“Cass,” Jared says, full of anguish. He comes up behind me and pulls me into him.
“No! I need to touch him,” I say, sobbing.
I latch on to my cold brother’s hand and break down.
“It’s all my fault, I’m sorry, Cass. It’s all my fault,” Jared chants in the background.
I don’t know how long after I hear the sirens and I hold on tighter.
“Miss, you need to let go,” someone whispers, touching my shoulder.
I look over my shoulder, “I can’t. He’s my brother, I can’t leave him. He wouldn’t leave me.”
“Cassi,” someone says, pulling me out of my thoughts. I blink and see Rebecca, frowning. “You okay?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“You’re shaking.”
“I am?” I ask, voice shaking. I clear my throat. “Where’s Jack?”
“Tinsley and her family got here. Her brother got us moved into a private waiting room. We should get in there,” she says as she rubs my shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I am.” I stand on wobbly legs.
“I would understand if this brought up some terrible memories,” she prods.
“I’m fine. Promise. Let’s get in there. I want to know if they know anything.”
“Okay, but I’m here.” She takes my hand and pulls me into another room. “I know I was a little short with you on the way here, but I needed to get here. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. We’re all a little on edge.”
“You know Jack didn’t mean it either. He adores you.”
My heart pangs. I know Jack didn’t mean it, but it was painful to hear.
“I know,” I say, motioning for her to show me the way.
She leads me down the hall to a new area. Then she opens the door.
Stepping inside, I see there are more people. A lot more people. Two guys and two females.
Tinsley.
I see her standing, wrapped in an attractive man’s arms as a blonde woman rubs her arm. The man holding hands with the blonde looks like he could be related to Tinsley.
I know I should go say something, but I’m at a loss for words. I don’t think Tinsley ever likes me much, but I know she has to hate me by now.
Instead of going to her, I make my way over to Jack.
Taking a seat next to him, I ask, “Have you heard anything?”
Jack goes to speak, but another voice beats him to it.
“He has a broken arm in two places. They did surgery to put it in a bunch of metal so he can heal,” the man holding Tinsley says gruffly. “You must be Cassi.”
“Be nice,” Tinsley chastises him. “How are you holding up?” She turns to ask me.
“I’m okay, you?”
“I’ve been better.” She sighs.
“I never want to hear you scream like that again,” her man says.
“Agreed,” the dark-haired man says.
“I’m Sage,” the beautiful blonde says with an open smile, walking over to me to shake my hand. “This is my boyfriend Reed, Tinsley’s brother.” She smiles up at her man, who looks at her like she hung the moon. “And Casanova over there is Finley, Tinsley’s boyfriend. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“I would say nice to meet you, but.” I smile awkwardly.
“That would be a lie.” Sage smirks.
“Are his parents coming?” I ask no one in particular.
“One would think if you were so close to Xavier, you would know he’s basically estranged from his parents. That’s what happens when you fight their demands and go against what they want,” Reed’s unkind voice says, leaning against the wall before pulling Sage into him, away from me.
“They are both over in Europe currently. They told me to keep them updated,” Tinsley says softly while nibbling on her lip.
“Hey, stop that,” Finley scolds her, pulling her lip free. “That’s my lip to torture.” He smirks, making her blush.
“Could you not?” Reed demands, making the girls laugh.
The entire room sobers as soon as the door opens.
The doctor walks in. “Is this the family of Xavier Walsh?”
“We are,” Reed tells him.
Tinsley steps forward. “I’m Xavier’s power of attorney. How is he?”
“Would you like to go somewhere private?” the doctor asks her, looking at our large group.
“Anything you have to say, you can say in front of us,” Sage tells him.
The doctor doesn’t take her word, instead looking to Tinsley.
“They are his family. Anything you tell me, I’ll turn around and tell them, anyway.”
“Very well.”
The doctor goes into detail about how they reset Xavier’s arm. How many pins and bolts he needed. How he lost consciousness for a few moments, but came to before he made it to the hospital. That he has a concussion and how they had to glue shut a cut on his forehead.
The entire time the doctor is talking, my heart is racing. The pain that started earlier being amplified by hearing how hurt he is.
“Overall, he was lucky,” the doctor finishes.
“When can we see him?” Tinsley asks, heartache in her voice.
“Once they have him moved into a private room, someone will come get you. Only two of you at a time to start off with. We don’t want to overwhelm the patient.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Reed says. The rest of us murmur our thanks as well.
Tinsley moves away from their group on the far side of the room, coming to where I’m standing in the corner.
“You don’t have to be way back here. I know my brother and boyfriend can be intimidating, but it’s not you. They have a hard time trusting.”
My eyes tear up at her words. “Why are you being so nice to me right now?”
Her eyes show understanding.
“Let’s take a walk. I think we should talk.”
“Where are you going, woman?” Finley calls from across the room.
“For a walk. I’ll be back. Call me if they come back.”
He doesn’t look happy, but he doesn’t say anything else.
Leading me out of the waiting room, she leads me down the hall in silence. She doesn’t stop until we are at the elevators. She leads me to the love seat positioned across from the elevators.
Once settled, she lets out a heavy sigh.
“I
