Page 35 of I Found You
“That’s what text messages are for.” He didn’t call me a dumbass because he knew I was closer to my breaking point than ever before, but I heard it in his voice all the same.
I had the door open before either of the two EMTs got out of the ambulance the second they pulled up. A woman in her late twenties was clearly in charge, which was probably for the best, considering her sidekick looked like he belonged in middle school.
They assessed Jane’s condition efficiently. I didn’t like the way they were handling her though. I didn’t like her not being in my arms. Her crying moans were getting worse, and she wasn’t opening her eyes. I jumped out of my skin when Luke put a hand on my shoulder. I hadn’t even heard his cruiser pull up.
“You’re shaking, man. Breathe,” he told me. To the two EMTs, he asked, “What’s the prognosis?”
“I want to bring her in. I don’t like how lethargic she is. It could be a number of conditions, but she needs to be evaluated by a doctor to determine the best course of action.”
“Fuck,” I hissed. Turning away from the group, I needed to take a second to collect myself before I fell apart. If anything happened to this little girl… “I’m just watching her. Her guardian is out to dinner. I’ve tried to call her, but I can’t get a hold of her.” Straightening my spine, I turned an icy glare to the woman who I assumed was in charge. “She’s not going to the hospital alone. I’m going with you.” My voice sounded like steel. It would be a cold day in hell I would let someone walk out of this house with Jane without me.
“Of course. You are more than welcome to ride with us or meet us there. We can figure the rest out later, but getting thisbaby treatment needs to be our first priority.”
“Let’s go.”
The ambulance was cramped, but they had a seat along the side that I used. The middle-schooler EMT tried to take Jane and strap her down to the gurney, but he backed off after I told him that if he tried to put his hands on her again, I would fucking dismember him. Amy, the female EMT, had my back and let me cradle Jane to my chest for the entire journey.
I called Maeve two more times on my way to the emergency room. She said she would be gone for an hour or two. It had probably only been an hour since she left. That thought alone felt wrong. How it couldn’t have been a week that passed in the past sixty minutes, I had no idea.
The hospital was a whirlwind. The EMTs brought her in, and she was immediately whisked away. If anyone had tried to stop me from following them, it would have been a wasted effort. Nothing was going to pull me away from Jane. I didn’t care if I had to burn the whole place down, I would follow that gurney to hell and back.
15
Maeve
I usually loved walking into Millie’s Pizza. It always smelled so good, like fresh baked bread and campfires. It didn’t do anything to calm my nerves today though. I was running a few minutes behind after debating about whether or not to even come, and as soon as I opened the door, I found Josie sitting at a table.
She was chatting with the people at the table over from her, laughing lightly at something the woman said.
She caught my eye, and I could tell she was nearly as hesitant to be here as I was. She excused herself from the other conversation as I made my way over to her table, turning her attention to me.
“Hi, honey. I’m so glad you came.” She looked like she was going to stand for a second, but I quickly pulled out my chair and sat. The last thing I wanted to do was give her a hug, like everything was perfectly fine.
“Don’t be too excited. I’m not sure how long I’m staying. I’m only here for Jackson’s sake.”
“I understand that. I do. But I’m glad you’re here anyway. How are you? How’s the baby? You’re a mom now? I can’t even believe it.” Josie’s hands knotted and unknotted on the tabletop, and I had to physically stop myself from doing the exact same thing. I didn’t want to have anything in common with her, not even the same fidgeting habits.
“She’s not my daughter. I’m fostering here while DCF finds her family or a more permanent home.”
“Wow. That’s amazing.” She was looking at me like I hung the moon.
“It’s not that amazing. I raised Jackson. I can take care of Jane too.”
Okay, Maeve. You agreed to come to this dinner. Play nice. It’s only an hour or so.I gave myself a quick pep talk, reining in my attitude. I had every right to hate Josie. But if I agreed to come to this dinner to get to know her a little, I had to at least give her a minute of my time.
“I wouldn’t doubt it for a moment.” The guy working the counter called a number, and Josie looked at her ticket. “That’s ours. I’ll be right back.”
She picked up two personal-sized pizzas and two iced teas from the counter.
“I got one cheese and one with sausage. I hope that’s alright.”
“Yeah, that’s fine. You didn’t have to get mine though. I would have paid for my own.” It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate it, but I wanted her to know that I was doing fine on my own. I had been for years. Sure, sometimes it was a struggle, especially when Jackson was shy on his rent or needed money for food, but I was making it work.
A few minutes passed while we both ate in silence. I wondered how Jane was doing and if Wyatt was able to get herto calm down. If anyone was going to do it, it would be Wyatt. He was a baby whisperer, at least where Jane was concerned.
“I went into a program,” Josie said, breaking the silence.
“Huh?”
