Free Compass (Siren Songs Book 2) by Stephie Walls

nurses move the connections to machines in the room instead of those they brought to him. The fluorescent light above him flickers repeatedly and the smell of cleanser is pungent. His eyes are more sad than scared. His focus moves from them adjusting the connections, back to me. The weak smile he gives me says more than any words he could try to use to convey his emotion right now. Dragging my chair next to the bed, I take his hand, careful of the IV sticking in it, and hold on for dear life.
    With Moby rendered speechless, it leaves me to piece together a timeline of events. The nurse confirmed what I already knew; the stroke likely started last night around six. Precious hours wasted, she doesn’t say it but I see the look in her eyes, and I know the truth. Heather, the nurse we met in triage, has stayed with us, administering countless drugs through his IV. I’m trying to keep track of what’s going on and what he takes, but the names of these damn drugs are just clouding my mind, keeping me from focusing on what’s important. Moby.
    Disappearing briefly, the nurse returns with a doctor whose name I can’t pronounce, telling us they need to start doing scans to see if they can find the problem causing the elevated blood pressure. He explains the procedure, which essentially consists of Moby lying on his back while they take multiple x-rays of his head giving them a more in-depth look at the brain. It’s cold and impersonal, but I guess you have to stay aloof to work in an ER. People breeze in, and out like the waves on the beach. As soon as they come in, they’re already making their way out.
    When the nurse comes to take Moby for a CT scan, I seize the opportunity to go to the restroom and see if my dad has had any luck reaching the Coopers. I figure I have about thirty minutes before he’ll be back and need to stretch my legs, maybe find a cup of coffee.
    Pushing through the double doors, I see, not only did my dad reach the Coopers, but our entire clan is here. The Coopers and their brood, the Wrights and their tribe, and my Fish. The only person not here is my mom who my dad tells me is on her way. Dax sees me first, rushing to me, hammering me with questions. When the rest of the gang realizes who I am, they all stand to gather around me, firing off questions faster than I can process them much less answer.
    I hold up my hands to silence them all. “Guys.” They’re still talking and not listening. “Guys!” I raise my voice sharply to get their attention. Suddenly, they meet my eyes. “Stop, okay? I’ll tell you what I know, but it’s not much at this point.”
    “You guys have been here for hours, how can they not know anything?” Joey’s voice strains with emotion threatening to let loose. He lost his older brother, Jeremy, and Moby is his best friend. He will be the hardest to keep calm.
    “Moby is actively stroking. They have given him medication to bring his blood pressure down, but so far nothing has worked. They just took him for a CT scan. That’s all the information I have.”
    “There’s medicine they can give him to stop a stroke, have they done that?” Joey’s desperate. Grasping at straws. I can see the hysteria mounting in his mind. His eyes are wild, darting all over my face, and a thin bead of sweat dots his forehead.
    I shake my head as the tears start to stream down my face unable to forge the words. The reality of Moby’s choice not to tell me what was going on last night slapping me in the face as I try to explain how grave things are to our family.
    “Why the fuck not?” His screaming is almost hysterical and people around us stare at his outburst. Tears prick his eyes, threatening to fall, I’m not sure if it’s from anger or fear, but they’re there. If Joey were a violent guy, I would worry about his fists clenched by his side; they’re so tightly squeezed together his knuckles are white, and his hands are almost purple.
    I hadn’t asked because I knew the