Fragments (The Broken Series Book 2) (14 page)

I heard a buzzing sound as the door opened and a young couple entered the room. The women was wrapped in a white hospital robe, and the man beside her put his arm around her as they walked to one of the other cribs.

When they looked at each other so tenderly and full of joy, I had to turn away.

That should have been my sister and Benjamin, I thought. Life was so cruel to rob them of this happy experience.

On the way back to Kate’s ward, I stopped at a vending machine and bought two strong black coffees. I was running on empty and desperately needed some caffeine to keep myself awake.

I had nearly made it back to the entrance of the ward when Benjamin emerged from the restrooms.

“Hey,” I said and thrust one of the cups of coffee towards him. “I thought you could do with one of these.”

He took it with a mutter of thanks and downed half the coffee straightaway even though it was still scorching hot.

“She’s beautiful, you know,” I said.

A look of utter torment passed over his face.

I knew I was pushing my luck and I didn’t want to hurt him, but I couldn’t stop myself blurting out my next words, “It’s not her fault, Benjamin.”
 

“I know it’s not. I know
exactly
whose fault it is. It’s mine,” Benjamin said.

I shook my head. “It’s no one’s fault. These things just happen sometimes. It’s awful.”

Benjamin said nothing. So I continued, “You should go and see her.”

“I can’t,” he said through gritted teeth. “Kristina, I’m barely holding on as it is… If Kate…” His voice trailed away.

If I’d ever had any doubts that Benjamin loved my sister, those doubts evaporated.

I hesitated for a moment before putting my hand on his shoulder.

“You can’t blame yourself.”

“Who else should I blame? This would never have happened if I hadn’t gotten her pregnant. Oh, God, Tina, I can’t lose her. I just can’t.”

“I know,” I whispered.

Benjamin opened his mouth as if he was going to say something else when suddenly his head snapped up.

I turned to see what had caused his reaction and saw a man in a white coat step towards us, holding his hand out towards Benjamin.

“Mr, Easton,” he said. “I’m Dr. Jacobs, the hematology consultant.”

Benjamin shook his hand. “This is Kate’s sister, Tina.”
 

The doctor nodded at me. I sensed Benjamin’s apprehension mirroring my own.

“Is there any news?” I asked.

The doctor nodded his head once more. “Good news,” he said. “We think Kate’s condition has stabilized. The bleeding has stopped, which is a very good sign. We are very pleased with her progress.”

I nodded as a smile spread across my face. “Does that mean she is going to wake up soon?”

“As we have already informed Mr. Easton, we had to sedate Kate because she had lost so much blood. We need to carefully monitor her blood pressure and vital signs, but if things continue to improve at this rate, we should be able to wean her off sedation this afternoon.”
 

I blinked, trying to take it all in. She was going to be okay. I had absolutely no idea what time of day it was, but I didn’t really care. This was the news we’d prayed for.

After we had finished speaking to the doctor, Benjamin went back in the ward to sit with Kate, and I decided to take my coffee outside and get some air.

I wished Jack was there. I couldn’t wait to tell him the good news.

I fumbled in the pocket of my jeans for my cell phone, and then stared angrily at the blank screen.

Dammit
. No battery.

I was pretty sure I’d forgotten to pack my charger too, so I’d have to get a new one.

I tried to calculate the time in Monaco, but came up blank. Math had never been my strong point, and I had no chance of working it out after a night without sleep. I knew Lauren would be desperate for news of Kate, and she wouldn’t care if my call woke her.

I took another sip of my coffee, which had grown cold by now. I guessed I could call her from a public phone, if I could find one.

I tried to remember if I’d passed one on the way here, but my mind had been in no fit state to notice things like that when I’d arrived.

I drank the rest of my cold coffee and dumped the big cup in the recycling bin before heading back inside to try and locate a phone.

I figured they’d probably have them near the entrance, so I set off along the winding corridors and eventually found a call box by the cafeteria. Luckily, it took credit cards.

I shoved my credit card into the slot and punched in Lauren’s cell phone number. It was one of the few numbers I knew by heart.

She answered on the third ring.

As soon as I heard her voice, I promptly burst into tears. I knew that was the worst thing I could do because it would make Lauren fear the worst.

“She’s okay,” I managed to choke out between sobs. “Kate has stabilized. She’s going to be okay.”

Jack

I walked swiftly back towards the hospital entrance. I had packed everything I could think Kristina might want into a small duffle bag I’d managed to acquire from the hotel desk. I bundled her toiletry bag and fresh clothes inside and hoped I had picked the right ones. I would be annoyed with myself if I had forgotten anything, but I wanted to do it quickly. I didn’t want to leave Kristina on her own any longer than I had to.
 

Her panic attack had freaked me out. She was trying so hard to be strong, and I wanted to help. I wanted to make it easier for her, but it was so damn hard.

On the way back to the hotel, I took a phone call from Rita on my cell. She really did seem keen to keep in touch.

She was full of apologies when I told her that I was in the U.S. and what we were going through with Kristina’s sister.

I knew Rita wanted me as a driver for next season. I’d been wined and dined by teams before. They promise you the moon. Then you get the real contract and come down to earth with a bump, but I had a feeling Rita might be different.

The Volder team had a fantastic reputation, and Rita followed in her father’s footsteps. She had a real love for the sport, and I really couldn’t believe she would try to screw me over.

