Page 35 of Cured

“Ember? Yeah, she’s a patient of mine. Why? Did something happen to her?” His voice grew appropriately concerned—appropriate for a doctor, not a family member.

“Yeah, she’s at Mercy right now. Not sure if her appendix has ruptured or it’s about to, they are getting ready to take her up to surgery.”

“Oh, man, poor girl, but, Colt, why are you calling me to tell me this? I would have gotten a report on this tomorrow morning.”

“She has you listed as her emergency contact.”

“She does?” he sounded as surprised as I was.

“Yeah, there is no one else listed. Does she not have family?”

He cleared his throat and changed the subject. “Colt, how do you know Ember?”

“We’re friends. I guess you could say we’re dating.”

“Well, that’s not a couple I ever expected, but that’s great. Look, I’d love to tell you about her past, but I can’t. Ember is pretty private when it comes to that, and I have to respect her privacy. If she wants you to know, she will.”

“You can’t tell me anything?” I spun in a circle.

“I can tell you that she’s a great girl, with an incredible head on her shoulders that she’s not using to the best of her ability right now. She’s been through a lot. She’s going to need some time to open up. If you care about her, you’ll give her the time, but try to push her a bit, too.”

“Thanks, Tom, I appreciate it.” We hung up while I sank into a seat.

Well, Tom just confirmed that she’d had a rough past. Someday maybe she would trust me and tell me about it. I could guarantee that it had something to do with the name Kadyn she had inked to her wrist. That was the same name she had called out twice in the ambulance. Was it a man who had hurt her when she was younger?

“Doctor Barnes,” I looked up at the sound of my name, “they are taking her up.”

I nodded to Delores, and she hit the button to open the back doors so I could go through the ER to the bank of elevators there instead of using the public ones out front.

Ember was in the hallway upstairs when I got to the operating area. Three people were standing over her, talking and reviewing what information they knew.

“Colt,” Josey saw me and waved me over, “did you come in with her?”

“Yeah, do you know if it ruptured?”

“No, doesn’t look like it did yet, but we aren’t going to take any chances. The doctor is about ten minutes out and then we are going to scrub in and get this taken care of as soon as possible.”

I put my hands on my hips, hung my head, and released a tense breath. Josey put her arm on my back, “You alright?”

“Yeah,” I said quietly.

“Who is she? She looks familiar.”

“Her name is Ember. We just started dating.”

“Well, go sit in the waiting room. We’ll take good care of her. Do you want to see her for a moment?” I nodded, and she stepped back so I could move next to the gurney. The other two people who had been standing there moved away.

“Ember, baby, you’re gonna be alright. I’ll see you when you wake up.” I leaned down and kissed her forehead, it was burning up.

“Let me know,” I said to Josey as I walked off down the hallway and went into the waiting room.

So many times I had been through that exact door, but never to sit and wait. I’d always been the one to come in and tell the family how things had gone. I glanced around the room. There were heavy-duty chairs and couches scattered around the area. A few blankets sat piled on a shelf for people who would wait for a while.

I’d seen so many tears in this room: happy tears and tears of sadness. I shook my head and blinked as moisture filled my own eyes. Now I could add worried tears to the list.

Ninety minutes later, Josey came to find me. “She did great, Colt. It wasn’t ruptured, we got it in time. They are going to keep her overnight, but most likely they will send her home tomorrow. She’s going to be in recovery for another thirty minutes or so, and then they will take her to her room.”

“Thanks, Josey,”

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