Chapter 49

CHAPTER 22 — BOOK III

 

Consequences

 

The nurse told him in the corridor, not unkindly.

 

“He got light-headed in the bathroom earlier,” she said. “Blood pressure dropped when he stood. He lowered himself to the floor before he could fall. We’ve kept an eye on him since.”

 

Geoffrey nodded, absorbing it carefully, like information that needed to be handled gently.

 

“He said he was fine,” the nurse added. “But we’d prefer he didn’t try to do too much on his own right now.”

 

Geoffrey waited until she was gone before exhaling.

 

The bathroom door had been closed.

 

Embong remembered the moment clearly enough—the way the room had tilted, not violently, just enough to make standing feel optional. His legs had gone strangely hollow, as if the floor had decided it could wait for him instead. He had leaned back against the door without thinking, sliding down until the tiles met him.

 

He hadn’t blacked out.

 

That, later, would matter.

 

He had sat there with his head tipped forward, counting his breaths because it gave his hands something to do. When the dizziness didn’t pass quickly enough, he called out—once, then again.

 

The night-shift nurse had come at once. Male. Calm. Unhurried.

 

“Easy,” he’d said, crouching to Embong’s level. “Take your time.”

 

Embong had let himself be helped up, embarrassed less by the fall than by how much effort standing now required.

 

By the time Geoffrey was told, it had already been dealt with.

 

That was why it sounded smaller than it had felt.

 

Back in the room, Embong sat on the edge of the bed, towel folded beside him, hair damp with sweat that hadn’t quite cooled. He looked smaller somehow—not in body but in energy, as if remaining upright still required negotiation.

 

“I heard,” Geoffrey said quietly.

 

Embong glanced up. “It was nothing.”

 

Geoffrey didn’t argue. He never did when Embong said things like that.

 

“Do you want a shower?” he asked instead. “Not now if you’re tired. Later’s fine.”

 

Embong considered it, eyes unfocused for a moment. Then nodded once. “Yeah. Maybe.”

 

Geoffrey checked with the nurse first. Grab rails. Chair. Door unlocked. He listened closely, repeating the instructions in his head until they felt solid.

 

Sometimes it meant the work had already been done.

 

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