I wasn’t exactly the best prospect at the moment. I was damaged goods. Slow and messed up. I’d told Rita about the incident with the simulator, but it didn’t seem to worry her. She thought we could take it one step at a time, and that was the nice thing about Rita. Somehow she was able to fill me with confidence. She made me believe that I really could make a comeback.

Perhaps if I wanted it badly enough and I worked hard things would work out. Maybe this whole situation was life teaching me a little humility. God knows I needed it.

I had always been the golden kid of racing. Everything had fallen into my lap. I’d taken my success for granted.

For years I’d had anything I wanted… money, women… and I had an older brother to bail me out when I pushed my luck too far.

I had screwed up too many times to count. Alexander had made all my problems go away. There was the time I got into a fight in Munich, outside a nightclub. Alexander had secured me a German lawyer, and the police released me half an hour after I’d called him. I couldn’t even count the number of times Alexander had paid off the paparazzi so they wouldn’t publish certain stories of me. In the early years of my racing career, I regretted my less than well-informed decision of which team to sign for, so Alexander had hired the right lawyers to get me out of my first contract when I wanted to race for a better team.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have the money. Hell, Formula One is one of the best paid sports in the world. I guessed it was because I didn’t have Alex’s way of looking at things, his analytical, calculating brain.

I’d always been a hot head and he’d always been the cool, calm and collected one. I’d relied on him being there as my safety net far too many times. If I wanted things to work out, I couldn’t rely on Alexander this time. I had to do it myself.

If I signed with Rita for next year, it would mean half a year of traveling around the world, going from country to country — something that never used to worry me. I liked to travel. It had always been something I enjoyed, but now… with Kristina… Well, that complicated things.

I had to figure out a way to get her to come with me. Following me around the world, she wouldn’t be able to hold down a steady job. Perhaps I could get her some role within the team.
 

She could work as my personal assistant. I couldn’t help grinning as I thought about the personal things I’d like her to assist me with.

When I reached the outside of Kate’s ward, I was surprised to see that Kristina wasn’t there. Instead, Benjamin was there, nursing a cup of coffee in one of the grey padded chairs right outside the ward.

“Have you seen Kristina?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “Maybe she went to get a drink. I think coffee is the only thing keeping us going at the moment,” Benjamin said with a wry smile. “I’ve just come out because they are running some tests, but the doctor said Kate is stabilizing. He told us it’s looking promising.”

I smiled at him. “That’s fantastic news!”

Benjamin nodded as if the news hadn’t quite sunk in yet. My heart went out to the guy. It was written all over his face just how much he was struggling with this situation.

I had no idea what I would do if I was in his position. “You know,” I said, reaching up and pushing my hand through my hair. “I thought I might go and visit your little girl.”

Benjamin’s whole body seemed to tense up.

But I pushed further. “Where is she?”

“Special care baby unit,” Benjamin muttered.

I nodded. “I’ll never find that on my own. Honestly, it took me ages to get back here from the entrance to the hospital. I think I was walking around in circles. I’ve got a terrible sense of direction.”
 

That was a lie, but I had a plan.

“It’s not difficult,” Benjamin said and pointed behind me. “You walk down that corridor, take a left at the first set of double doors. Then, the third left, followed by the second right.”

I gave him my best confused expression. “Uh, well, it took me ten minutes to get back here…”

The directions were spot on, and I had memorized the way when I’d walked there with Kristina, but Benjamin didn’t know that.

He sighed heavily. Probably wondering what Kristina saw in such a total fool.

“I don’t suppose you could take the time to show me where it is, could you?”

Benjamin hesitated, and I could see him struggling with the idea. The last thing he wanted to do was to face up to his daughter and his resentment. But at the same time, Benjamin was nothing if not polite, and that was what I was gambling on.

I pressed him further. “I’m sure it won’t take you a minute.”

Benjamin stood up, drank the last of his coffee and nodded. “This way.”

I followed along behind him, keeping quiet. I wasn’t sure whether my sneaky plan would pay off. We could get there, and Benjamin might just turn around and walk off, but being that close to his daughter, I was banking on the fact he would at least be tempted to see the baby.

When we reached the security door at the entrance of the special care baby unit, Benjamin turned as if to leave.

“Hey, how do I get in? It’s locked,” I said, ignoring the big laminated sign that told me to press the red button.

Benjamin stared at me and a flicker of annoyance passed over his face. He was probably wondering how someone so stupid actually managed to live.

He reached over and pressed the button for me.

“Oh, thanks. I didn’t even see the button. It must be the jet lag.”

Benjamin nodded slowly. “Yeah, right.”

The door was opened by a grey-haired woman wearing a starched white uniform. She looked at both of us with narrowed eyes.

Benjamin shuddered and actually seemed to shrink away from her.

“Can I help you?”

I introduced myself and Benjamin, and she turned, her eyes focused on Benjamin.

Her demeanor changed. “Come in,” she said in a soft voice, opening the door wide for us.

Inside there were a few other parents. One couple gathered around a tiny plastic crib. The man had his arm around the woman’s shoulders, and the woman was quietly sobbing into his chest. I felt my throat tighten and glanced at Benjamin.

He was sweating.

Despite the fact he was clearly struggling, he followed the grey-haired woman to the crib at the back of the room.

She turned to smile at Benjamin. “This is your little girl,” she said. “Would you like to hold her?”

Benjamin stared at the crib. He didn’t answer the woman for a long time, then finally he looked up.

“Yes,” he said. “I would like to hold her.”

As I watched Benjamin cradle the tiny pink bundle, I smiled, satisfied that I’d managed to do something good today.