Chapter Thirty Seven
379 Words
The waiting room buzzed low and ugly, fluorescent lights humming like insects.
Chloe sat hunched in the hard plastic chair, phone clutched so tight her knuckles whitened.
Leia was somewhere beyond those double doors.
And Owen —
Owen needed to get the f**k here.
She stabbed his name on the screen again, heart jackhammering.
It rang.
And rang.
And rang.
Finally:
“Yeah?” Owen’s voice crackled through the speaker — tired, but not detached this time. Warmer. Practiced.
“Dad,” Chloe gasped, struggling to keep her voice steady. “It’s bad. Mom’s—she’s really bad. She’s in the trauma unit.”
There was a pause.
Not as long as before.
“I’ll head over after work,” Owen said. Calm. Steady. Measured like he was talking about grocery shopping, not life support.
“I just gotta close out some stuff here first.”
Chloe blinked, throat locking up.
“You’re coming?”
“Yeah,” he said simply. “Just hang tight, kiddo.”
He hung up before she could respond.
Owen slid his phone back into his pocket, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the spreadsheet he hadn’t touched all morning.
The office buzzed faintly around him.
He thought about Chloe’s panicked voice.
About Leia’s fevered, useless body gasping for air.
And for half a second —
a real second —
he wondered if maybe he should actually worry.
But then his phone buzzed again.
He pulled it out, thumb scrolling absently — not even conscious he was doing it.
Jessica.
His thumb hovered.
And then he texted:
“Rough day at work. What are you up to later tonight?”
He hit send without hesitation.
Not even guilt stirred.
⸻
Three minutes later, her reply popped up:
“Nothing yet! Just gonna chill after work. Why?”
Owen smirked, feeling the pulse of adrenaline spark low in his gut.
“Thinking about grabbing coffee when I’m done here. You free?”
Another fast reply:
“I’d love that!”
⸻
Owen tucked the phone back into his pocket, a slow grin crawling over his face.
He finished the rest of his coffee in one long, bitter swallow —
already thinking about tonight,
already picturing Jessica’s bright smile opening up just for him.
- Writer
