I nodded tightly. He’d gotten the same information from Alice that I had. Yes, Rosemary would survive, but there was a chance that she’d never fully recover. I was terrified for her to wake up.
And though I knew it was irrational, I was terrified that she wouldn’t wake up.
“I’ll stay with her,” Gary said, rounding the bed. “You go get something to eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“All right,” he said, his tone never changing. “Then you go see your mama. She’s been sittin’ at the kitchen table for the last two hours waitin’ for you to come out.”
“You’ll come get me?—”
“The minute she wakes up,” he confirmed, cutting me off. “Go on now.”
I took my time sliding off the bed, careful not to jostle Rosemary as I went. Alice had inclined the head of the bed after Rosemary puked up blood in her sleep, and my mate started listing to the side as soon as my body was no longer propping her up.
My eyes burned as I gently wedged a pillow in beside her where I’d been lying.
“It’s all right,” Gary said softly. “Go take a few minutes.”
I didn’t meet anyone’s eyes as I walked out of the room. I had enough emotions of my own to deal with. I didn’t want to catch a glimpse of the fear on Dalton’s face. I’d already listened to his mate quietly weep for hours.
My mother was in the kitchen, but Gary had neglected to tell me that the rest of my family was there too.
Zeke’s mate, Charlie, rose as I entered the room and stepped forward to hug me tightly.
“Thanks, Charlie,” I said, patting his back.
He’d been Alice’s second pair of hands the night before, handing her what she needed before she could even ask for it. He’d also been the only one to calm Rosemary down when she’d fought the oxygen mask on her face. It was a stark change from the timid, devastated man who had greeted me the first time we met.
“How’re you doing?” he asked kindly as he pulled away.
“Not great,” I replied, pulling out a chair so I could fall into it.
“She’s doing well,” my mother said, reaching over to squeeze my hand.
“That’s what Alice says,” I agreed.
The rest of the table was silent.
“And she’s very pretty,” Mom added, her lips pulling up in a small smile.
“I thought looks weren’t everything, Mom,” Beau huffed good-naturedly.
“Oh, you be quiet,” she scolded.
“Did you tell your mother I was ugly?” Reese asked, staring at her mate.
“Of course not.”
“Then why?—”
“Later,” Beau said with a grin, leaning over to kiss her.
I looked away. Had Rosemary and I ever had that ease between us? I’d thought we did, but now looking back, I wasn’t so sure. I’d left her over and over, and she’d gone out of her way to hide what it was doing to her. She’d been so fucking convincing.
Had all of it been a lie?
“How are you feeling?” my dad asked, watching me closely.
