I nodded. “Yeah. I could go for a cup too, ma.”
She squeezed Avion’s hand. “I’ll check with the nurse’s station on the way out. Coffee for three, coming up.”
Tamryn lifted her hand from Avion’s to my cheek to give it a motherly stroke, then she turned and walked out of the room.
“She seems great,” Avion groaned, wincing.
I frowned. “Do you need me to get the nurse?”
She just shook her head. “No. Honestly, I think that some of this is just pain I have to deal with. I’ll be okay for now.”
“Well, yes, my mom is pretty great. Better than my dad. I think we’re gonna keep him away from here for now…” Timidly, I reached out and took Avion’s hand. “Did he, um… Did he say something to upset you? You know he just talks to hear his own voice. If he said something shitty, just ignore it.”
Avion shook her head, and I could tell with how quickly she did it, that she was already being untruthful. “No, no. He didn’t. Just… ya know. I wish all of this wasn’t happening.” It wasn’t true, but it was clear she wasn’t going to be honest. Whatever he’d said had scared her that much.
“Yeah. I know.” Seeing her in pain made me unhappy at my core. It was strange how she’d come into my life and turned it upside down the way she had. I wasn’t sure how to adjust myself to rise to the occasion. “So. What’d you wanna ask me?”
She studied my face for a long time after I asked. Her irises flicked back and forth, almost like she was trying to figure out exactly how to say what she wanted to. Back before she passed out, there was a seriousness in the tone of her voice that told me whatever she had to say was important to her, but she never got it out.
“Um…” she bit her lip and then sighed. I could feel the moment leaving. Whatever she wanted to ask, she’d just made the decision not to ask it. “Lorie’s pretty worried about me. I know that we’re a little worried about my brothers and stuff right now, but do you think she could come and visit me? You could be here too, or your mom or Milli. In a weird way… she’s my only family at this point. I mean, I know I have my dad, but you know…”
The idea of letting anyone into Avion’s hospital room except for me, my parents, or Milli made me nervous. My gut inclination was to say no. We would have no way of knowing if the Narzand Brothers had gotten to Lorie first knowing that Avion was in communication with her, but then that moment I’d had back at my estate came flashing back to me. Realizing that there was nothing of Avion’s in that room. That, as far as anyone was concerned, she was still just a prisoner. I didn’t want her to feel like a prisoner, and if she wasn’t a prisoner, then she could have whoever she wanted come visit her.
All I could do was protect her.
“If you want your best friend to come and visit you, then she can come visit you,” I said. “That’s your choice.”
“O…okay…” she smiled a little. “She’s actually been chomping at the bit. If I tell her it’s okay, she’ll probably come soon.”
I set a hand on her head, happy to feel that she didn’t have any sort of fever or anything. “Are you feeling up to a visit?”
“Not entirely,” she said, laughing a little, “but I’d like to see her. If I pass out halfway through talking to her, she won’t mind. It’d make me more comfortable to see her.”
More comfortable.
It hurt me to think that Avion wasn’t entirely comfortable right now. Not in the sense that she was still injured, but the fact that she felt like she had to getmypermission to see her friend. Feeling like she has to convince me. Avion could sense it too, the feeling that she’s just a prisoner right now. How did I go about easing that feeling without risking losing her if she thought she was free to leave?
“Okay,” Avion’s voice pierced my thoughts. “She said she’s on the way.”
“My only experience with Lorie was that very erratic visit she paid me to tell me to come and save you. Is she… always like that?”
“Well, Lorie has always been drenched in a sense of justice and abiding by the law. She’s normally not quite that erratic, but being around you is…” Her voice trailed off, but she didn’t need to finish the sentence.
In short, as long as she was around me, yes, Loriewasgoing to be like that.
“Then maybe I should just leave you with my mom. I’m sure she’ll be more comfortable--”
“No!” Avion yelped, then relaxed. “Sorry, um, no… I don’t want you to go.”
“You know you’re safe, Avion. My mom won’t hurt you. And my dad, he may be brash but…”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I just…” She was fumbling for what she was trying to say and I’d give anything for a quick glimpse into her mind. “It’ll be nice for you and Lorie to get to know each other.”
“Okay. I won’t go,” I said. “As long as you want me to stay, I’ll stay.”
35
AVION
