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He loves me? What the hell do I do now?

I paced the waiting room of the hospital, impatiently waiting for any word from anyone about Ellis. Since I wasn’t family, and he didn’t have any information on file about who to talk to, they couldn’t update me without his permission. Considering he was out cold when they brought him in thirty minutes ago, I didn’t see that happening anytime soon.

A woman walked toward me and I sagged in relief when she took me in her arms. “Mom,” I cried. “What are you doing here?”

She held me tightly and patted my back before she released me. “I’m on call and had a case earlier. I just finished when one of the nurses came to tell me you were here with Ellis. What’s going on?”

I did the palms up. “I have no idea. They haven’t been out to talk to me at all and said they can’t give me any information about him.”

“Right, because you aren’t family, but honey, tell me what happened to bring you here.”

I put my hand in my hair and sighed. “Oh, right, sorry. I’m flustered. I told you about his ICD,” I said and she nodded. “We were at the studio and it kept going off. It went off five times in maybe thirty minutes and then once in the car. He passed out after the last one in the car. I took his pulse and it was so fast I couldn’t even count it.”

She held my arms gently. “Okay, so his rhythm was off and the ICD was trying to fix it. That’s what it should do, but six times is too many shocks in a row.”

I nodded and swallowed, my throat parched. “He was playing Santa today in the park and he told me it went off three times in the sleigh during the afternoon. He never said anything or I would have brought him in sooner,” I promised, lowering myself to a chair. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?”

She smiled and put her arm around my shoulder. “I think he will be just fine with a little bit of help from the doctors here. I know it’s scary but take a deep breath. You did the right thing getting him here.”

I did as she instructed and breathed deeply. “I wanted to call an ambulance but he wouldn’t let me. I should have done that.”

“What matters is you got him here, baby. He’s in good hands,” she promised.

A nurse walked into the waiting room and waved at my mom. “Hey, Loretta, just the gal I need to see. We have a consult for anesthesia. Addie, Ellis is asking for you.”

I jumped up so fast I almost fell over. “Is he awake?”

She nodded and offered a comforting smile. “He is, so if you’d follow me, the doctor will explain it to both of you at once.”

“Oh no,” I whispered to Mom, “Ellis is the one who needs surgery.”

She patted my shoulder. “Just relax and let’s wait to hear what the doctor says.”

The nurse pulled the curtain back and we stepped in, Mom going to the side where the doctor stood while I went to the other side and took his hand.

“Hi,” I whispered, kissing his forehead. “I’m so glad you’re awake.”

He gave me a weak smile and squeezed my hand. “Sorry about passing out in the car. I couldn’t catch my breath.”

“It’s okay, don’t apologize, I’m just glad you’re here where they can help you.” I glanced up at the doctor. “You can help him, right?”

The doctor reached across the bed and shook my hand. “Hi, Addie, my name is Dr. Morgen and I’m a cardiologist here. This guy has been pretty worried about you, so I’m glad you could join us. I was quite confused when Santa showed up in my ER, but it sounds like his reindeer got him here in a jiffy, which definitely helped his heart.”

I let go of his hand and offered a weak smile. “His pulse was so fast I couldn’t count it.”

“That’s what we like to call going haywire. I know, awfully technical medical term there, right?” he joked and I cracked a smile as did Ellis.

My mom cleared her throat and I glanced up. “Oh! Ellis, this is my mom, Loretta. I would have preferred you had met at dinner, but I guess that option is out now.” I was nervous and he could tell, so he reached his good arm across his body and my mom shook it.

“Nice to meet you. Sorry I missed dinner the other night. Someone decided to firebomb the studio.”

Mom dropped his hand and patted his leg. “It’s nice to meet you, Ellis. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances, but we’ll take care of your heart before I put you through the paces about my daughter. Deal?”

Ellis smiled and nodded, but his face was still ridiculously pale and every movement he made was weak.

“Probably the best idea all the way around, considering what I found,” Dr. Morgen interjected. “After some tests and talking to Ellis, I think I know what the problem may be.” He pointed at Ellis’s chest which was covered in wires and leads like a robot. “This bruise right here?” the doctor asked and I nodded. “It’s right where the leads that go into his heart attach to the ICD.”

My mom groaned and the doctor laughed. “Exactly, Loretta. I think the device is malfunctioning for one of two reasons. If the battery is dying, it’s common to see the device continue to fire, even when it doesn’t need to. That only irritates the heart more, resulting in an endless cycle. It could also be that one of the leads has broken off the device due to the kick he took. The way his chest is quivering, I’m leaning toward that. Also, this specific device has been recalled by the manufacturer for lead breakage issues. I’m surprised you didn’t get a notice.”