Page 59 of Desperate Haste

“He’s being transported to the university hospital now. Cardiology unit.”

“I’ll be right there.”

30

MALCOLM

My head is leaning against the arm of my sofa and my eyes are scanning the pages ofDante’sInfernowhen I hear my phone buzzing on the coffee table. I still have a few minutes before I need to leave for the bar for my opening shift and I’m planning on going back to Ophelia’s place afterwards. Dante and Virgil are trying to enter the fifth ring of Hell but are interrupted when whoever called me, calls for a second time. Leaning over, I grab my phone and answer it when I see Marshall’s name flashing across the screen.

“Hello?”

“Malcolm,” Reese’s voice comes over the line which I find odd, seeing as how it was Marshall’s caller ID on my phone. His voice is panicked, almost scared. “You need to come, it’s Marshall.”

I stand from the couch so fast I get lightheaded for a moment and fall back down.Marshall. Need to come. Panicked sounding.

“What’s wrong with Marshall?” I demand, standing up from the couch again, frantically looking for my shoes and keys.

“He…he’s not well. He fainted at the gym and…” Reese’s words are getting caught in his throat and I can picture his sullen face in my mind as if he were right in front of me.

“Where are you?” I press, trying to keep my voice calm even though my brain is already spiraling in a million different directions.

“In the ambulance now, they’re taking him to MUSC downtown. It’s his heart, Malcolm.” The sound of his voice breaking nearly brings me to my knees. No one cares about Marshall as much as I do, but I don’t even shine a light next to Reese.

“I’ll meet you there.”

* * *

The next severalhours are a ruthless game of waiting and hoping. Ophelia arrived with Bailey soon after I called her and sat next to me while we waited for answers. As we sat, Reese filled me in on what had been going on with Marshall over the last few months and I learned that he had been diagnosed with a heart condition long before I met him. He’s been living with it for years with the help of medications and taking care of himself, but the residual effects of his past drug use and stress of running the restaurant, and being an active member of the sobriety community had worn him down.

“His doctor told him to slow down, but you know Marshall,” Reese explains as we sit in a sterile waiting room.

“The man won’t slow down unless stopped by a freight train,” I reply and we both try to smile. It feels wrong though, to smile, knowing that Marshall is sick and there’s nothing I can do to help him.

“Hey, we’re gonna go get some food from the cafeteria, you two want anything?” Kolbi’s voice comes up from behind me and I turn to face him. Standing next to him are Conrad and Hank who are both looking at Reese and I. Magnolia and Bailey are sitting across the waiting room with Ophelia, huddled together and whispering.

“I’d take a coffee if you don’t mind,” Reese requests, looking up at my friend. They all arrived at the hospital not long after Marshall was admitted and had refused to leave even when I told them they could. My friends know how important he is to me and it means a lot that they are willing to play the waiting game with me.

“I’m okay, thanks though.”

“Okay, brother, if you change your mind, I have my phone on me.” Kolbi places a gentle hand on my shoulder and I nod in response.

Once they’re gone, I lean back in my seat as Reese gets up, excusing himself to use the restroom. Tilting my head up towards the ceiling, I close my eyes and try to slow my breathing when I feel her take the seat next to me. She doesn’t say anything but simply tucks her hand into mine and rests her head on my shoulder, allowing the muddled background noises of the busy hospital to comfort us.

“Thank you for coming,” I say just above a whisper before sitting up and resting my head on hers.

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“It still means a lot to me that you’re here.” I turn and place a kiss on the top of her head, pressing my lips into her hair for a second longer than normal. When I pull away, she turns to look at me.

“You mean a lot to me, Malcolm. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than right here with you.” We hold each other’s gaze for a few beats before I speak. The words tumbling out of me like a pile of rocks rolling down a hill.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if he?—”

“Shhh, don’t go there. He’s going to be fine, I promise.” Her hand is on my cheek and I close my eyes to focus on how solid it feels there. When my entire world feels like it’s crumbling down around me, she’s there to keep me steady.

“But what if he?—”

“Family for Marshall Westing?” the voice of a stranger calls out across the room. We all stand immediately, Reese coming back at the perfect time, and look at the woman wearing a white coat.

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