The Secret That Broke Us novel · Chapter 18 of 32

Chapter 18: Hold Her

I told myself I was only driving them.

Nate's mother couldn't manage the car seat and the stairs, and Nate's sedan had a back seat full of his clothes.

So I put Anders in the front of my car and the girl in the back.

I drove to the hospital for the third time in a month.

The pediatric cardiologist was a tall man with a tablet and a gentle voice.

He did the echo while the girl screamed.

She screamed with her whole red face.

The nurse's hands on her chest made it worse.

Nate stood against the wall, white as paper.

His mother prayed under her breath.

I sat in a plastic chair with Anders asleep on my shoulder and my hands in my lap.

I told myself it wasn't my business.

The cardiologist turned the screen so we could see.

"There's a small hole between the lower chambers," he said. "It's common. Most of them close on their own in the first year."

He set the tablet down.

"But she had a rough start. I want her here two nights, to watch her feeding and her oxygen."

"Is she going to be all right?" Nate said.

"I think so. I really do."

"You think so."

"I don't lie to parents," the cardiologist said. "She's strong. Whoever got her breathing at birth did good work."

Nate looked at me.

I looked at the floor.

Then the nurse tried to put the girl into the crib in the corner.

The girl screamed louder, and Nate took a step forward and stopped.

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