CHAPTER 247: CONSCIOUS

Emily pushed the door open just a little, her heart beating hard in her chest as she stepped into the room which was filled with the soft beep of the machines.

Before Emily could shut the door behind her, Dr Loma returned with Ryan’s man, who had insisted on seeing him. "Why are you going into the room, Emily?" She asked, walking into the room.

When she saw that Ryan had opened his eyes, she quickly rushed over to his side and pressed the button by his bed.

The button gave a sharp ring and the sound filled the room. A nurse hurried in at once.

Ryan’s eyes were barely open, weak and clouded, his lashes trembling as though even the act of waking cost him strength. His chest rose and fell shallow, the sternum binder visible beneath the sheet holding his ribs together after the surgery. His lips parted, moving soundlessly.

Emily’s throat tightened. She wanted so badly to step closer, to lean in and hear the words he was trying to form, but a senior doctor strode in briskly, his face tight with authority.

"Out. All of you. He needs space," he ordered.

Emily, Dr. Loma, and the man obeyed, moving to the window where they could still see. Inside, the nurse adjusted the oxygen cannula, checked the chest drains, and made sure the monitors held steady. The beeping line remained even, but faint.

Ryan blinked again, slow, like he was fighting a heavy sleep. His gaze drifted sluggishly around the room until it landed on his man standing by the window. For a moment, his eyes stayed there, and something like recognition flickered across his face.

"He’s conscious," the man said, stepping forward.

Ryan’s brows knit faintly, his throat working as if he wanted to speak, but no sound came—only a rough, broken rasp from a throat rubbed raw by the breathing tube.

"He’s thirsty," Emily whispered under her breath, almost without thinking.

The nurse quickly took a small swab, wetting Ryan’s lips gently. His eyes closed as if even that little comfort was too much. When they opened again, his gaze moved restlessly again as though he needed someone to understand him.

His eyes shifted to the man again. It was faint, but he moved his fingers, twitching them like he was beckoning him to come over. His hand lifted barely an inch and then fell back.

"He’s asking for me," his man said, stepping closer to the glass.

Dr. Loma who had also noticed the movement nodded. "He’s responsive, but very weak. Words will be difficult for days. He needs calm, not questions."

Ryan’s man nodded quickly, "You need to give Callan Quinn a call and ask him to come here."

Dr Loma stiffened, glancing nervously at Emily then back at the man, "Let’s talk privately."

As the man turned to leave with her, he paused when he noticed that Emily was still standing there without taking her eyes off Ryan, "Who are you? Were you on the plane with him?" He asked, assuming that was the reason she was keeping watch over Ryan that way.

"No, she wasn’t. She’s my colleague. A resident too," Dr Loma answered before Emily could.

"Then why do you look so worried like you know him personally?" The man asked curiously.

"Is there a reason I have to answer your question? As Dr Loma already told you, I’m a resident here, and it isn’t out of place for me to be worried about patients. Since you both need to speak privately, and I’m sure you want to keep your eye on your friend, I’ll excuse myself," Emily said, her heart beating fast as she walked away with quick steps.

The moment she turned a bend, she took out her phone and dialed Jamal’s line.

Jamal, who was busy looking at pictures with Abigail and Josh and telling them about each person and their relationship, excused himself when he saw Emily’s call before receiving it.

"Hey!"

"He’s regained consciousness. And a man is here. I think he works for him, he’s asking Dr Loma to invite Callan over..."

"Slow down, Em. Who is Dr Loma?" Jamal asked, confused.

"Dr Loma is one of the residents. She’s pretending to be me... it’s sort of complicated, but the long and short of it is that she’s pretending to be the person Callan is close to amongst the residents. I don’t know how Ryan’s man made the connection but somehow he got to her and wants her to get Callan to come to the hospital. What should I do?"

"Why don’t you admit that you’re the person close to Callan?" Jamal suggested.

"Apart from the fact that I don’t know what their plan is, I don’t want anyone to know about my relationship with Callan or who my Dad is. You know how people expect a lot when they know your background. I just want to keep my head down as always," she said, and Jamal nodded.

"Then maybe you can admit to your colleague pretending to be you that you’re the one Callan was referring to. She wouldn’t want to expose you because then she’d expose herself as a liar. Let her know Callan is in Ludus. I’m sure Ryan would want to be moved to Ludus if he knows Callan is there," Jamal suggested.

Emily’s brows furrowed as she thought about it. "Is that a good idea?"

"Yeah. And maybe you could speak with your Dad about having him transfered to his hospital. I’ll talk to Uncle Harry about it, and they can have an agreement with Uncle Hunter. That way after Callan is told the truth he can decide whether or not he wants to meet him at the hospital. And Abigail also wants to be able to care for him," Jamal said, and Emily pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"If he’s being transferred to Ludus, then I’ll go with him," she said after a while.

"I guess you’ll have to work that out with your Dad," Jamal said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I’ll give my Uncle a call now." Jamal realized he should have called Harry a long time ago instead of waiting for Tom and Lucy to arrive first.

"Alright. I’ll keep you updated," Emily said before hanging up.

Immediately, she turned around and returned to meet Dr Loma and Ryan’s man. When she got there, Dr Loma was standing alone outside the window, while the man was standing inside by Ryan’s bed, saying something to him.

"I thought he wasn’t supposed to go in there," Emily asked Dr Loma.

"The patient seemed to want to speak with him even though I doubt they’d be having much of a conversation. You know who he is, don’t you? You’re the one Callan talked about," Dr Loma asked, staring at Emily.

Emily nodded. "Yeah. But I have no plan of letting them know that."

"Who are they? What do they want? And why are you telling me this? Am I in danger?" Dr Loma asked, looking from Emily to the room and back again.

"It’s complicated and I don’t think you need to know the details since it doesn’t exactly concern you. What’s important right now is that Callan is not in Husla. He’s on his way to Ludus to visit his parents. So you should tell them that," Emily said, and Dr Loma frowned.

"His number..."

"I can’t give that to you. Let them know where Callan is. And tell them if it’s important they should transfer Mr Harris to Ludus," Emily said, and when she saw the man coming out from the room, she walked away before Dr Loma could ask her any more questions.