Page 139 of Redemption
“She was acting weird—talking out of her head. I tried to convince her to come see you, but she wouldn’t. And then—and then she passed out. I didn’t know what to do, so I picked her up and laid her on the bench so I could find you. Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt her?”
I watch him out of the corner of my eye. He winces with every word, and I have a feeling I’m about to have two medical cases on my hands.
Taking out my phone, I text Hayes, praying he’s still around.
Help me out here, God.
It’s a plea made out of desperation. A soft breeze picks up, blowing my hair, and a sense of peace fills my soul.
I reach for Bella’s wrist, taking her pulse. “Tanner, you didn’t do anything wrong, but can you do me a favor and sit down? I want to check you out next. How long have you been having a migraine?”
Bella’s pulse is strong. With my phone in hand, I check Bella’s number. A couple of weeks ago, we hooked up her sensor to my phone so I could check in on her throughout the day. I’m glad we did because she’s low—really, low.
As I rummage through Bella’s bag, Tanner sits like I ask him.
“I haven’t—I’m not—” he denies.
“Tanner, I can’t help you if you lie to me.”
He sighs. “Fine. I think it’s stress. It started when Bella passed out.”
Nodding, I say, “Okay, don’t move until I take care of Bella, and then I’m coming to you.”
With a glucose gel in hand, I lift Bella’s head, squeezing her cheeks to open her mouth. She mumbles something but still doesn’t open her eyes.
“Come on, Bella. You’ve got to wake up and eat this. I know you’re tired, but this will help you feel better.”
I squeeze the gel into her mouth, and she swallows, getting it into her system.
Sighing in relief, I turn to Tanner, “Do you have your phone? Can you call an ambulance for me?”
“Yeah. I can do that.” His hands are still shaking when he takes out his phone and dials the number.
Soon enough, the ambulance sirens can be heard down the road, and Hayes runs across the field, making a direct path toward us.
“What happened? What’s going on? Is she okay?”
When Hayes is close to us, Tanner jumps out of his seat and rushes to him, wrapping his arms around his neck.
Hayes holds the boy as he sobs into his shirt, his whole body shaking now.
“MJ?” Bella asks, groaning.
The gel hasn’t had time to work yet, so I place my hand on her shoulders, keeping her lying down.
“Don’t move too fast. You’re still pretty low. When was the last time you ate, Bella?”
Even with her face white as a ghost, Bella looks sheepish.
“I might have forgotten to eat today…but to my defense, I had a study session during lunch today. I was going to eat after, but I ran out of time. I thought I would be fine until I made it home.”
“Bella,” I scold, “You can’t do that. You scared poor Tanner over there half to death.”
Bella turns her head to where Tanner is now standing beside Hayes, wiping at his face. His face is flooded with red, embarrassment causing him to hide his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Tanner,” she croaks, reaching out her hand.
Tanner steps up, taking her hand in his, and glares down at her. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”
