The Second Heart Read online

  Chapter 7

  When Meredith woke up again, Amelia and Rob were quietly playing a game of cards on the rolling hospital tray while Vi read a book in the chair next to her bed. Rob had taken off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his plaid shirt, meaning they’d been there for a while.

  Noticing that Meredith was awake, Vi closed her book and sat up straighter in her chair. “Man, you were out.” She grinned and continued, “The nurse has changed your IV bag twice.”

  “What time is it?” Meredith croaked.

  “About six,” Amelia answered, turning in her chair at the foot of the bed to face Meredith.

  Meredith pushed the button to raise up the back of her bed and looked around. The room that she had been moved to was actually quite spacious for a hospital room. The chair Vi sat in was a recliner covered in a tasteful shade of beige, and there was room at the foot of the bed for the hospital tray and two foldout chairs. To Meredith’s right, a door led to what she presumed was a bathroom, and to her left, a door opened out to the hallway. The space on either side of the bed was occupied by various medical paraphernalia and monitoring devices, and she was still attached to the IV, which led to a bag of clear fluid hanging from a metal tree next to the bed.

  Meredith was surprised that she had only been asleep for a few hours. She felt as though she had slept for weeks on end. “What have I missed?”

  “Nothing, really,” Vi said with a bored huff.

  Rob stood up from his chair and stretched before saying, “Now that you’re awake, I am going to go see if I can find anything out.” He deftly stepped around Amelia’s chair and left the room. The door hissed as it shut gently behind him.