Chapter 4
I lay perfectly flat on the stiff white sheets, learning how to breathe without moving my chest.
“What about the family?” I asked.
“They are downstairs now,” Keith said. “Veronica and Anthony are signing the visitor logs.”
My fiancée and my cousin, arriving together before the business day had even started.
“If they touch my hand, do not react,” Keith warned. “Even a flinch in your eyelids will give it away.”
I practiced keeping my face blank, letting my jaw relax until I felt like a museum piece.
“Veronica will want to see the scans,” I said.
“I will tell her they are still being processed by neurology,” Keith said.
He placed the black pen in his breast pocket and walked over to adjust the IV drip.
“You have to stay completely still, Dominic. If they suspect anything, I cannot protect you.”
The private room smelled of sterile floor wax and cold tea.
A bunch of dried leaves scratched against the glass pane outside, driven by the autumn wind.
Keith stood near the desk, his pen scratching against the crisp texture of the legal bond paper on his clipboard.
“The chart is ready,” he said, his voice dropping to a huff of air. “If anyone asks, you are completely unresponsive to light and sound.”
“And Veronica?” I asked.
“She called twice from the car,” Keith said. “She was asking about the power of attorney.”
The air in the room felt suddenly cold, despite the radiator clicking under the window.
I closed my eyelids, letting the dark settle over me like a heavy blanket.
“I can hear their steps,” Keith whispered.
The door handle on the outer suite clicked, a sharp metallic sound in the quiet room.
“They are here,” Keith whispered, slipping the medical chart into the metal holder at the foot of my bed.
May you like
“Remember,” I muttered. “Tell them I am gone inside.”
I closed my eyes as the heavy door swung open.
