The Waiting by Hunter Shea Read Free Book Online Page B

him for a moment. When he straightened, he smiled, then reached out to the control panel of the infusion pump.  
    Part of her wanted to yell at him not to touch it. If she thought a real, living boy was in the room with her daughter, she would have.  
    But she knew what she was seeing was not an actual boy.  
    The certainty of what she beheld kept her mouth from opening and her legs from propelling her into the room.  
    She watched him turn his back and walk around the bed until he left the view within the doorframe. She was struck by how quiet the house was. The boy’s footsteps didn’t elicit a single tick from the cranky wood floor.  
    When he was gone, the infusion pump started to howl. It broke her trance and she walked over shards of ceramic, leaving coffee and crimson-colored footprints in her wake. She was not surprised to see that the boy had disappeared.  
    She was concerned about the warning chime on the pump. When she looked down, the floor by the bed was covered in a foul-smelling miasma of blood and clots of infected tissue. The drain tube in Cassandra’s stomach had slipped out. Her digestive acids must have flared up, spewing rot and gore from the open wound the surgeon had left until it spilled onto the floor.  
    The smell was overpowering. She clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from vomiting.  
    What do I do?  
    Her finger shook as she jabbed at the monitor, trying to turn off the alarm. When she moved closer to inspect the vitals display, her foot slipped in the vile essence of the infection that was taking Cassandra from her and she fell backward.  
    She looked up at her daughter, who wore an expression of absolute peace.  
    Still on the floor, she fumbled for her phone and called Louisa.  

Chapter Fourteen
    This time, when Brian got the call from Alice, he kept his calm. Louisa was there with her and would wait until he got home. He assigned Noel Rice to be the gym monitor while he jogged to Principal Mann’s office.  
    Knowing Louisa was already there, calm and in control, made the biggest difference this time around. He drove fast, but didn’t blow past stop signs and red lights.  
    Alice was on her knees cleaning something off the hall floor.  
    “Is she okay?” he asked, pausing before going into his bedroom.  
    “Yes. I kind of panicked, but it’s a good thing I did. Louisa can explain it better than me.”
    He saw bandages on her feet but concern for Cassandra was overriding.  
    Louisa rose from the chair by the bed and motioned for him to join her. The veins in his head pounded and he had to take a deep breath to collect himself.  
    The first thing he saw was the tilted lid of the medical waste bucket. It was stuffed with paper towels and rubber gloves spattered with blood.  
    “Oh my God, what happened?”
    Louisa said, “It was nothing critical. Please, take a seat and let’s talk.”
    He was grateful for the suggestion. The sight of all the blood had drained his muscles of their strength.  
    Louisa continued, “Your wife’s drain tube simply came loose. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner. The GI infection will drain, with or without the tube in place. Your mother-in-law walked in to quite a scare.”
    Brian remembered Louisa telling them what could happen if the drain came out and how to reinsert new tubing when it did. Because it was all just theory to him, he wasn’t sure if he’d even remember how to do it. Plus, it was squeamish work. That open area was difficult to look at, and at times, worse to smell. His MIL did the right thing, calling for Louisa.  
    “The more important thing is Cassandra’s fever. I just took it and it’s at 103. I think it’s time we got her to the hospital so she can have her port changed. It’s infected and it has to come out. I already phoned ahead. An ambulance will be here shortly.”
    He reached out and gave Louisa’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I understand. Thank you.” He felt Cassandra’s forehead with