HarlowâCynthiaâ What did the doctors say?â
âMegan, oh, Megan.â Tears flowed down Mr. Harlowâs cheeks. âHe thinks weâre losing her. Thereâs hardly any pulse, and sheâs been unconscious since noon.â
Cynthia dying? No. No! Megan sat down. She put her head in her hands to keep from sobbing out of control. It wasnât possible. It wasnât!
Chapter 13
A nurseâMegan didnât know her nameâsat beside her. âMaybe youâd better go home, Megan. Thereâs been no change for hours. Your parents might worry.â
Megan looked up. It had gotten dark and was almost six oâclock. Her watch ticked away the seconds. TimeâCynthia needed more time. Megan needed more time to solve this situation. She went to call her parents.
âMegan, where are you? Weâve been worried sick,â her mother said.
âIâm sorry, Mom. Iâm at the hospital. Cynthia is worse, and I lost track of the time. Can someone come and get me? Iâll wait at the entrance.â
Meganâs mother said her father would come. As Megan waited, thoughts of what she could do for Cynthia bombarded her brain. She had to do something. She was the only one who knew what could save Cynthia, but would anyone believe her? Her dad? Should she tell her father? Robert? She had told Robert in the beginning and he didnât believe her, but she had to talk to someone.
After dinner, when her parents were quiet, respecting her worry, she went to her room and dialed Robertâs number. Once, twice, three times. Be there, be home, Robert. She knew he was home. He answered on the fifth ring.
âRobert, I need to talk to you. Right now. Please donât say no. I need you.â
âMegan, I have a math exam tomorrow, but I confess you keep coming between me and my studying. I canât stop thinking about you. Are you all right?â
Megan was tired of people worrying about her . She needed to find someone to help her worry about Cynthia, about Derrick.
âIâm fine, Robert, but Cynthia isnât. The exam isnât important. Leave it and comeâno, meet me at the hospital. In the lobby.â
âIs Cynthia worse?â
âYes, sheâsheâmay not make it.â Megan couldnât bring herself to say the word die . It was something that old people did. Meganâs grandfather had died. He was the only person sheâd known who had.
âOkay, Megan. Iâll see you in a few minutes.â
âMom, Dad, I know neither of you wants to go back out, but I need to get back to the hospital. Can I have the car?â
âI donât want you driving in this state of mind, Megan,â her mother said. âIâll take you. Are you sure you want to go back, Megan? What can you do just sitting there?â
âI donât know, but I have to be there. Cynthia is worse. Robert will bring me back.â
âDo they have any more ideas about why Cynthia is sick?â Mrs. Davidson asked.
âNo, the doctors are baffled.â What would her mother say if Megan told her what she thought was wrong with Cynthia?
âDo you want me to come in with you?â Mrs. Davidson asked when she stopped the car to let Megan out. âI donât want to be in the way, butââ
âNo, Mom. Iâll call if Iâm going to be late, and Robert is coming over.â
Robert wasnât in the lobby. Megan found him pacing the floor in the intensive-care waiting room. Megan looked at his face and knew. âMegan, I just checked the desk.â
âSheâs gone.â Megan realized sheâd known it before she saw Robert. Sheâd known it the minute she walked into the hospital. A picture had flashed into her mind. Cynthia, cold and pale, lay in a bower of cut flowers. All the flowers were white. Cynthia was in her Homecoming dress. So beautiful. She looked so beautiful, as if she were
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