Page 122 of Fierce-Matt

This was the last thing they needed and she refused to let her mind go to the worst.

She called Matt and left him a message. He was in court today and she didn’t want to bother him, but he’d want to know too.

She pulled into the parking lot at the ER, drove around to find a spot, then jumped out and ran in. Her mother was there waiting for her.

“They won’t let me see him yet,” her mother said. “Anya, I don’t know how bad it is.”

“Let’s not think like that. He has a broken leg you said. Not the end of the world.”

Amber grabbed her hand. They were waiting in line for her to give the information about her father.

“He wanted to go to the store. It’s almost empty at this point, but he wanted to do a few things. I didn’t think it’d hurt to get him out of the house. He was having a good day.”

“Mom, don’t beat yourself up over this. You can’t stand guard over him all the time.”

She wiped a tear from her mother’s cheek and hugged her.

“I know. No one was watching him. I don’t even know what he was doing on the ladder. I went to the back to check on something. You know, just helping to clean it out for the sale.”

They should have had the staff do this, but there weren’t many left at this point.

“We can’t go back and change anything.” How she would love to have done that in her life but learned those things just didn’t happen.

“Move forward please,” an employee said.

“Mom, you’re next.”

Her mother moved forward with their insurance card in her hand, gave all her father’s information. They had their pictures taken and bands put on their wrists, then were asked to step aside and someone would come get them to let them in the back.

Their number was called ten minutes later and an aide brought them back to a room.

“Where is my husband?” her mother asked.

“They are running tests on him now. If you’d like to take a seat, someone will be out to get you when he’s done so you can see him or if they know more.”

“There isn’t anything you can tell us?” she asked.

“I’m sorry. My job is to just show people where to go. The nurse’s station is around the corner, but I don’t think they’ve got anything to report right yet. Maybe give them thirty minutes.”

Anya nodded and pulled her mother into the room to sit.

“I want to talk to a nurse,” Amber said.

“Let’s give them a few minutes. There is no reason to stand out there waiting. Take a few deep breaths.”

She was rubbing her mother’s hand and trying to get her to calm down.

Anya had never been good in situations like this. Running and hiding in her room had always been her answer.

But the past year or more of her life, she’d learned to stand up for herself. To fight back.

It was getting her somewhere now.

She looked at the time on her watch and made a note to check in at the desk soon.

“Anya, I know we have to prepare ourselves for the worst with your father in the future, but I hadn’t thought it would be this soon.”

“Shhh,” she said. “Don’t think those thoughts.”