Page 28 of Reject Him

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Carrying Clark in his arms, Logan kicks open the clinic’s unlocked door. He’s followed closely by Eme, Viola, Grace, and Wayne. The boy is still having a seizure. Logan knows if he keeps this up . . . well, he doesn’t want to think about it.

He’s seen this reaction before. He knows exactly what is happening, and it pisses him off.

The doctor’s office is small but functional. There’s a waiting room with old plaid chairs, a desk for the receptionist, and behind that, doors that lead to exam rooms. To the left of the waiting room are stairs that lead to the apartment the doctor lives in.

“Doc!” Logan shouts from the waiting room. “Doc!”

The doctor, Grace, comes running down the stairs. She’s still dressed in her pajamas and, upon seeing them, rushes to their side.

“What happened?” she asks.

“He collapsed and started seizing,” Viola whimpers.

“Come,” she tells Logan. “Examining room one.”

They follow her quickly, and once inside, Logan lays Clark on the table.

“Turn him to his side,” she orders. Wayne comes forward to help Logan with the doctor’s orders.

Grace opens a drawer and pulls out a syringe. “Move,” she orders. Logan moves aside, and Grace plunges the needle inside Clark’s skin. “This should help with the seizing.”

The group holds their breath as they wait and watch.

“It’s not doing anything,” Wayne says anxiously.

“Give it a minute.”

Logan feels relief when the seizing finally stops. He slowly releases Clark’s body and stands upright, stretching his back. His heart hammers in his chest, however, and he turns to Wayne. They share a knowing look.

Viola must have caught the look because she demands, “What? What is this?”

When Logan and Wayne say nothing, Doctor Grace sighs. “This is a common reaction to wolfcalm when taken in large quantities.”

“Wolfcalm?” Viola says, incredulous. “But my boy-”

Logan turns to her. “He was in the city, Viola. He was unsupervised for a few hours. We suspected-”

“You suspected!” Jim growls. “You suspected my boy bought wolfcalm off the street and brought it back here?”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.” Logan crosses his arms.

“And then he took it himself,” Wayne interjects.

Jim starts forward with his fists balled at his side, but Logan steps between him and Wayne. “Back off,” he orders. He doesn’t like to give orders, but he can’t have a full-out brawl. Not with the situation they’re finding themselves in.

“Calm down,” he tries again, this time with a soothing tone. He looks to his right and finds Eme watching the boy with horror. Her hand is hovering by her lips, and a tear is welling in her right eye.

“We all need to calm down,” Logan advises. “We can’t help Clark like this.”

Jim’s nostrils flare. Then he moves around Logan to stand by his son’s side. He touches Clark’s leg before looking at Grace. “What do we do?”

“We wait,” Grace whispers.

“Wait?” Viola asks.

Grace nods. “There is no antidote for wolfcalm. There’s no easy fix. We wait it out and see if he wakes up.”