I swallowed and looked down at my lap, having trouble meeting her gaze.“It isn’t that.”
“It is.I get it.”
“She’s safe too,” Janice blurted out.“I’m staying at her house.”
No one said anything for a long time and I finally looked up at Erica.She was staring at Janice with narrowed eyes.
“I know she’s your best friend, but she has a mouth.Next time, let her talk.If she wants.”
Janice’s cheeks grew red and she looked down, blinking hard.
“It’s fine.She’s right,” I said.“I’m emancipated, with my own house.I’m really close with one of my neighbors and have a good circle of friends.More than I’d ever had.”
Erica drew in a breath and nodded.“That’s good.Keep taking care of each other.Blood of the covenant is stronger than water of the womb.”
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.
Erica grinned.“Blood is thicker than water, but it’s the true saying, at least if you aren’t a God-fearing person.Refers to the bonds formed between soldiers on the battlefield after shedding blood together and surviving.Some Scottish idiot messed up the meaning and turned it to mean what we’re used to today.Shared experiences are what bring people together and keep them there.Just because someone is family doesn’t mean you owe them anything.Remember that.”
I felt those words harder than anything else anyone had ever told me.How true they felt.Looking at my own family, the guys, Micah and his parents.The twins.I truly did feel it.
“I like it,” I said.
“I thought you would.”
Suddenly the lights flickered once, twice, and then settled down.
The three of us froze, our gazes snapping upward.
Erica spoke first.“What’s happening?”
The lights flickered again, longer this time, before plunging the room into darkness.The hum of the monitors faded for a moment, leaving an eerie silence in their wake.My heart skipped a beat as I looked toward the faint light spilling in from the hallway.
“Power outage,” Erica muttered in a calm voice.“I swear this hospital is too old.”
“Isn’t this bad?”Janice asked, her tone rising slightly.I could see the shadow of her movements, but not the details in the dark room.
I made sure my voice was steady before saying, “Hospitals have backup generators.The emergency power should kick in soon.”
As if on cue, a low hum vibrated through the walls, and faint emergency lights blinked on, casting the room in a dim yellowish glow.Shadows passed by the window as hospital staff moved swiftly, their voices muffled but purposeful.
“If the nurses aren’t freaking out, then we have no reason to either,” Erica said in a reassuring voice.“They know what they’re doing.”
“We’re safe here,” I said, grabbing Janice’s hand.She was gripping the edge of the bed.
“Of course we are,” Erica added, her gaze sharp as she stared at Janice.“This is a hospital, not some old shack.The staff have it handled.”
My phone buzzed and I checked it, already knowing it was Toby.
Toby:Are you okay?
Me:Yeah.You?
Toby:Kids freaking out but the staff are great.One of them is turning it into a game already.
I smiled, able to imagine that.From what I remembered when I stayed here, the staff who worked pediatrics truly loved being on that floor and they were always looking for ways to make it fun for the kids.
“Cadence, do you mind peeking in on the old lady next door?She tends to overreact in these kinds of situations,” Erica said with an edge of concern in her voice.
