Fragments (The Broken Series Book 2) (12 page)

Benjamin didn’t reply directly. “You just need to get back here, Tina. She’ll want you here.”

“Okay, I’ll get the first flight I can,” I said.

“I’ll arrange a car to pick you up at the airport. Phone me on this number, or text me, to let me know what time you are due to land.”

“I will. I’ll text you the flight number as soon as I’ve booked it.”

“I can wire money to your account for the flight,” Benjamin said.

“No. It’s fine. I’ll handle it. I’ll be there soon.”

“Good,” Benjamin said. Then the line went dead.

I turned to look at Maria who was still standing by the doorway.
 

“It’s my sister,” I said in a croaky voice I hardly recognized as my own. “I have to get home.”
 

Maria nodded. “Of course, I will arrange a car to the airport whenever you need it. You must pack now, yes?”

I nodded and followed Maria out of the room.

I walked along the hallway towards my room in a daze.
 

I needed to get myself on the next flight that left Monaco headed for the US. I hoped to God it wasn’t fully booked.

When I got back to my room, I yanked off the oversized t-shirt I had been sleeping in, slipped on a pair of jeans and pulled on a sweatshirt.

After scooping my hair back into a ponytail, I knelt beside the bed and quickly pulled out the suitcase I had stashed underneath.

I was halfway through emptying my drawers and dumping the contents into my case when it hit me.

What the hell was I doing?

I didn’t need all this stuff. It was just belongings.

I wasn’t thinking straight. None of this crap mattered. I just needed to get back home. That was what mattered right now. Nothing else was important.

I balled up my fists and closed my eyes. I had to think logically. I had to make a plan, otherwise I wouldn’t get anywhere.

I needed to book a flight. I got up from my knees, searching for the iPad. I searched the dressing table, the floor and I even looked under the duvet.

Dammit. Where was it?

I couldn’t find it anywhere, and then I remembered. I’d been using it to watch a movie in Lauren’s room.

I cursed under my breath and made my way to the door. I’d just put my hand on the door handle when it swung open violently, almost hitting me.

In front of me stood Jack.

He put his hands on my shoulders and stared down at me. His eyes were burning and his whole face was tense.

“Jack,” I said. “It’s my sister, Kate…” My voice broke.

He pulled me towards him, enveloping me in his strong arms.

“I know. Maria just told me. I’ve fixed up a flight. It leaves in two hours. The commercial flights were full until tomorrow afternoon, so we’ll be on a private jet.”

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. I just kept my cheek pressed against his muscular chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
 

I wanted to cry so much. My throat ached with the effort of keeping the tears away.

“Thank you,” I said eventually, and I looked up at him.
 

Jack leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly to my forehead. “Just pack essentials. We’re going to fly to Paris and then on to Boston.”

I blinked. “You said
we
… Are you coming too?”

Jack nodded as he reached for my hand. “Of course. I wouldn’t let you go through this alone, Kristina.”

Although we flew by private jet, I barely noticed the luxury of the jet. The plush, leather seats could have been made of rough polyester and I wouldn’t have noticed. As far as I was concerned, this was the most miserable journey of my life, and I couldn’t wait to get off the damn plane.
 

The journey seemed to take forever, and I had no idea what was happening with my sister. As soon as the fasten seatbelt light turned off, I got to my feet and started pacing the aisle.

Jack watched me closely, but he didn’t try to reassure me or tell me everything was going to be okay, and I was glad of that. I didn’t want to be “mollycoddled” as my mother would have said.

 
I’d never seen Kate looking that ill before. I knew she wasn’t well when I talked to her on the video call on the iPad, so why hadn’t I done something? I’d known she was feeling bad. I should’ve realized there was something seriously wrong. Kate never got sick. She was always the strong one.

The plane shook as we flew through a bumpy area of turbulence, and I had to grab onto to the back of a nearby seat to steady myself.

“Come back and sit down,” Jack said.
 

I did as he asked, slumping back into my seat and yanking on my seatbelt to tighten it.

He placed a soft cashmere throw over my legs, tucking me in as if I were a child. Tears pricked my eyes and I bit down on my lower lip.

“You should try to get some sleep,” he said. “It will make the journey seem easier.”

I rolled my eyes. I knew he was only trying to be kind, but the last thing I was going to be able to do was sleep.

To avoid an argument or the need to continue the conversation, I closed my eyes and leaned back in the seat.

I may have looked relaxed, but my mind was still whirring.

Why hadn’t Benjamin told me exactly what had happened to Kate? He didn’t even tell me if the baby was okay. Perhaps he didn’t know himself.
 

But babies were born every day
. I tried to reassure myself. Surely in this day and age, with all the medicines and equipment available in all these high-tech hospitals, Kate would be fine.

She
had
to be.

I pretended to sleep for most of the flight. I sensed Jack watching me. I knew he only wanted to help, but I couldn’t talk about it right now. I was only just holding myself together. If I voiced my fears about what might happen, I knew I would lose it. And because Jack was being sweet and kind, and looking so worried about me, it just made me want to collapse into a sobbing heap.

I couldn’t do that. My sister needed me to be strong, so my only option was to keep my eyes shut and fake sleep.

***

As he’d promised, Benjamin had arranged a car to be waiting for us at the airport. Jack had texted him the flight details before we’d left.

When I caught a glimpse of the uniformed chauffeur holding up a sign with my name on it, I practically ran over to him.

Jack followed me, carrying our luggage.
 

