Page 15 of Under Water

It’s Rune. He’s pink in the face, and his hands are shaking as they reach up and grip me by the front of my shirt. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Uh. Can you let me go?”

“No.” He does though.

He shoves me back, and my arm hits the tall counter of the nurses’ station. There’s one nurse behind the desk, and he lets out a soft gasp, but I just hold a hand up.

“I didn’t know you were here,” I tell him. “I tried to call you several times.”

“Ozzie called and let me know. Stay the fuck away from my son,” he snarls.

“Dad!” It’s Elio’s voice, and it’s much stronger than it had been in the ambulance.

We both turn, and Rune lets out an actual, honest-to-god growl as he holds his arm out in front of me.

“Oh my god, you’re embarrassing me. Stop!”

Rune’s arm drops, and he turns to me. “You rode with him?”

I give a single, stiff, very confused nod. “Uh. Yeah.”

“You—” Rune’s voice cracks and then drops to a low whisper. “You were first on scene?”

“Yes.” He sucks in another breath, so I hold up both hands. “Why don’t we talk about this later, okay? After he gets the all clear from the doctor?”

Rune swallows heavily, then nods and lifts a hand. For a second, I think he might hit me. Instead, he drops it on my shoulder and squeezes. “Thanks.”

“No. Don’t thank me.”

“Because it was your job?” he sneers.

“Because he was a child who wasn’t breathing, and I—” Oh good, and now my voice is threatening to give out. Something like understanding crosses Rune’s face. “Anyone would have helped.”

“I think you and I both know that’s not true.” He takes a pause, then says, “I didn’t think you took those calls.”

“I normally don’t. And if I hadn’t, Ozzie would have been on it,” I tell him.

Rune says nothing, then bows his head. “He wants to see you. But I need you to promise me something.”

“Yeah.” I don’t know why I’m agreeing. He could be asking me for anything. I mean, this is a man who hates my guts. But at this point, I feel like I’d promise to fly to space and capture a constellation if he wanted me to.

“Don’t tell anyone about Elio.”

I burst into laughter. I can’t really help it. When his eyes narrow on me, I let out a sigh and shake my head. “Everyone knows, dude. Like…I felt like I was the only one on the scene who didn’t know about your kid.”

“I—” He stops, then slaps a hand over his face. “Fuck.”

“Look, you can relax. No one is going to give a shit. People aren’t going to be creeps and put your kid all over social media.”

“That’s not what I was worried about,” he murmurs. He takes a step back. “It’s just…last time I—” Then he stops. “Never mind. Do you want to go see him?”

“I did make a solemn vow,” I answer, and without waiting for more of his permission, I brush past him and pull the curtain aside to find Elio sitting up with an oxygen tube in his nose and an IV dripping steadily into his veins.

He brightens when he sees me. “I’m feeling better.”

“Thank god for that.” I walk over and offer him a fist bump just as Rune snatches the curtain aside, then fixes it like the curtain personally insulted his childhood dog. “Did the needle sting?”

Elio snorts. “Nah. But I’ve been poked and prodded pretty much my entire life. Also, I have a PEG tube, so I’m kind of used to being poked and prodded.”