Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
When her knees wobbled, he ordered, “Sit.”
She sank into the chair. “Oh my God,” she whispered as she couldn’t pull her eyes from the shell of her formerly beautiful and vibrant sister under the bedding. “Is she in a coma?”
He stood next to her. “Doctor wouldn’t tell me shit since I’m not family. Flashing my badge didn’t work, either.”
Her words caught in her throat when she whispered, “She’s so fragile.”
“It’ll take her a while to recover.”
“And once she does, she needs to get clean this time. If she continues like this…” Sloane shook her head and a tear slid down her cheek unchecked since Decker gripped one of her hands while she gripped one of Sadie’s. She chewed on her bottom lip. “I can’t afford this hospital stay but I can’t afford to lose her, either.”
She had no idea how she would pay for this. Of course, Sadie had no health insurance. This might be the last nail in Sloane’s financial coffin. But if she had to, she’d live in a tent under a damn bridge to save her sister.
“My mom showed up, right?” he asked gently.
He had called his mother before calling her so she could head over to the house right away. That was smart since all Sloane wanted to do as soon as he called her about Sadie was rush out of the house and speed over to the hospital.
“Yes. She was pulling in as I was leaving. I didn’t want to bring Val with me and I’m sure you didn’t want her here to see this, either.”
Val might not know what happened to her mother, but one day she would and seeing Sadie in this kind of condition wouldn’t help.
“She’s too young to understand it. Normally I’d tell her that Sadie is dealing with an illness, but… I hate to say this…” He pulled in an audible breath. “Seeing your sister like this might give her nightmares.”
Sloane nodded because it was enough to give her nightmares.
Just then, a doctor poked her head in the door.
“Doc, this is Sadie’s sister if you want to give her the rundown.” Decker released Sloane’s hand and said, “You talk to the doctor. I’m going to go get you a bottle of water. Do you want anything else?”
She shook her head instead of answering, because suddenly her throat tightened with tears at how he was making an effort to be there for her. He didn’t have to stay with her. He’d found her sister. That was all he agreed to do.
It was done.
Their agreement was over.
Her voice was thick when she told him, “You don’t have to stay. Go home to Val.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Sloane. I’m here for you.” He leaned over, cupped her face and lightly pressed his lips against hers, whispering, “I’m here for you as long as you want me here.”
He straightened, jerked up his chin at the waiting doctor and then disappeared out the door.
“Since she’s not in a coma but in an unresponsive state, I’m hoping the doctor is right and once they get her full of fluids and get some nutrition in her, she should come around.”
That was only the sixth time she’d mentioned that to Decker. She was repeating herself because she felt so damn helpless and didn’t know what else to do or say. Luckily, he’d had all the patience in the world with her babbling.
He’d not only brought her coffee and water throughout the last few hours, he’d gone out to get them dinner earlier and brought it back.
Even so, she hadn’t been able to eat. She felt guilty in forcing down a meal in front of Sadie when her sister was nothing but skin and bones. And her mouth…
It was so bad, it broke her heart. And the way her gums and teeth looked, they had to be painful on a good day.
Sloane hadn’t even noticed how bad it was until Decker mentioned it. She had gently lifted her sister’s lips to see the devastation caused by meth addiction.
Of course, that brought on a fresh batch of tears at how far her sister had fallen.
She was unrecognizable.
“When she does come around, expect her to start going through withdrawal and everything that goes along with it. She might call you every name under the sun and be extremely hostile, Sloane. Don’t take it personally.”
To answer him, she had to swallow the boulder stuck in her throat. “I know. She’s acted like that in the past. She turned totally nasty before.”
“Do you want to call your parents and give them the news?”
She really didn’t need any extra pressure and guilt from her parents. They would want to hammer home their opinion that Sloane was ruining her life trying to help an unappreciative Sadie.
“No. They won’t understand and they won’t care. The only way they will is if she gets clean and gets her life back on track.”