Chapter 2

Julian pulled his gaze away, his eyes softening as he looked down.

“Just a classmate from back in the day, not really close.”

Eleanor nodded, then glanced at me again.

That’s when I snapped back to reality, awkwardly averting my eyes.

Julian tightened his grip on Eleanor’s hand.

“It’s lunchtime. Let’s grab a bite, then come back this afternoon for the queue.”

My face burned, as if I’d been thrown into a fire.

Luckily, the crowd was thick and noisy, allowing me to almost disappear into it.

My body was stiff until Liam, in his white coat, walked over.

He raised a hand and patted my shoulder.

“Grab your dad and come with me. You won’t get a morning slot at this point.”

Then, mindful of others around,

he pulled me aside and lowered his voice.

“I’ll figure something out.”

I jolted, quickly thanking him repeatedly.

My dad was still sitting on a bench behind me, his face drawn and pale.

When I walked over to call him, he looked like a child caught doing something wrong, fidgeting nervously.

I tried to sound casual, joking,

“We couldn’t get a morning appointment, so Dr. Spencer is pulling some strings for us.”

My dad stood up awkwardly, licking his dry lips.

“Chloe, maybe we can skip a few dialysis sessions.

“Doing too many makes me feel uncomfortable.”