“We could have helped,” she growls. “No fuck that, we should have been down there, fighting with the rest of them.” Her beautiful features are taut, the weight of her accusation settling on my chest until it’s hard to breathe.
“You would have got yourself kidnapped, harmed or probably both. Each of us knew what we signed up for.” I keep my voice calm and even, another trick I learnt from my father. He constantly blamed me for situations that were out of my control, using his fists to sate the anger he couldn’t contain. There was no use apologising, arguing or even crying. Remaining rational usually worked for him, but apparently not for Avery as her rage boils over and she throws a punch into my arm.
“I doubt they knew they were signing up for you to hide me away like a coward.” Pushing her door open without looking, a car swerves to avoid Avery as she exits. The taxi driver screams at her through his window, driving away while she flips him off. Darting after her, I grip her shoulders roughly and force her onto the sidewalk. Pushing her back against the edge of an apartment building, I lean into her body to speak into her ear.
“I’m not a coward. Every single one of the others would have done the exact same if they’d been on the stairs at that moment. Your safety is paramount.” Her face shifts, her lips an inch from mine and our breaths mingle. For a second, I think she’s going to press herself into me for a hug, but instead she shoves at my chest with more force that I expected.
“Not over Meg’s! You barricaded me in that room whilst she was stolen away, by Wyatt no less! She was right there, beyond the door you refused to open and now she’s gone, and I’ll never forgive you.” Her shoulder crashes into my arm as she barrels past, stomping towards the hospital without waiting. Huxley’s hand rests on my shoulder and I lunge for him, burying my face into his neck and catching him by surprise. This is why I need Axel to pull through, I need the comfort of his hugs, the reassurance of his lingering touches. Not many men are comfortable to be affectionate the way Axel can, but now I can’t live without it.
Huxley returns my hug, sighing deeply and dragging my sorry ass after the girl that has my emotions playing havoc. She’s already at the receptionist’s desk by the time we enter the hospital, the distinct smell of everything clinical and people on the brink of death filling the air. An escalator directly in front takes us to the second floor as Avery guides us through the maze of corridors. Every ceiling is lined with square polystyrene tiles, the brightness of the lights hurt my eyes until we arrive at a private ward.
Squirting hand sanitizer into our palms in turn, a nurse greets us by a set of heavy doors and escorts us to a room at the end of the hall. Garrett’s floppy brown hair has flicked forward into his tormented eyes, too focused on the unconscious man in the bed to realise we’ve entered the room. The atmosphere in here is different to the rest of the hospital, the air filled with a perfumed scent and plush cushions laying behind Axel’s shaved head. The nurses are unhurried, strolling behind trollies to do their rounds with leisurely strides.
“How is he?” Avery asks, moving to stand by Garrett’s armchair. He jolts violently, shooting to his feet with his hands fisted, clearly expecting an intrusion. Avery doesn’t budge, reaching up to stroke his cheek and push the hair back from his bruised face to reveal his softening hazel eyes. Garrett falls into her embrace, her legs nearly buckling beneath his weight, but I turn away, hating myself for the lick of jealously spreading through my chest.
Approaching Axel slowly, my lips tighten at the sight of multiple tubes leading into the crook of his arm. The heartbeat monitor beside the raised bed bleeps repeatedly, the pure strength of his heart sounding for everyone to hear. A pale blue blanket has been tucked tightly beneath his armpits, the top of his bare chest on show and littered with purple welts. He would look serene if it weren’t for the small pinch between his eyebrows, as if he’s trapped in a never-ending nightmare.
“He was in surgery first thing this morning, they brought him back about twenty minutes ago,” Garrett explains behind me. “He hasn’t come around from the anaesthetic yet.” I reach forward to smooth the crease from between his eyes with my thumb, causing a protective growl to rattle from Garrett but I do it anyway. Axel doesn’t belong to him alone, even if they share a more intimate bond. I don’t have any other family than the four people in this room now Wyatt has scratched himself off the list. Fucking Wyatt.
My thoughts turn dark, needing to see him be punished for what he’s done to Axel. There’s no coming back, no excuse good enough when I saw him pull the knife from our brother through the laptop screen. It was in that moment, when my heart was crumbling into blackened dust. that I no longer had the energy to fight Avery. I suddenly felt what she must have
