He scoffed, but handed me $20. “I’ve got to go, baby. Your dad asked me to get some things done for him as soon as possible.”
Dash left to go do whatever Dad had asked him to do. I laid back on the bed and pondered over what to do about Reese. The more I thought about it, the more I thought Carbon was wrong about letting her be. That’s not what she needed. She needed to talk about whatever was bothering her. She needed to get it out in the open and let people help her. She didn’t have an abundance of friends like most people our age. I was pretty much it for her, just as she was for me, but she also had a club full of bikers who considered her a part of their family. Then it dawned on me! Duke. He could help.
I quickly changed into something more presentable and went in search of Dash. Twenty minutes later, he was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, I went to the common room and planted my butt on one of the couches. I planned to stay in the exact same spot until I found someone who knew where he was. Surely, someone who did would come through there sooner or later.
It was Copper who finally gave me a straight answer, “He’s busy taking care of something for Phoenix. It’s best if he’s not interrupted unless it’s an emergency.” He raised an eyebrow as if to say, “Well, is it?”
“It’s not an emergency,” I said, deflated. “I just wanted to see if it would be okay for someone to take me to see my dad. That’s all.”
Copper smiled. “I’ll go run it by him. If he’s okay with it, I’ll take you up there myself. I planned on going up later this afternoon, but now works just as good.”
With Dash’s approval, Copper took me to the hospital to see my dad. I just had to figure out how to ditch him, get to Duke’s room, and back to my dad’s room without anyone noticing. That might not be as easy as I originally thought.
After spending some time with Dad, who was looking remarkably better, I excused myself to use the facilities and stop by the cafeteria to grab something to eat. I hurried to the nurse’s station and asked for Duke’s room number. She clicked around on the computer screen until she found it. She told me his room number without any fuss. I rushed to the elevators, rode up two floors, and walked straight into Duke’s room.
His eyes widened when he saw me walk through the door, but he didn’t make a sound. I pulled a chair up next to his bed. “How are you doing, Duke?”
Nothing.
“Are they going to let you go home soon?’
Nothing.
“Did you know my dad is here in ICU?”
That got a response, possibly a flicker of surprise, but it quickly disappeared. Still no words. Did I miss something? Did something happen to his vocal cords or his tongue? Was he physically not able to speak or make a noise? I had a strong feeling he could talk, he just wasn’t.
Feeling a bit bold, I reached out and pinched the fire out of him. He jerked his arm away and yelled, “Ow! What the fuck, Ember?”
I jumped to my feet and pointed my finger at him, “Ha! You can talk! What the fuck indeed?” Yes, I actually said fuck. Like I said, I was feeling bold.
Duke clamped his mouth shut and glared at me. He was going to test every bit of patience I had left, which wasn’t much. Why was everyone playing the silent game? I flopped back into my chair and sighed loudly. “Nothing is ever solved by not talking. Do you think any part of my issues would have been resolved if I had refused to talk?” Not waiting for him to answer, I went on, “No, they wouldn’t have. In fact, silence on anyone’s part could have caused things to turn out worse than they did. More people could have been hurt, more people could have lost their lives. More good people, that is.”
He just sat there. He wasn’t looking at me and I honestly couldn’t tell if he was even listening to me. This was turning out to be a total waste of time. “It was stupid of me to come here. I thought you would be able to help her! She won’t let me in! She won’t talk! You won’t talk! I know something is wrong. You just sit there in your self-centered silence and do nothing. I will figure out another way to handle it.”
I stormed out of his room and let my rage keep my tears at bay. I paced around his floor several times like a crazy woman. When the nurses started to eyeball me like they were considering trying to catch me with a butterfly net and haul me to the mental health floor, I decided it was probably a good time to head back to my dad’s room.
I arrived to find my dad and Copper deep in conversation. Neither had noticed how long I was gone and neither questioned it when I returned. “You guys look like you’re in the middle of something. Do you want me to wait outside?”
“No, of course not, baby girl. Come on in.” Dad looked me over from head to toe. “Something wrong?”
I sat down on the edge of his bed and let my shoulders sag forward like I had the weight of the world on my back. “Yes. I’m worried about Reese. Something is up with her but I don’t know what. Carbon tells me to let her be when she gets in one of her moods, but that’s obviously not solving anything. It just gives her time to push her issues to the back of her mind until they surface again. Rinse and repeat. On top of that, Duke has apparently taken a vow of silence and refuses to speak. I just don’t know what to do.”
My dad took my hand in his much larger, severely bruised and battered one, “Baby girl, sometimes there is nothing you can do, no matter how much you want to. I know you want to help Reese, especially because she has done so much for you, but this time, I don’t think there is anything for you to do except let her know that you love her and you’ll be there for her when and if she needs you.”
My head popped up, “You know what’s going on with her?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t, but I do know her brother and a good bit about what their family has been through. No one goes through all that and comes out unscathed, but that’s not my story to tell.”
I sighed again, “I don’t like it, but it sounds like there really isn’t anything I can do, other than be there for her.” I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, Dad.”
CHAPTER 31
Dash
Three days after we found him locked in Octavius’s basement, Phoenix came walking through the clubhouse doors and shocked the shit out of everyone. He was limping and struggling, apparently he refused to use crutches, but he was there.
Shouts of “Phoenix” or “Prez” and some form of “Welcome home” greeted him.
