Chapter8- RUSH BACK
839 Words
For a second, the whole diner froze.
Milkshake dripping from the table.
Luise half-standing.
Trianna was staring at her little brother, unable to breathe.
“Mom…” Jaden’s voice cracked. “She’s on the floor—she won’t wake up!”
Trianna shot up so fast her knees hit the table. “Stay here,” she told Luise, but her voice was shaking. She grabbed her bag and ran, pushing through the door, ignoring the stares.
“Jaden, where’s Amaya?” she asked as they bolted down the sidewalk.
“At home,” he panted. “She called me, I ran to find you.”
Trianna’s mind spun. I never should have left. I never should have left.
Her heels slapped the pavement. She didn’t care that she was still in the blue dress. Didn’t care that people were staring.
Behind them came quick footsteps.
“Trianna!” Luise’s voice. He’d followed. “Let me help.”
“No,” she said over her shoulder. “Go back.”
But he didn’t. He caught up and kept pace. “I’m not letting you run alone.”
They reached the apartment stairs. Trianna took them two at a time, heart punching her ribs. The door to their unit was wide open. Inside, Amaya was crying, crouched beside their mother who lay on the carpet, skin pale, lips trembling.
“Mom,” Trianna gasped, falling to her knees. “Mom, can you hear me?” She tapped her mother’s cheek, trying not to panic. No answer—only a weak flutter of breath.
“We need an ambulance,” Luise said, already pulling out his phone.
“No!” Trianna’s voice cracked. “We still owe from last time—”
“There’s no time for that,” he said firmly. “She needs a hospital. Now.”
His tone cut through her fear. He dialed anyway, speaking quickly to the operator, giving their address. Trianna cradled her mother’s head in her lap, whispering, “Stay with me, please stay with me…”
Amaya clung to her arm. Jaden stood frozen, fists tight, eyes huge.
Within minutes, the paramedics arrived, lifting her mother onto a stretcher. The apartment filled with noise—oxygen tank hiss, metal clatter, clipped voices asking questions Trianna could barely answer.
“She’s been coughing for weeks,” Trianna said. “The medicine wasn’t working. We—” Her voice broke.
They rushed her mother out. Trianna followed by instinct, only pausing when Luise’s hand brushed hers. “I’ll drive you. Come on.”
At the hospital, everything blurred. Forms. Questions. Waiting under harsh fluorescent lights while machines beeped somewhere beyond double doors. Amaya curled up in a chair. Jaden dozed against her shoulder. Trianna sat rigid, clutching her phone like it could anchor her.
Luise returned from the nurses’ station with a cup of water. “She’s stable for now,” he said softly. “They’re running tests.”
Trianna took the cup but didn’t drink. “I shouldn’t have gone out. If anything happens—”
“Stop,” he said, crouching, so his eyes met hers. “This isn’t your fault. You’ve been carrying everything alone.”
She swallowed hard. “That’s my job.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” His voice was gentle. “Let me help.”
She looked away, staring at the hospital floor tiles. Her heart was still racing from the sprint, but another feeling crept in—shock at how naturally he’d stepped into her chaos. No judgement. No hesitation. Just… there.
“I don’t know how to let someone in,” she whispered.
“Then start small,” he said. “Like this. Right now.”
Her eyes burned. She blinked fast, then nodded just once.
Down the hall, a nurse called her name. “Family of Mrs. Phillip?”
Trianna jumped up. “Yes—yes, that’s me.” She took a step, then hesitated, turning back to Amaya and Jaden. “Stay here with Mr… with Luise, okay?”
Both kids nodded, eyes wide but trusting.
She followed the nurse into a small consultation room. The doctor waited there, expression careful. “She’s resting, but her lungs are under stress,” he said. “We’ll keep her overnight and adjust her treatment. She’ll need more tests.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Trianna’s voice was a whisper.
“We’ll do everything we can,” the doctor said. “Right now she’s stable. That’s the good news.”
Relief hit her so hard her knees nearly gave out. She pressed a hand onto the wall to steady herself.
When she returned to the waiting area, Luise stood as if he’d been waiting all his life. She didn’t say anything. She just walked to him, and for the first time, she let herself lean—just a little—against his shoulder.
They stayed like that in the white hospital light, the weight she carried finally shifting, even if only for a heartbeat.
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