Magnolia and Kraken are by the bar, speaking in low voices.
Other members, other old ladies, all of them gathered and waiting.
The air is thick with tension.
With fear.
With the unspoken knowledge that tonight could change everything.
I scan the room for Vail—Gunnar's mom—and spot her through the half-open door of the medical room.
She's already in there, prepping supplies, her movements quick and efficient.
Professional.
She's an EMT.
She's trained for this.
She's probably worked on hundreds of trauma patients, seen things that would make most people vomit.
But this isn't a stranger on a highway.
This isn't some random call on a random night.
This is her son.
Her only son.
How does she do it?
How does she stay calm knowing her child is bleeding out somewhere, being rushed back to her so she can try to save his life?
I don't know if I could do it.
I don't know if I'm strong enough.
"Ingrid." Astrid appears beside me, ignoring my earlier head shake. She pulls me into a hug, tight and fierce. "I'm here. Whatever you need."
"I can't—" My voice breaks. "I can't lose him. Not now. Not when I finally?—"
"You won't. Gunnar's strong. He's a fighter. He'll make it through this."
"But what if?—"
"No what ifs." She pulls back, grips my shoulders. "Not yet. We wait. We hope. We trust. That's all we can do."
Easy words.
Impossible to believe.
But I nod anyway.
Because what else is there?
The minutes crawl by.
Each one an eternity.
