Chapter 8
She leaned heavily against the wall, her lips quivering.
"What do you mean, the baby's heartbeat isn't stable?" Helen asked, her voice shaking.
The nurse shot her a look.
"No more questions, just sign the consent form," the nurse said, her voice sharp and urgent.
David's hand was shaking so badly he could barely hold the pen.
Just as he bent down to sign, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from inside the ER.
Then somebody shouted down the hall.
"Get the chief over here, now!"
As David signed, the pen carved a deep, dark line across the paper.
The nurse grabbed the form and rushed back inside.
The ER doors closed again, leaving only a cold, sharp line of white light in the crack.
Helen leaned against the wall, her face ashen.
Her lips moved several times before she finally managed to get the words out.
"How did it get this bad?" Helen asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
David didn't even look at her.
He glared at the door, his words forced out through gritted teeth.
"Because she really is allergic," David gritted out, his anger barely contained.
Helen's eyes reddened.
"How was I supposed to know?" Helen said, her voice trembling.
David finally turned to her.
"Did you really not know, or did you just refuse to believe her?" David asked, his voice icy and sharp.
Helen instinctively stepped back under the weight of his question.
People hurried back and forth in the hallway, the wheels of stretchers squeaking loudly across the floor.
Helen instinctively dropped her voice.
"I just wanted to test if she was really allergic," Helen muttered, barely above a whisper.
"What kind of woman moves in and suddenly can't eat this or touch that?
"I was just worried she'd use the baby or her health as an excuse to control you."
David's gaze grew colder and colder.
"So you actually used chives to test her?" David said, his voice icy and sharp.
Helen's voice was weak and uncertain.
She said, "I only used a little.
"I chopped them up super tiny.
"She didn't even complain while she was eating."
David closed his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them again, his eyes were rimmed with red, bloodshot veins standing out.
"You know damn well why she didn't say anything, don't you?" David said, his voice low and cold.
Helen set her jaw, refusing to back down.
"So it's my fault she kept quiet?
"She's a grown woman, and she chose to eat every last one."
David took a step closer.
"When you set that plate in front of her, wasn't your real intention just to watch her eat it?" David said, his voice low and cold.
Helen's face went stiff.
"I didn't," Helen protested, her voice defensive.
"You did," David said, his voice low and cold.
David's voice wasn't loud, but every word felt like a weight pressing down on her chest.
He said, "You sat right across from her, staring her down the whole time.
"Wait until she's out of the woods, then tell her she was faking it the whole time.
"Mom, you didn't do it by accident.
"You did it on purpose."
Helen started crying right away.
"You'd really think that about your own mom, all because of her?" Helen said.
David watched her cry, his eyes cold and unyielding.
He said, "I used to tell her you weren't a bad person.
"I told her to put up with it, to let things slide.
"I said you were old, I said you were naggy, I said you just didn't know how to express yourself."
His Adam's apple bobbed, his voice dropping to a hoarse whisper.
"Today I finally saw it. I've been making her swallow all of this," David said.
Helen clutched her chest.
"I raised you all these years, and now you're ripping my heart out for some woman?" Helen said.
David turned to look at the emergency room door.
He said, "That's my wife in there.
"She's carrying my child.
"If anything happens to either of them, I will never forgive you, not as long as I live."
Those words hit Helen like a slap across the face.
She stood there, her whole body swaying for a moment.