Matters of the Heart

Chapter 28

Abbey just stood there staring after the closed staff elevator.

Leah softly touched her back.

"Hey let's go grab something to eat in the cafeteria. It's going to be hours before we know anything. "

Abbey shook her head.

"No. No I can't eat anything. Not now"

"Okay that's fine. How about we go up to the Cardiac ICU waiting room. That's where they'll take him after his surgery. With covid it's pretty much empty all the time so let's go up there ok?"

"Jill I have to call Jill oh my God."

"She knows Abbey, I called her" Patrick said. "She knows and when you feel up to talking, she said you can call and talk to her"

Abbey emotionally nodded.

"Come on lets go" Leah said.

They started walking in the opposite direction when Nurse Lexi walked by. She had never seen Abbey look like this before.

"Dr Soffer I'm so sorry about your husband, if there's anything I can do for you, please let me know." Lexi offered.

Abbey numbly nodded.

"Thanks Lexi. Just pray" Leah responded.

"Done. Leah keep me updated. Let me know if i can do anything" she said as she smiled sweetly.

"Thanks Lex"

They continued walking and stepped onto the elevator. Leah pushed 3. They stepped off the elevator and began walking down the hall when suddenly Patrick and Leah stopped to realize Abbey wasn't with them. They turned around to see Abbey just standing there in the middle of the hallway. Patrick and Leah stopped to look at each other.

"Pat, if Jesse doesn't make it, she's ..."

Patrick reached his hand out and placed it on Leah's shoulder

"Hey remember what you told me on the phone? We have to stay positive. And I can promise you that wherever he ends up, he's not willing to be without her so he's not going anywhere. Ok this is Jess, he's the strongest person I know. He WILL pull through this. "

Leah nodded

"Yeah you're right. She's going to really need us" Leah answered

"Yeah well it's a good thing were both here"

They began walking towards Abbey

"Abbey?" Leah sweetly called for her sister. "Come on sweetie lets go sit down. We've got a long wait ahead of us. "

Abbey numbly nodded but didn't move. Leah looked over at Patrick again and he moved to stand beside Abbey. He threw his arm around Abbeys shoulder. And that was all it took. The dam broke within Abbey Soffer. She was crying hysterically. All Leah could do was sympathetically look on at her sister. She has never seen Abbey like this.

Leah remembered back on times when she first moved to Chicago to be near Abbey, and Abbey would get calls about her Dad, Leah's stepdad, about close calls, hostage situations, undercover assignments, and Abbey would worry incessantly about her father Liam. But she always held it together. ALWAYS. She had never seen Abbey break like this. But she had never seen Abbey love like this either.