The chauffeur introduced himself and tried to take one of the cases from Jack. Then he began to make small talk, asking how our flight had been.

I snapped at him, losing patience fast. “We’re in a hurry,” I said. “We need to get to the hospital straightaway.”

“Of course,” the chauffeur said, nodding.

He exchanged a glance with Jack, which annoyed me even more.

We got stuck in traffic on the way over to the hospital, and I was so exasperated I was close to tears. I couldn’t believe it was taking me so long to get to Kate.

When we finally reached the large, square building of the main hospital, I clambered out, leaving Jack to make arrangements with the chauffeur for our luggage.

I dashed through the double doors at the entrance into the main reception area. There were other people at the counter asking questions, so I had to wait. My heart was pounding in my chest as I anxiously waited until finally one of the receptionists was free.

“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked. She had a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp, and she looked as if the last thing she wanted to do was help me.

“It’s my sister,” I blurted out and then gave her Kate’s details.
 

She typed a few keys on the keyboard in front of her and glanced at the computer monitor.
 

She nodded. “Ah yes. Your sister is in the ICU.”

My mouth grew dry, and I swallowed. That wasn’t good news.

“Is she going to be okay?” I asked.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I was being dumb. The receptionist wouldn’t be able to tell me anything.

Her expression softened a little as she looked at me, and then she gave me a sympathetic smile.

“I’m afraid I don’t have all the details here,” she said. “But the doctor will be able to give you more information. I can give you directions to the ward, if you’d like?”

I nodded, and then I felt Jack’s presence behind me. He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I leaned back against him. I was so glad he was there with me.

The receptionist reeled off a complicated list of instructions and directions, and I was sure I wouldn’t be able to remember. I hoped Jack would.

I just wanted her to get to the end of her directions, so I could get to Kate as soon as possible.

We wandered through the maze of the hospital, following the signs through corridor after corridor, until finally we reached the intensive care unit.

I had been expecting Kate to be in the maternity unit, and the fact that she was in a ward that required intensive care terrified me.

We reached the ward, and I tried to push open the blue door, but it was locked.

I peered through the window above the handle and saw a nurse wearing scrubs walking quickly towards us.

There was a buzzing sound as she opened the door from inside and said, “Can I help you?”

I told her Kate’s name and explained that I was her sister.

The nurse nodded sagely. “I’m afraid there’s only one visitor allowed at a time right now, and she has someone with her at the moment.”

“Benjamin,” I said. “It must be. Can you tell him we’re here?”

She nodded, turned around, and punched a few numbers into a security pad on the wall and let the door close behind her.

It was only a moment before Benjamin came out. He looked terrible. His complexion was so pale he looked almost grey. His eyes were bloodshot. There was no trace of a smile on his face as he greeted us.

I felt my stomach flip over.

“How is she?” I asked Benjamin.
 

He shook his head. “Not good.”

“Can I see her?”

He nodded. “She is unconscious. They are keeping her sedated for now.”
 

I swallowed and tried to fight the sick feeling that engulfed me.

Benjamin gestured for the nurse, who came over and entered the security code again before opening the door for me.

 
I stepped inside the ward holding my breath. There was a heavy silence in the room, broken only by the beeps of machinery set up by the beds.

The lights were dimmed and it took a while for my eyes to adjust. It was crazily warm in there as well.

I pushed up the sleeves of my sweatshirt and the nurse gestured to Kate’s bed.

A small whimper emerged from my mouth when I saw my sister lying there attached to multiple IVs. She looked so pale.

In five strides, I was at her bedside, reaching for her hand.

I had been able to hold back the tears on the journey here, but now standing beside Kate, I couldn’t help it. Tears flooded down my face.

The nurse left me, respectfully keeping her distance and sitting beside a small desk on the other side of the room.

I stood there for a while, staring down at Kate and wondering how on earth my healthy, strong sister could be lying here like this.

I stood like that for a long time before I raised my gaze and took in the rest of the ward. There were another six beds in here. Six critically ill patients all attached to beeping machines. But only one other visitor, who was slumped forward in a chair, quietly crying.

After a little while, the nurse came over to me. “Is there anything I can get you?” she asked in a quiet voice.

I shook my head. “No, thank you, but could you tell me what’s wrong with my sister?”

The nurse nodded. “The placenta caused a bleed, and we had to deliver the baby by emergency caesarean section.”

I felt the blood drain from my face.
 

“As soon as Kate was admitted, she had a transfusion to replace the blood she lost. Unfortunately, Kate had a severe reaction to the loss of blood, and she’s gone into something we call DIC.”

I shook my head, not comprehending. I hated it when medical people used acronyms. I didn’t know what she meant.

“What is DIC?” I asked.

The nurse explained that Kate’s blood was having trouble clotting. They were replacing the blood, but Kate continued to bleed.

The nurse gestured to the pack of blood attached to a drip next to Kate’s bed. I stared at the dark red tube snaking its way down towards Kate’s arm.

“We are replacing the blood as fast as we can, but she is losing it almost as quickly,” the nurse said. “I’m very sorry to say that your sister is in a very serious condition.”

“But she’s going to be okay?” I asked.

“We don’t know what the outcome will be,” she said. “It’s very difficult to predict.”

I stared at her, wide-eyed and unbelieving. How could this be happening?

“Is the baby okay?” I asked.

The nurse smiled. “Yes, she had a strong and healthy little girl.”

I swallowed and blinked away the fresh tears clouding my vision. “Does Kate even know she has had a little girl?”