“Austin’s a boy’s name,” I say.
Her smile disappears, and her eyes narrow on me.
“I think it’s pretty,” Kellan says, taking a step toward her.
“No one asked you.” Deke grabs him by the collar and yanks him back.
“Your mom said to be nice to me.” She places her hands on her hips.
“Yeah, well my mom’s not here anymore, is she?” I step forward and shove her backward. She trips over a rock and falls to her butt. “We don’t play with girls,” I spit out before we walk away.
If only I could go back, I would change so many things.
“Cole?” Deke calls out, popping his head in.
“What?”
“Shelby is out here …”
I shove past him and into the waiting area. Shelby stands with her back to me, talking to Becky and Bennett in a pair of light blue scrubs with her blond hair up in a ponytail. “Is she out?” I ask in a rush as I approach them.
She spins around and gives me a pointed look. “Cole—”
“I didn’t hurt her,” I interrupt Shelby, knowing where she is going with that look. “I promise. I was trying to save her.”
Her eyes soften, and she sighs. “No.”
I run a hand through my hair nervously. “What the hell is taking so long? Why are you out here?” Shouldn’t she be helping? I’m not exactly sure what she does here. I never cared until now.
Her lips thin at my question. “Listen, Cole. We both already know that you are not my favorite person. But I’m also the only way you’ll get any information.” I open my mouth, but she continues. “You are not family, so I’m breaking the law by telling you anything.”
I take a step back from her and nod. “You’re right. Thank you. I just need to know. Please?”
Her brows rise at my words as if she’s surprised. I’ve never said thank you before or told someone that they were right. Even if they were. But things are different now.
She takes in a deep breath. “I have to get back to work, but I just wanted to let you know that Dr. Roberts has removed the bullet. But she has lost a lot of blood and is not out of the woods yet.”
“Oh, dear God.” Becky gasps, placing a hand over her mouth.
“But she’s gonna be okay?” I ask, swallowing hard.
She looks at Deke and then back at me. “I can’t tell you that, Cole.”
“But you just said—”
“She has sustained very serious injuries,” she interrupts me. “Austin was lucky it missed her aorta ’cause she wouldn’t have had a chance. She would have bled to death within minutes.”
Becky spins around and buries herself into Deke’s shirt as she continues to sob. I feel numb.
She lowers her voice. “Austin went a very long time without oxygen to her brain.”
Becky sobs harder as Deke closes his eyes, releasing a long breath, and Bennett’s head drops to look at the floor. Me? My heart stops, and my eyes begin to sting. I feel like someone is sitting on my chest. So much pressure …
Shelby begins to pull away from us at our silence. “But everyone is doing everything they can. I need to get back to work. But I will keep you all updated when I get the chance.” Then she’s gone.
I find my way over to the chairs and fall into one. Bennett sits across from me and keeps his head bowed. Deke sits beside me and pulls a sobbing Becky onto his lap.
My face falls into my hands, and I try to swallow the lump in my throat.Come on, sweetheart. Just get through this …
