Page 113 of Free to Breathe
“It’s not large enough to be a problem, and it’s too close to the ICAs to try to use anything sharp to go after it. If I nick something, I risk her bleeding out. Ah, there you are, you little bitch. Come to Daddy…”
* * *
“Not even Genoa is appealing.”Em shoves her sandwich away from her. “I’m too damn worried to eat.”
“I never thought I’d ever say that.” Holly eyes her slice of pizza tragically. “It’s almost making me nauseous.”
Caleb winces. “Sorry, guys. I thought asking Charlie to make a run would be a good idea.”
“It was a great idea, my love,” Cassidy consoles him. “Maybe if we heard some kind of news that was substantial, Caleb.”
“These hourly updates aren’t telling us dick,” Phil bitches.
“Lord knows if we wanted to talk about dick, you’re the guy we should go to,” Ali jokes weakly.
“Alison, must you encourage him?” Keene throws down his sandwich in disgust.
“Yes, because I need something to distract me, and I didn’t prepare for this kind of agony, Keene.” Ali’s face crumbles. “What if we get this far and they walk in that damn door and she’s not Corinna anymore? What if she can’t walk or talk or speak?” Jumping up from the table, she runs to the door.
“Shit, I was waiting for this to happen,” Keene mumbles, racing after her.
Charlie sits down next to me. “Don’t have much of an appetite myself.”
My sandwich sits untouched before me. The idea of eating is nauseating, to say the least. The closer we get to the end, the more anxious I’m starting to become. Stomach beginning to churn, I wonder if something’s going wrong in the OR.
And it’s been more than an hour and a half since Corinna last told me to locate something in the big purple bag. My cell phone hasn’t gone off. I’ve checked my alerts; none have been missed. I need her “voice” right now. I’m going crazy wanting to protect her, and unable to fight against the vortex trying to take her from me.
As my morose thoughts consume me and desperation sets in, my cell phone alarm goes off.12:45 PM. Purple bag. Ziploc 5. I didn’t forget about you. You guys needed to eat! By now you should know the drill. Love, Corinna
Finally. My chin drops to my chest in a silent prayer.
There she is.
Standing, I pull the bag from under the table and plop it in my chair.
“Cori sent another message?” Holly exclaims excitedly.
“Yes. She said she wanted us to eat first.”
Ali catches the tail end of what I’m saying as she and Keene come back into the room. “Not even for her could I eat her chocolate cake right now. Gimme,” she demands as she rushes over.
“Such patience.” I hand her the card with her name on it. Keene saunters up more slowly. “Here’s yours.” Lowering my voice, I ask, “Is she okay?”
“About as okay as the Apollo 13 crew was knowing they wouldn’t touch down on the moon.”
“Right,” I mutter, ripping into my own card.
The colored card stock seems innocuous enough. It’s the scrawled words, “I can’t imagine this day without you!” in the center that grips my heart in a vise so tight, I can’t breathe.
There are no options without Corinna.
I open the card with dread.
The best parts of me don’t work the same way without you in my life. I should know. I tried for too many years. Love, Corinna
Holding the card to my lips, the closest I can get to kissing her right now, I think,Neither do mine, princess. That’s why I need this day to hurry up so I can know all our parts will work right together.
Forever.
