Page 44 of The Senator's Wife

Sloane felt arms grab at her, squeezing viselike around her waist and pulling at her body. She looked over the railing, confused and swooning in dizziness at the long drop. She turned to see that the arms belonged to Doris, who was holding on to her with an iron grip. Sloane opened her mouth, but no words came out.

“Mrs. Montgomery, are you okay? What were you trying to do?” Doris loosened her hold and led Sloane away from the railing.

“I…uh…I’m not sure.” Sloane felt a tear slide down her cheek, and she searched Doris’s face. “What did it look like?”

“It sounds crazy…but it looked like you were trying to fly.” Doris was staring at her. “I was in the hallway when I heard you laughing, really loud, almost hysterical. That’s why I ran up to see what was going on.”

Sloane closed her eyes and remembered the feeling of freedom, as if she could fly. As if she had wings. A hallucination. She shuddered at what that meant. Her brain was being affected.

“You’re white as a ghost. I’m going to call Senator Montgomery,” Doris said.

Sloane shook her head. “No, please. Don’t. I’m okay. Just let me catch my breath, then help me back to my room. I got dizzy. Probably because I hardly ate anything today.”

Athena’s door opened and she ran over to them. “Sloane, is everything okay?”

“No, everything’s not okay,” Doris yelled, glaring at Athena. “Mrs. Montgomery almost fell! Where were you? Didn’t you hear her?”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I thought Sloane was asleep.” She looked at Doris. “I can take it from here.”

“Hmph, can you? If I hadn’t been here, Mrs. Montgomery might be lying on that marble floor below.”

“All right, all right, it’s okay, Doris. Let’s not make this a bigger deal than it is.” Sloane was humiliated.

“Do you want me to stay?” Doris asked.

Sloane shook her head. “Thank you, Doris. I’m fine.”

Doris gave Athena another long look, then went back downstairs.

Athena helped Sloane back to the bedroom and got her settled under the covers. “What happened?”

Sloane sighed. “I just got confused for a minute.”

“Sloane, Doris said it looked like you were about to fall over the railing. What were you confused about?”

“I thought I could…” She sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Athena cleared her throat. “I just want to say…well, if it was something like a hallucination, we need to call your doctor and tell him what happened. In fact, it wouldn’t hurt for you to be seen. If you think it was one, that is.”

Sloane wasn’t ready to hear that the lupus was invading her brain. She put up a hand. “No, I’m fine. I just got a little ambitious about improvising with my physical therapy.”

“I really think we should call the doctor.”

“I’m fine. I just want to forget about it. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention it to my husband either.”

Athena merely nodded.

“I have a follow-up with Dr. Porter in two days. I’ll tell him about it then.”

That seemed to placate Athena. “Hopefully you’ll get some more answers after you see him.”

“I’m sure we will.” Why was the woman always asking her questions, wanting to know more? She wasn’t a doctor. Her job wasto help Sloane recover from her surgery. She wasn’t even supposed to still be here.

“We could try some meditation,” Athena suggested.

Sloane gave her a tight smile. “I’ll think about it.” She changed the subject. “Listen, I’ve signed the papers Brianna sent home. The folder’s on my dresser. Can you take them back to her?”

“Of course.” Athena retrieved the paperwork, then stopped by the bed again. “I enjoy being at the foundation, getting a view of all the important work it does. You must be very proud.”

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