Page 3 of Created in Chaos

“Excuse me.” The female voice jolts me from my stupor, and I drag my eyes away from the bed to see a girl angling a cart down the hall toward her bed. I hate the way they are all talking in hushed whispers and peeking at us like we won’t notice their stares.

“I told the charge nurse about her history. She knew Nova had surgery from the scarring on her abdomen, but she’ll make sure the doctor knows about the issue with her kidneys, so he can check her scan thoroughly.”

The fact that I’m learning about scarring on her stomach from this woman pisses me off, but I don’t say shit to let on that I didn’t already know.

“Why isn’t she awake if she’s doing okay?” Nox questions.

The woman looks over her shoulder, back in Nova’s direction, and lets out a soft sigh before saying, “There are a lot of reasons. It could be as simple as her body went through a major trauma and it needs time to process and heal, or it could be the slight swelling in her brain. We won’t know until all the tests are back, but she’s stable right now, and that’s a good sign.” Her words are meant to be encouraging, but they don’t make me feel any better.

LUCIAN

The hours tick by so slowly, I’m convinced I’m losing my mind. I’ve been kicked out of the hallway in the ER twice, but the last time I tried to see her, they informed me they’d already moved her to a room, and as soon as she was settled, we could go up and be with her.

That was almost ninety minutes ago, and I still haven’t heard shit. “Chill out.” Nox thumps his head against the wall behind him.

“I’m not doing shit,” I snap.

“But driving us both crazy.”

“Hey, are you guys here for Nova Devlin?” a girl not much older than my lamb asks, leaning into the room.

“Yeah.” I get to my feet, anticipating her telling us where to go.

“I can take you up to her room if you’re ready.”

“Finally.” I don’t bother hiding my frustration, which causes the girl to duck her head. Nox smacks me on the shoulder as he comes to my side, telling me to chill.

“Is she awake yet?” I ask as we step into an elevator.

“Sorry, I don’t know. I’m just an aide. I was told to find you and take you up. Her nurses will be able to tell you what’s going on.”

We get off on the fourth floor and turn down a hall to see Rory and Astrid speaking to a doctor. I leave the girl in my wake as I get up close and personal with the doctor and, unavoidably, the Umbras. How the fuck did they get up here before us?

“Nice of you to finally show up,” I grate out.

The doctor furrows his brows and gets defensive on behalf of the Umbras. “Are you the patient’s family?”

“No,” Astrid answers.

My emphatic, “She’s with us,” is louder.

“You probably did this,” the Umbra matriarch accuses with disdain.

Her husband places his hand on her shoulder in what seems to be an effort to quiet her, then interjects, “Please finish what you were saying.”

I get a questioning side-eye from the doctor, but he takes the prompt. “As I was saying, your granddaughter sustained several injuries, the worst of which were several blows to the head and abdomen. We’re treating the slight swelling in her brain proactively because it can get worse before it gets better.”

Astrid lifts her hand up to her mouth. “Will she… How serious is that?”

“It’s my biggest concern right now.”

“Is that why she isn’t waking up?” I interrupt.

“Most likely. Her other injuries—the broken ribs, fingers, and heavy bruising we talked about—will heal with time.”

“What about her kidneys?” I ask, concerned this worsened her condition.

“I requested her records to compare them with the ultrasound we took today to see if the cysts and lesions are from her previous injury. I noticed the splint on her arm. How did that happen?”

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