Page 55 of Found Objects

I was almost to the door, craving a bit of breathing room, but when I looked up, Evan was holding out his hand for me. Instantly, I made my way back to the bed and took his hand in both of mine, smiling down at him. He needed me; that was more important than anything else.

“Merritt, I was so cold and…it was so dark. And I could hear Cole calling me but I couldn’t see him and it felt like I was walking in…in…”

“Mud?” I offered.

“Yes,” he choked out. “Mud. So much mud.”

I nodded and turned to Narah, who was staring at us, eyes like saucers. “Could you draw the blinds, please?”

“What about all the—oh shit.” Justin gasped, watching as the ashes got lighter and lighter until they disappeared.

When Narah opened the curtains, light filled the room, and everyone could see how exhausted Evan appeared. He looked utterly wrung out, with dark bags under his eyes, as though he’d been awake for days… But his color was closer to normal, and though he was still sweaty and sticky, the smile was good.

Cole leaned over to hug him again as the nurse and a doctor walked into the room.

They checked his vitals and the displays on the machines, and the doctor, an older woman with great cat-eyed bifocal glasses, even gave Evan a gentle whack on the shoulder before she got on the computer and looked at more things.

“You seem happy.” Evan sighed.

“Because you look so much better. Your glucose level has evened out, so it looks like everything we did finally kicked in, as it were.”

“That’s good, right?”

“It’s very good, if not a bit surprising. But I’ve seen far more amazing recoveries than yours in my many years providing care.”

Which was fortunate for us.

“You’re still a mystery, though.”

“I like that,” he told her. “It sounds cool.”

“Only on TV,” she apprised him. “In real life, knowing what triggered the seizures to begin with would be preferable.”

“Yeah, but,” he said with a shrug, “being well is better no matter what.”

“Yes, it is,” she agreed. “You’re a very perceptive young man.”

He gave her a sheepish grin before she turned to Cole.

“So it looks as though your brother is out of the woods, and I’m confident, with how all his stats look, that the symptoms, specifically the seizures, won’t reoccur.”

“It was your excellent care that saved him, I’m sure of that.”

“I see both brothers are charming.” She smiled at him.

“She thinks we’re charming,” Evan told Cole, bumping him with the back of his hand.

“That’s because she barely knows you,” Cole grumbled in return.

“I am enjoying this banter,” she said softly, “but regardless, we’ll need to keep Evan for a couple of days of observation to make certain his⁠—”

“Actually, we think he’d do much better at home,” I countered, holding her gaze. “And I have a friend I’ll ask to come over and check on him. Diane Gershin, she’s an APRN, so she’s certainly more than qualified to watch over him.”

“I’m sorry, did you say Diane Gershin?”

I nodded.

“How do you know Diane?”