Taylor was stopped outside the treatment area. Maya saw it happen only in fragments, his hand flattening on the half-closed door, a nurse saying something firm but professional, his jaw locking before he stepped back. Then she lost sight of him.
When she woke properly, the room was quieter. A heart monitor ticked steadily beside the bed. The wall paint was an anonymous beige. A television hung dark in the corner. Her mouth felt dry and sour. Her left arm ached where the IV sat. For a moment she had no idea what time it was or how long she had been gone from herself.
Then she turned her head.
Taylor sat in the chair beside the bed, elbows on his knees, phone forgotten in one hand. His tie was gone. The top buttons of his shirt were open. His hair looked as if he had pushed both hands through it fifty times. He had probably never looked less like Taylor King in public and more like a man waiting for an answer he might not survive.
