“Still, it’s like you’re practically married. He gets no sympathy from me. None whatsoever.”
“Ooh, what about Josie?” Krista said, her voice filled with excitement.
They were all standing there, bantering about Jeff’s love life while Liam was back there, possibly dying. I understood it in a way, but I just couldn’t join in, not when I was shaking so badly.
Liam was mine as of only two days ago, and now I was close to losing him.
“Nah. Josie’s too good for him.”
Jeff pounced on that. “What do you mean? Why is she too good for me?”
“Because she is,” Lizzy argued. “She’s all sweet and flowery and you’re…you.”
“And what’s wrong with me? I can handle sweet and flowery.”
Krista snorted. “No, she’s right. You definitely can’t handle sweet and flowery. She’d eat you alive.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know that I still have what it takes to woo a woman. I can…bring flowers and shit.”
“Yeah, I’m sure theshitis what will win her over,” Krista laughed.
“Bailey,” Jeff said, snagging my attention. “What do you think? I’m a lovable guy. Do you think I could get a woman like Josie?”
They all stared at me expectantly, each waiting on pins and needles to see what I would say. “Um…well, Jeff…uh…”
“Yeah, this is gonna go well for him,” Krista laughed.
“Son, I think what Bailey is trying to say is that you need a little more practice before you can get a woman like Josie,” his father said, slapping him on the shoulder.
“Thanks, Pop. Glad to know you have confidence in me.”
“Well, I don’t know if it’s confidence, but it’s something.”
The wait was excruciating,but even worse was the constant banter between the siblings. I had a feeling this was their way of dealing with the unknown, and I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a distraction.
But it was starting to grate on my nerves.
All I wanted was the smallest inkling of how Liam was doing.
“Come on, Bailes. Let’s go get something to eat,” Jeff said, slinging an arm around my shoulder.
“Bailes?”
“What? No good?”
Shaking my head, I stood, arching my sore back. I didn’t particularly want to go anywhere with Jeff, let alone roam the desolate white halls of the hospital, but I couldn’t take another minute in the hard-as-a-rock chair.
“I’m not a felon.”
“No, see, I just shortened it. Bailey. Bailes. Get it?”
His charming grin eased the ache in my chest slightly, even earning him a smile in return when I really didn’t feel like making the effort. Jeff had always been that way, able to make all the girls smile with his wit and good looks. They just never appealed to me.
“It’s practically dead in here,” he noted as we strolled down yet another empty hallway. “Hope that isn’t a reflection on the outcome of the patients.”
Smacking him, I held back a grin. “Jeff, that’s terrible.”
“But true.”
