Page 43 of Charmed and Alarmed

If Bram was pissed before, now he looks ready to lunge at me across the small hospital room. “Falling for someone?” he snarls, stepping past Honor to stop right before me, jabbing a finger into the center of my chest. “You?I’ve known you for eighteen years, and I’ve never heard you call someone your girlfriend, Ellinger. Now, you’re standing here telling me you’ve fallen for someone? Fallen formy fucking daughter?” His lip curls.

“Bram,” Sophie tries again, warning in her voice. “Let’s take a walk.”

It’s as if she hasn’t spoken at all. “You’re a selfish, immature piece of shit who wants what he can’t have,” he spits as he reaches out again, this time with both hands. He shoves me, and I stumble, my back hitting the wall. “If you ever lay a finger on her again, I will break it off. Getthe fuckout of this room.”

We’ve had disagreements before, but my friend has never looked at me like this. Even when we fought—an inevitability when you’re running a business with someone—I never thought Bram Vogel hated me. I don’t think it now, though, I know it, and I feel nausea swell inside me as the horrible truth sets in. This man, who has been like family to me for over a decade, now hates me.

“Is everything okay?” I look past Bram to find one of Leni’s nurses is standing in the doorway, obviously attracted by Bram’s raised voice.

“I want this man removed,” he orders her viciously. “Immediately. He has no right to be here.”

The woman stares between us, obviously trying to decide if she needs to call security. “Miss Vogel assigned Mr. Ellinger as her emergency contact.”

“She’s confused,” he barks, glaring at the woman. “She was on pain medication.”

“Well, Miss Vogel filled out that paperwork when she came in today, before she was medicated. Mr. Ellinger can ask you to leave, but not the other way around.”

I could collapse with relief. If he had actually thrown me out of here, I’m not sure what I would have done, but can only assume it would end in jail time.

If Bram looked ready to kill me before, it’s nothing compared to now.

“Dad,” Honor hisses, her expression grave. “You need to take a breath. Go for a walk with Sophie. Julian and I will stay here.”

Apparently, Bram isn’t so far gone that he can’t see the position he’s in. Chest heaving, he stares at me and, without another word, turns on his heel, striding from the room. Sophie follows without hesitation, and the moment they’re gone, I collapse back into my chair, head in my hands.

How could things have gone so wrong, so quickly?

Julian and Honor take the small vinyl loveseat across the room, and we sit in silence for a long time. Eventually, Sophie returns, Bram’s suit coat hanging over her shoulders. “He went to call your mom,” she informs Honor quietly. “Or leave a message for her, at least. Since it’s so late.”

I swallow, allowing my head to hang as I stare at the checkered linoleum floor of the hospital room. Every minute that passes feels like an eternity, and even when I hear Bram’s footsteps returning, I can’t bring myself to look up. Seeing the loathing in the face of one of my oldest friends isn’t something I can stomach right now.

None of us says a word.

At one point, Ballard says something under his breath to Honor and leaves the room. He comes back with a cardboard tray of coffees stamped with the logo of the hospital cafeteria and offers me a sympathetic smile when he hands me mine, like he knows all too well how it feels to be on the receiving end of Bram Vogel’s angry, protective father act.

I lose track of time, but my heart jolts into my throat at the sound of footsteps approaching our lonely corner of the hospital. All five of us stand as Leni’s surgeon enters the room.

“Good news,” the man says smoothly, slapping his hands together and looking around at all of us. “It was only a small, partial rupture. The repair went a lot more smoothly than I expected, and I do believe we found the weak point in the tendon, which was causing these repeated issues. She’s in recovery now, but they’ll be bringing her back here shortly. If there are no issues, she can go home in the morning.”

“Is she at risk for this happening again?” I demand, stomach churning at the thought.

The surgeon shakes his head, offering me a sympathetic smile. “Re-rupture becomes less likely as time passes, and if her medical history is any indication, she was pushing too hard, too fast. If you can get her to take it slow and keep the cane until her physical therapist tells her she can do without it, she’ll be fine.”

Honor lets out a relieved, disbelieving little laugh. “Good luck with that, Holden.”

“Visiting hours are over. However, we do like for our patients to have a familiar face as they come out of anesthesia. You’re free to stay here tonight, Mr. Ellinger, and she’ll be discharged in the morning if everything goes smoothly.”

When he’s gone, Honor sighs in relief. “We should go home.” She yawns, leaning into Ballard’s side. “Will you text me when she’s awake, Holden?”

“Of course,” I assure her, taken off guard by the kindness in her expression.

Bram is leaning against the wall, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, and at the exchange between Honor and I, his expression darkens. Without a word, he pushes off the wall and strides out of the room, leaving an exhausted-looking Sophie behind.

She winces apologetically at me. “He’s in shock.”

“Yeah,” I grunt, feeling a hundred years old as I rub the back of my aching neck. “I get it.”

Sophie glances at Honor, then back to me. “Um. Maybe it’s better if Honor tells Bram what’s going on? Or you text me and I tell him?”

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