Page 1 of Broken Boss Daddy

Chapter 1: Jessica

“Mommy, it hurts.”

“I know, baby, I know. We’re nearly there. I promise.”

Pushing down harder on the gas pedal, I took a deep breath to calm my panicking thoughts and tried to keep my focus on the road ahead. Although it was pretty empty considering it was nearly midnight, with my attention constantly being brought back to my daughter in the backseat, I still couldn’t risk anything.

Abby needed me, and I needed to get her to the hospital as soon as possible. My blind panic wasn’t going to overtake me just when I needed to stay clear headed.

Her screams of pain still echoed through my mind, and my heart bottomed out like it had many times before. Seeing Abby like that reminded me of when she was just a baby, screaming in pain then too, and me not having a clue about what was wrong.

The fear that her severe ear infections had come back kicked my body into overdrive again, and soon we were at the hospital. The enormous building came into sight a couple of yards in front of us, and I felt my heartbeat pick up as I pressed down just a little harder on the gas pedal.

“Mommy?” Abby called from her car seat just as we turned into the parking lot.

I parked in the first open space I found and spun around to face her. “Yes, baby?”

“My tummy hurts more.”

It was a struggle to keep my eyes dry. “We’re at the hospital, baby, and the doctor is going to make it all better.”

The next couple of minutes were a blur as I hurriedly climbed out of the car and gently picked her up, cradling her in my arms like I used to dowhenshe was an infant. I carefully jogged toward the ER doors and made my way through the throngs of people until I found the nurses’ station.

“We need to see a doctor urgently,” I said to the woman behind the counter.

“Alright. Can you please provide me with your name so I can pull up your file?”

“Oh, right. It’s Jessica Flynn, and my daughter is Abigail Flynn.”

“Thank you.” She scanned the desktop in front of her before handing me a clipboard. “You just need to fill out these forms and we’ll put you in the queue.”

“My daughter needs to see someone now. She’s in terrible pain and it could be something bad or life-threatening. Please, we need to see a doctor before it’s too late.”

“Ma’am,” the nurse replied, “I understand that you’re worried about your child, but there are other people who were here before you who also need to see a doctor. Someone will be with you as soon as they can.”

I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. Abby clutched onto me tighter, obviously a wave of pain coursing through her at that very moment. “Are you kidding me? I literally just told you that there’s something wrong with my daughter…”

“Ma’am…”

“Don’tma’amme. She’s only a child who is in severe pain and you’re telling me I need to wait? What kind of hospital are you running here when children are treated as just another number?”

“I know you’re scared…” The nurse tried again to get me to calm down, but I wasn’t having any of that until Abby was with a doctor.

“Scared? You think I’m scared now? I was scared when, at just a few months old, Abby was diagnosed with severe infections and there was nothing I could do for her. Right now, I’m furious you’re refusing immediate treatment when she could develop the same illness that could be potentially life-threatening.”

My words had rushed out of me so fast that I could barely breathe. My ears were muffled with the sounds of a busy emergency room as I tried to inhale and stop my racing thoughts. After all, it wasn’t this nurse’s fault, and it wasn’t right of me to take my frustration out on her.

Seeing that I had calmed down some, the nurse gave me an understanding look and gestured for us to follow her. The guilt at being pushed to the front of the waiting line was unpleasant, but I could only focus on getting Abby the help she needed. We were led to a closed off consultation bed and away from the noise.

“You can wait here and a doctor will be with you shortly. I apologize for the misunderstanding, and I hope everything is okay with your daughter,” the nurse said.

“Thank you.”

With a kind smile, the nurse left us alone.

I lay Abby down on the hospital bed while she clung to me like her life depended on it. My heart broke seeing her in so much pain, and I forced myself to stay positive even though my mind wanted to jump to the worst conclusion.

But the same questions filtered through everything, blocking my attempt at positivity—what if her ear infections are back?