Page 6 of Midnight Torment

“They had to take him into surgery.” She glanced up. “Ivan is in a bad way. The doctors said he has a ten percent chance of survival.”

“Oh God, Emma. I’m so sorry.” Jordan released my hand to go and crouch in front of his grandfather’s housekeeper and engulf her in a hug. “I know you two are close.”

I settled myself in a seat close to the door so I could watch the comings and goings in the corridor outside. Jordan rarely spoke about his family. He grumbled about his grandfather, but obviously loved him dearly. Emma seemed to be a surrogate Mum to him, but I had no clue who Ivan was in this situation. I assumed he was the driver.

My phone pinged and I discreetly removed it from my pocket since there were signs everywhere advising everyone not to use their mobile phones.

Cassandra:Ash told us what happened. Is there any news?

Me:Car accident. His grandfather and his driver are in theatre.

Cassandra:Oh god… Do you need anything?

Me:I don’t think there’s anything any of us can do.

Cassandra:Call me if you need anything.

All I could do was sit here and watch Jordan pace up and down in the waiting room like a caged tiger. He stopped every so often and stared at the door as if he expected to see someone there.

Emma sat with a set of rosary beads in her hands, her fingers moving over the surface of them as her lips moved in a silent prayer. At times like this, I wished I had a faith or something to cling to. I had tried to find that when I was younger, but still felt alone even in the crowd of the church. The first day that loneliness ebbed was the day Jordan arrived in my life.

All our attention snapped to the door when a doctor arrived several hours later. “Are you a relative?” he asked Jordan.

“Horatio Berkeley is my grampa and Ivan has been with the family so long, he is family.”

The doctor nodded once. “They are both out of theatre. Mr. Berkeley has a serious leg injury which caused the bone to protrude. We have managed to stabilise the leg for the time being, but with his age and history of heart disease we’re still very worried.”

Jordan trailed his fingers through his hair. “And Ivan?”

My heart clenched at the doctor’s practiced smile. “He is in intensive care, but he has a lot of crush injuries to his chest and abdomen. He was lucky to make it to the hospital alive. His chances are still slim, and we’ve done as much as we can at the moment. The human body can achieve miraculous feats with time and rest.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Jordan stood with his hand fisted at his side. The steely expression in his eyes told me that he didn’t think this was anaccident.

“Why don’t you all go home and get some rest,” the doctor said.

“I think maybe we’ll stay for a while longer. If it was me in there, Grampa and Ivan would stay.”

“We’ll let you know if there’s any change,” the doctor replied and left the room.

“Why don’t I get us all some tea?” I asked. The news hadn’t been great, but it hadn’t devastated either. Where there was life, there was still hope.

I wandered to the small cafeteria at the end of the corridor since I couldn’t face drinking tea from a machine. Emma had drunk tea when I was at Jordan’s family home, so I got her and me tea, and Jordan two cups of coffee since he’d been travelling overnight. I also lifted some cupcakes and shortbread since I didn’t know when he’d last eaten anything.

The cups rattled on the tray on my way back to the waiting room. Jordan’s arms snaked around my waist to tug me against him, his lips skimming the top of my head when I brought his coffee to him.

“Thanks,” he said for me alone to hear. “I really needed you here today.”

All I was able to do was stand with my arms wrapped around his waist and my cheek against his chest. We stood like this while he drank his coffee, grimacing when he tasted the first mouthful.

It sounded strange, but this was one of the first things we had faced as a couple. Before, Jordan tended to walk away and sort everything out in his head. We all sat around in the waiting room, eventually eating the dry cupcakes and soft shortbread out of boredom.

“I’m going to pop to the ladies’,” I said, standing and stretching my stiff limbs. Any chair was uncomfortable after sitting in it for a long period of time.

Jordan watched me from his seat, exhaustion etched on his face.

“Maybe we should get an update from the doctor, and then I think you need to go home and get some sleep. You too, Emma.” She was pale and her eyes drooping.

The corridors were empty since it was the early hours of the morning. My footsteps echoed on my way to the toilets just down from the cafeteria. I hated the smell of hospitals since pain and desperation seemed to be infused in the air.

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