Penny
“The guy is an idiot,” one man in a suit barked to another as I try to reach the elevator and avoid the drama in the lobby. “Dalton is throwing his career away, first for some chick, and now he’s on his deathbed trying to be a Good Samaritan.”
At the sound of his name my feet freeze, my tennis shoes squeaking on the shiny marble floor. Deathbed? What the hell does that mean? It’s been two weeks since I’ve seen Dalton, and I convinced myself pushing him away had worked. He wasn’t out trying to sort out the deep dimensions of love. He was on a bender drinking his problems away and successfully avoiding me. Or so I thought.
“What happened to Dalton?” I ask breathlessly as I bump into the two men who look thoroughly put out now. “You said he was on his deathbed?”
“You’re his girl, aren’t you?” the scrawnier of the two men laugh and nudges the other with his elbow. “Shouldn’t you know where your boy toy is?”
“What happened?” I shout, sending every pair of eyes in the lobby flying my way. I don’t care who stares. I want answers.
“Chill out. He’s in the hospital. I don’t know the details. I just know he missed a board meeting, and people are questioning his ability as a leader. That’s always step one in ousting someone. The guy made his own shit storm. He doesn’t get to be pissed; he’s caught out in it now. He should have toed the line like the rest of us instead of getting in bed with the enemy.”
“What’s your name?” I ask, staring hard at him so I can commit his face to memory.
“Pierce Savions.” He smirks. “Why, are you looking for a new warm bed to crawl into?”
“I want to make sure I give my sister your name for her list.” I keep my glare steady as his face contorts in confusion.
“What list?”
“The list of people she’s going to destroy,” I reply coolly and turn on my heel to head upstairs. His little laugh turns into a nervous chuckle as I hit the button to get me to the fourteenth floor.
“What’s the rush?” Ben asks, as I leave the elevator and blow by him in the hallway.
“Did you know Dalton is in the hospital?” I ask, winded from the adrenaline-fueled speed. “Do you know what happened?”
“No,” Ben says, worry creasing his brow. “Was he in an accident or something?”
“No clue,” I choke out as tears well in my eyes. “I’ve got to find him. I need to make sure he’s all right.”
“I’ll make some calls,” Ben tells me, and a moment later Kylie is in the hallway, trying to assess the situation.
“Are you all right?” she asks, clutching my shoulder tightly. “What happened?”
“A few guys in the lobby,” I choke out, trying to explain but Kylie’s eyes fill with rage and her back tenses up.
“Who, what did they do to you? Tell me their names.”
“No,” I say, a brief moment of calm filling me as I watch my sister transform into a wild animal ready to tear my enemies to pieces. “It’s Dalton. I heard some guys in the lobby saying he’s in the hospital on his deathbed. I don’t know what happened.”
“I’m calling around,” Ben explains, putting his hand over his phone for a second. “I think I’ve found him.”
“I’ll have a car service out front in a second,” Kylie promises as she pulls out her own cell and gets to work. I’m left standing in the hallway feeling the world spinning too fast around me. I’m useless and terrified as I walk to Dalton’s door and place my palm on the cool wood.
“You better not die,” I whisper as both Ben and Kylie spring into action, tugging me toward the elevator.
“Did they say what happened?” Kylie presses, but Ben just shakes his head.
“I only know what hospital he’s at, not his condition. We can be there in fifteen minutes. You already called for a car?”
“I was ready to head out,” Kylie explains. “The car’s out front now. Are we all going?”
I look at Ben and Kylie, and they wait for me to decide as though they’ll bend to whatever I ask. “Yeah.” I nod. “Yeah, we all should go. I don’t know how bad it is, but he should know people are there with him.”
“Does he have family?” Kylie asks, probably running through a checklist in her head of what to do in these situations.
“His dad,” I gulp out, remembering the frail old man who shared a pot of tea with me and looked desperate to make amends with his son. Would he ever get the chance? Would he lose Dalton before they could work through their complicated relationship? Would I lose him before we could work out ours?
“I’ll find a way to get in touch with his dad if he doesn’t already know,” Ben says, clicking away at his phone screen. “It shouldn’t be too hard to track him down.”
“Thank you, guys,” I whisper as the elevator doors close and the world suddenly feels small and quiet again for a minute.
Neither Ben or Kylie reply, but I can see them exchanging some look I can’t quite pin down. I’d imagine it’s worry. Worry about how many pieces I’ll fall into if Dalton doesn’t make it. They’re wondering if those little shards could ever be put back together. The answer is no, and judging by their silence, I think they already know.