I saw my brother send a knowing smirk our way as Nicki and I both straightened up and turned to hear his update.
“What do you think?” Mama K asked, her normally cheery voice thick with emotion. Mama D looked up at him as well.
“I think… I think it’s serious,” he said. “He’s awake, but he seems to be having trouble forming new memories. We had to tell him about the accident four times.”
He sighed and I saw Mason’s hand squeeze his. I felt a squeeze on my own hand, and glanced at Nicki, who nodded at me reassuringly.
“They will keep him in ICU to keep a close eye on him, to make sure the bleeding in his brain stops. From there, it’s kind of a waiting game. We have to wait to see how well his body heals from the trauma of his at—” Lee paused and cleared my throat. “…his accident.”
Both our parents nodded. Their hands were clinging tightly to each other and Lee reached out, wrapping his large hand around their smaller ones.
“He’s young. He’s strong. He’s adaptable. We will just have to wait this out,” he reassured them.
They both nodded.
“Thank you, sweetie,” Mama D said. “It makes us feel better knowing that you can check on him.”
We settled back in to wait for news from the orthopedic surgeon and I felt my phone vibrate.
I got it out and saw I’d missed several texts, including the one Bishop had accidentally sent the group we’d set up the night before.
There was a message from Sammie, asking if there was any news and if there was anything she could do to help. Then I saw a message from Weaver.
WEAVER: Goddammit, somebody better give me an update, or I’m fucking going AWOL and coming up there to get some fucking answers!
You know the saying “cuss like a sailor”? Yeah, my sister swore like an Air Force pilot.
ME: Calm your jets, sis. Nothing you can do here but drink bad coffee and have your ass go numb in these chairs.
WEAVER: No word?! WTF are those doctors doing? Eating donuts?
ME: I think it’s the police with the reputation for eating donuts, Little Bit.
I’d called Weaver Little Bit since we were kids, having picked it up in some book or another. She was the shortest of all the sibs, and she normally hated it, but she didn’t object right now.
WEAVER: Seriously, no news?
ME: We just talked to the attending. Not sure what “attending” means exactly, but he’s given us the most news so far. Hicks is out of surgery and transferred to the ICU. Sonny is still in surgery, but he thinks the ortho surgeon should be out soon to give us an update.
WEAVER: …Were they able to save his leg?
I could almost hear Weaver’s voice, tiny and lost. She was so much like Mama K, small, but strong.
ME: We don’t know yet. We should hear something soon.
I filled her in on the details and promised to call her as soon as we had any more news. She had been texting with Bishop, but he’d apparently taken too long to respond to her.
We settled back into the routine of waiting for more news, but only a few minutes had passed when I saw a police officer enter the lounge. He was probably in his mid-to-late forties, about Lee’s height, but he many pounds heavier. His face was bruised, his eyes both sporting a raccoon mask of bruises indicating a broken nose.
I watched him scan the room, lazily playing with hair along Nicki’s neck. That kiss had gotten me more than a little hard and was hoping I didn’t have to stand up anytime soon. It occurred to me in surprise that the kiss from Nicki, even though it had been just a kiss, had made me more aroused than any of the men I’d fucked in the last six years.
A glance at Nicki in the seat next to me confirmed that he was having a similar problem. I couldn’t help but let a smile tickle the corners of my mouth.
Nicki followed my gaze and I heard a whispered, “Fuck you, Devereaux,” as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. I almost laughed, but the sound of the police officer’s voice interrupted the quiet of the waiting area.
“Devereaux family?” He yelled, in what seemed like an unnecessarily loud voice as he walked toward us. Mama K and Mama D looked up and nodded. I felt Nicki freeze in the chair next to me. I glanced at him, and his face had gone white. I watched him swallow nervously, before visibly forcing himself to relax.
“Yes, officer?” said Mama K.
