He gave a short laugh, disbelief written on his face.
I didn’t move, just watched him calmly.
The laugh died, then his eyes widened.
“How do you think I knew you were under her influence?” I asked.
He stood, looking down at me with disbelief.“Do you know how dangerous that information is? People would kill to possess such an ability.” He ran his hands through his hair.“Does Liam know?”
I lifted a shoulder.“He figured it out a while back.”
“And he hasn’t told you to keep that little tidbit to yourself?” Nathan snapped.
I smirked.
He rolled his eyes.“Of course, he has. Why are you telling me this?”
I propped my chin on my hand and lifted my eyebrows, silently telling him to guess.
A stunned look crossed his face.
Now he was getting it. I stood and walked over to the door.
“You’re worried you could still be under her influence. Don’t be. You’re not. I can guarantee it,” I told him.“All of us will be waiting, when you’re ready to leave this place. Do me a favor and don’t keep me waiting too long. You know patience isn’t my strong suit.”
He watched me open the door and step out, without making a move toward me.
That was okay. He needed time to heal. I understood that.I’d be here when he was ready. Until then, I thought it was important he knew he didn’t have anything to worry about.
“Aileen,” he said, stopping me in the doorway.
I waited.
“Thank you.”
I lifted a shoulder.“What are friends for?”
His smile held a shadow of his old self.“If Liam hadn’t already staked a claim, he’d have heavy competition.”
That wiped the smile off my face, turning it into a scowl. His laughter followed me as I walked from the room, the door shutting behind me.
*
I rounded the corner, my shoes squeaking along the linoleum, the bearI’d bought clasped in my arms.
I’d timed my visit to the hospital well, I hoped. My parents were busy at home and Jenna had just left to get a change of clothes. It should give me time with my niece without the drama of everything else.
Linda was still sick. It turned out Niamh really hadn’t had anything to do with her illness.I’d been forced to accept sometimes bad things happened to good people and that children do get sick.
Life threateningly so, it seemed. The doctors still weren’t sure what was causing her to throw up blood, but there were whispers of cancer.
At her door, I composed myself, practicing a smile a few times before taking a deep breath. The last thing Linda needed was to see fear on my face when I went in there. The mind was the most powerful part of the human body. If she believed she would get well, then there was a chance—but not if every adult in her life treated her illness like the coming of the apocalypse.
I stepped inside and drew up short at the sight of Thomas sitting by her bed, Liam standing behind him.
I didn’t speak, sorting through scenarios and discarding them.
“What are you doing here?” I asked quietly.
