to get some coffee and like, chill. Of course, the one time you wake up and are lucid, he’s not around, but he’s been by your side nonstop.”
“He has?” A fondness blossoms in my chest. Dad has never paid that much attention to me, save for our awkward family lunches.
“Of course. How do you think you can afford the fanciest hospital room in all of Princedelphia?” She lightly laughs and looks around. In addition to the life-saving machines, there is a TV and several leather chairs, perfect for guests to lounge on.
After a beat, Layla hands me lip balm. “He was so worried about you. He didn’t even know you went to the Coral Kingdom.”
I feel how dry my mouth is and liberally apply the waxy goodness to my lips. “Yes, well, it wasn’t exactly a planned vacation.”
I hand her back the stick, but she makes a shooing gesture. I guess this is mine now. “No, it was not.”
“It turns out I’m not particularly popular there. One person actually tried to, um…”
Layla shakes her head with a smile. “Please, the less I know, the better. I don’t want to start more of an international incident. The gods know I had to talk your dad down from waging war.”
“What?”
She chuckles. “Relax. He was just worried. When I called him to connect him with literal royalty over the phone, he was horrified and furious—understandably so. Then I managed to get him to think clearly, and he arranged for the medical helicopter. They got you back here pretty quickly.”
“Wow.” So that explains how I ended up back in the States. I recall seeing Seero before I was slammed with water pressure and blacked out.He looked so distraught…
As if reading my mind, Layla grins and tucks my ankles into the blanket. “You know, according to your dad, he and Seero…spoke.”
“Huh?” My pulse picks up. What did they say to each other? I completely forgot that Seero hates my dad and his company.
Layla looks around, then leans in. “Seero let your dad have it,” she whispers. “And by it, I mean a stern talking to about the environmental detriment of his company.”
I grin. “Really?”
“Yeah. According to him, as they hooked you up to the helicopter, Seero talked about how much better you are than your dad and his work. Apparently, he told your dad that Tishman’s Fishery ought to be ashamed of the damage it has done to the sea.” Layla laughs. “But you were one of the good ones. He talked about how you were a hero with all your wisdom and selflessness with marine wildlife. Your dad got to witness firsthand how much the Coral Prince cares about you, Daryl.”
Warmth floods my cheeks at her words. Seero still cares about me?Words surface in my memory of him telling me he loves me. But then again, the world was literally crumbling around us, and I wasn’t in the clearest state of mind.
My heart drops when I remember that I’m here now. I’m home, and I can’t go back to the Coral Kingdom—at least, not for some time. My body is one big injury, for crying out loud.
