Chapter 29

AURORA. I held the phone closer to my ear, even minutes after the call had ended. My heart raced as the urgent call shattered the calm of my life. I felt like my entire world had just been upended and I was standing on the outside looking in, not knowing how to stop it. My grandmother, the anchor of my childhood and the keeper of countless memories, had suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage. She was now fighting for her life in the ICU of our hometown hospital. I forced myself to take deep breaths because my abuela had always taught me the importance of being calm in every situation. It was imperative that I had a clear head to think. But the more I inhaled, the more I panicked. I quickly typed an email to Nathaniel, explaining to him that something came up and I would not be coming to the office tomorrow, or the day after that. Since I was home alone, I wrote a note to Lolita as well, in hopes that she would forward my message to Justin. The ride to the airport was shorter than I