Chapter 3

The next few days passed without incident.

Colette came home every evening. She even brought Felix a gift, which was a first. It was a remote-controlled car. She ruffled his hair. "I've been busy with work. You understand, right?"

Felix nodded like the good boy he was, then turned around and stuffed the car into the storage bin the moment she left the room.

He whispered to me, "Dad, that car is the one Emmett got bored of. I've seen it before."

I rubbed his head and said nothing.

On Friday afternoon, I went to pick Felix up from kindergarten and noticed his teacher watching me with a strange look on her face.

Emmett was in the middle of a crowd of kids, yelling at the top of his lungs, "My uncle is so mean! Colette said she's gonna find my cousin a new dad and get rid of my uncle!"

Felix stood in the corner, his face flushed scarlet and fists clenched at his sides. He charged forward. "That's not true! My dad didn't do anything!"

Emmett shoved him. "You're just a kid nobody's mom wants! Colette said your dad runs around with other women!"

Felix stumbled back from the push, then clutched his chest. The color drained from his face until it was almost blue.

I rushed in. "Felix!"

He collapsed into my arms, his lips turning purple and his whole body seizing. I screamed, "Call an ambulance!"

Even as his eyes glazed over, Felix gripped the collar of my shirt. "Dad, don't cry..."

By the time the ambulance arrived, Colette had rushed over too. "What happened?"

I did not acknowledge her and climbed into the ambulance with Felix. At that moment, Emmett ran over and grabbed her hand. "Colette, that was so scary. Is he just faking it?"

Stefan had shown up as well, still in a hospital gown he had no reason to be wearing. He was leaning weakly against the doorframe. "Colette, this whole thing has me shaken..."

She hesitated, then put her arms around him. "Don't worry. I'm here."

I closed my eyes and forced the tears back down. She had made her choice.

In the emergency room, the doctor's expression was grim. "His heart is under too much strain. He needs surgery immediately. He can't wait any longer."

"Then do it," I said.

The doctor looked pained. "There's no suitable heart available right now."

I grabbed Colette's sleeve. "Then use the one on the schedule. You said it would be ready within two weeks. Use it now."

Her voice shot up. "That's a queue, not a free-for-all. You can't take someone else's spot."

Stefan chose that moment to speak, soft and pointed. "That heart is someone else's lifeline. How could you even suggest..."

Colette cut him off before he could finish, then turned to me. "Enough! Reid, look at yourself. Is this how a father is supposed to act?"

Her voice was razor-sharp. "Felix ended up like this because you don't know how to take care of a child."

I stood frozen.

She said, "Starting tomorrow, I'll take over Felix's care. You need to step back and get your head straight."

I held Felix against my chest and refused to let go. "No. You have no right."

"I have every right. I'm his mother." Her voice was ice-cold. "Reid, you have been nothing but a disappointment."

On the bed, Felix's eyes slowly opened. His voice was barely there. "Mom..."

Colette went to him and took his hand. "I'm here, sweetheart."

Felix looked at her, clear-eyed and calm. "Mom, don't blame Dad. It was my fault."

Something in Colette's expression softened. She stroked his hair. "I know, baby."

Stefan spoke again, his eyes red-rimmed. "Colette, maybe I should just take Emmett and go. It seems like your husband really doesn't want us here."

Colette did not even turn around. "Nobody's going anywhere. This is a hospital, not his house."

"But..."

She looked back at me, her lips curling. "Reid, go home. You're just making things worse."

I took a long breath and looked at the bed. Felix met my eyes and shook his head, just barely. His small hand waved me off as if to say it was fine.

I closed my eyes, turned, and walked out.

Behind me, Stefan's voice drifted down the hall, gentle as anything. "You look tired, Colette. Let me go grab you a coffee."

"You don't have to. Just stay with Emmett."

"I'd rather be here with you."

I walked faster, practically fleeing the hospital.