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“We don’t know any details right now. Adam got a call from the hospital that Nolan was brought in with a gunshot wound.”
“Wait… What?” Those were not the words I was prepared for. I thought she was going to tell me they were in a car accident or something.
“Nolan was shot in the parking lot of the library. Katie…”
“Where’s Cody?” My voice is desperate.
“We don’t know. Nolan came in by himself.”
Nothing. There’s absolutely nothing in my brain right now.
“We’re coming to get you, okay? We’ll be there in a few minutes, and then we’ll take you to the hospital.”
“I need to find Cody. He’s out there somewhere… all by himself.” I start racing around my house in my panic as if I could find something here to help me get my son back. Eventually, I shove my feet into the first pair of shoes I can find and grab my purse from the side table.
When I get outside, Adam’s silver Audi comes speeding up to the house. I barely get a few steps to my car before Ellie is out of the car and jogging toward me.
She grabs my arms to keep me still. “Katie, please come with us to the hospital. The hospital said officers were waiting to talk to us. We can get more information when we get there.”
“I need to go to the library. Maybe he’s inside waiting for us. He’s a smart kid; he’d hide or something. What about Nolan’s truck? Did they look there? He’s probably just hiding because he’s scared.”
“Honey,” Ellie interrupts my rambling. “He wasn’t there. When Adam asked about Cody, the officers said he wasn’t there. They interviewed the staff already. If he was still at the library, they’d have said something.”
I shake my head as if that will change what she’s telling me. “No. He has to be there. He’s not gone.”
Ellie’s eyes well up. “We’ll find him, okay?”
In the haze of my panic, she guides me to Adam’s car. It’s only then that I notice Adam standing there, opening the door for me. I have no idea if he’s been standing next to Ellie this whole time or if he just now got out of the car.
The drive passes in the blink of an eye. The brown building of the hospital looms over me as Adam parks. A part of me feels like if I don’t walk inside, nothing bad will happen. Maybe staying ignorant of whatever is happening in that building will protect me from feeling the overwhelming heartbreak that’s threatening to take me over.
Ellie doesn’t give me the option of staying in the car, though. She holds my arm as Adam walks in front of us into the emergency department. He talks to the front desk lady, and she tells us all of nothing about Nolan. Just that he’s back in surgery, and the doctor will update us when there’s anything to know. Super fucking helpful, lady. Thank you.
“I thought you said the police officers were here,” I ask Ellie as we sit in the waiting room.
Ellie shrugs. “That’s what the hospital told Adam.”
For the next however many minutes, I sit in a state of numbness. My brain has shut down all forms of thought. The only thing it’s capable of is keeping me upright and alive at the moment. I don’t notice the movement of the other people around me. I can’t comprehend the conversations being had. I’m just… lost.
“Katie…” A hand on my arm makes me blink into awareness. Two men wearing suits stand in front of me. All of Nolan’s family is sitting in chairs around the waiting room. Cindy is holding my hand, and I frown at her. I have no clue when she got here. When did any of them get here?
“Mrs. Ellis, we have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind.”
My head turns back to the men in front of me, only to realize they’re talking to me, not Cindy. “I… I’m not?—”
“Go with it,” Ellie whispers in my ear. My gaze cuts to hers, and her expression clearly says she’ll explain later.
“Um, sure.” I nod.
“I’d like to be there with you if that’s okay,” Adam says, standing from his chair. I shrug because I couldn’t care less. Given that thought, it probably would be a good idea if he was there.
We follow the officers to a small room around the corner from the waiting room. The click of my shoes on the tile floor makes me frown down at the floor. Why am I wearing my fancy flats? I have on leggings and a baggy shirt. I don’t have time to figure it out because Adam is ushering me into the tiny meeting space.
One of the officers, a man with light brown hair and a kind face, gestures to the chairs on one side of the six-person table. Adam pulls out my chair for me and then sits down after I do.
“I’m really sorry this is happening to you right now, Mrs. Ellis.”
“It’s Katie. You can call me Katie.” I can’t listen to him call me that name, especially when the man who could make it real is back in some OR right now, likely fighting for his life.
