Page 24 of Uprising

“Then what did happen?” My father half shouts as I flinch. There’s a vein in his neck that’s protruding so much I thinkhemight just have a heart attack. Though that would certainly make this day a little better if he did.

I’d even welcome that as a wedding gift. My father dead. Yeah, that would be the best one I receive.

The doctor looks at me for a moment before addressing my father once more. “With all due respect I don’t think you raising your voice is helping your daughter right now.”

“With all due respect you can fuck off.” My father snaps.

“Enough.” Darius says. “Ignatio, Carla, I think it best if you both leave.”

They splutter. “She’s my daughter…” My mother protests.

“And she is my wife.” Darius snaps back before practically pushing them out of the room and shutting the door.

When he comes back he fixes his gaze on the doctor. “I want the Head of Cardiology in here.”

“Mr Blumenfeld, I can assure you…”

“I don’t give a fuck what you can assure me, I am the Governor, this is my wife. I want him in here or I will sue this hospital for everything it’s got.”

The doctor blanches, nods, and all but sprints for the door.

And then he turns on me.

I flinch more. I’m expecting a full fucking tantrum now. He walks up to me, sits in the chair, and takes my hand.

“Rose.” He says more gently than I expected.

I don’t know what to say. What to do.

I can see under this calm demeanour that he’s raging. I ruined his perfect plan. His perfect wedding.

“Talk to me.”

I gulp. “I didn’t mean to…”

He brushes my hair back. It’s somehow still all styled, I can feel the clip digging into my skull and I so dearly want to rip it out and hurl it as hard as I can.

“If you’re sick we’ll deal with it.”

“I’m not sick.” I don’t know why I even say it. It would be better if he thinks I am. He might even stop hurting me so much then.

The door opens. We both look as a man closer to Darius’s age walks in.

“Mr Blumenfeld.” He says holding his hand out. “I’m Doctor Strauss, I’m head of Cardiology.”

Darius takes his hand, shaking it in a way that makes me think the two of them are having some sort of contest over who can crush each other’s knuckles the most.

“I’ve looked through your wife’s notes on the way down. I can’t see anything of concern from the ECG, or the scans.”

“She collapsed.” Darius says. “Healthy people do not just collapse.”

“No.” Strauss agrees.

“Could she be pregnant? Would that be it?” Darius asks.

My head whips, my stomach does a full three sixty. Is that what he’s thinking? Is that why he’s not acting like I’m a criminal right now?

Strauss shakes his head. “No, we tested for pregnancy and it came back negative. Besides your wife has an IUD, it would be incredibly rare for her to be pregnant with such a device fitted.”