Page 50 of Until You

chapter

twelve

Oliver

The doctor leaves us with discharge paperwork, a list of iron-rich foods, and strict instructions about eating actual meals that I intend to personally enforce starting tonight.

Cora is still in the wheelchair, working through the paperwork, her hair falling forward over her shoulder as she writes. She looks wrung out and lighter at the same time—the particular exhaustion of someone who has been carrying something heavy for a long time and just put it down.

I stand near the curtain and give her space.

My phone has been buzzing intermittently since I stepped away to answer my mother’s call. I’d silenced it. Now I pull it out.

Seventeen notifications.

Kelsie: Oliver. OLIVER. Payton said you took Cora to the hospital. What happened. Answer your phone.

Payton: Hey, man, just checking in. Everyone here is worried. Mimz is trying to get her keys.

Addison: Oliver James Blankenship. Pick up your phone.

Kelsie: He’s not answering. Something’s wrong.

Payton: Or he’s busy, Kels.

Kelsie: Something is WRONG.

Addison: I swear if he’s left her alone in that hospital⁠—

I type fast before this escalates further.

Me: She’s fine. Low iron, low blood sugar. Doctor says everything is okay. We’re waiting on discharge paperwork.

The response is immediate. All three at once.

Kelsie: EVERYTHING? What does everything mean?

Payton: Glad she’s okay. Tell her we’re thinking about her.

Addison: Low iron can indicate several things. Is she on a supplement? Has she been seen by her regular physician recently?

Me: Addison. Take a breath.

Addison: I’m perfectly calm.

Kelsie: She is the opposite of calm; she’s been pacing since you left.

Addison: Kelsie.

Payton: Mimz told us about the baby. Did you know Cora was pregnant?

I stare at the last message.

Set my phone down.

Pick it back up.

Through the curtain, I can hear Cora asking Dolores a question about the prescription, her voice still soft, still careful. The voice she uses when she’s trying to take up as little space as possible.