Chapter Thirty-Four
Luke
She smelled different, as though fear and panic had altered her DNA. In the back of my aching mind, I knew the notion was ridiculous, but everything seemed ridiculous right now. I kept waiting for the penny to drop. To wake up from a nightmare my sharp bang to the head had somehow distanced me from. But as hard as I wished it all away, nothing changed.
Rebecca stood at the end of my bed, sparing me a glance every now and then as she explained the situation as it currently stood.
“The car that hit you is registered to Morgan Benson,” she said. “The paramedics who picked you up have stated that you said it was him driving before you lost consciousness.”
Beside me, Mia tensed, a shiver running through her slender shoulders. I wanted to pullher close, hold her tight against me until she could only smile, but I couldn’t. Somewhere along the line, I’d swallowed a pill that had left me pretty much immobile. Despite my entire world hinging on what Rebecca had to say, staying awake was a struggle.
Mia squeezed my hand and said something.
I blinked. “What?”
“Never mind.”
She turned back to Rebecca and I mourned the lossof her gaze on me. Missed her, even though she was right there.
On my other side, Gus rubbed my shoulder, as much a comfort as her, in his own way. His hand was warm and strong, his palm rough with long hard days of work we’d done together. He bent down and his fingers grazed the tender spot on my temple. “It’s okay, mate. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
I loved him like a brother, but Ididn’t believe him.
“Anyway,” Rebecca went on. “We’re checking him out, and as soon as I know anything, you’ll be the first to know. In the meantime, I suggest you get some rest. Officers will be stopping by throughout the night, and hospital security know not to let anyone else in to see you. Stay put and we’ll talk again in the morning.”
She left, and I tried to piece together what she’dsaid while the others milled around, murmuring shit I couldn’t hear. It took a while for me to realise Mia and Fran were huddled in the corner, and even longer for it to dawn on me that it was the first time I’d seen them in the same room for more than a decade.
A flurry of emotions hit me. For a long moment I feared I was going to be sick, but the dizzying sensation faded, leaving warmthin its place. The situation we were in was so fucking wrong, but somehow that felt right.
Fran came to my side. I sensed bewilderment in her, but she was stoic, like she’d always been, even when life passed her by. “Gus is hungry,” she said. “The police are going to fetch us something from the KFC across the road. We’ll be just outside if you need us.”
The thought of greasy fried chickenturned my stomach even more. I nodded and waved her away. “Be careful.”
“We will, son.”
She left, taking Gus with her, and I was finally alone with Mia after God knew how long.
I reached for her and she was there before I could blink, hopping up on the bed beside me, cuddling cautiously into my good side.
“How are you feeling?” she whispered. “You look terrible.”
I’d alreadylearned the hard way that rolling my eyes right now was a nauseating experience. I settled for an infinitesimal shrug. “I’ve felt better.”
“Don’t.” Mia turned so her face was inches from mine, her eyes wide and searching. “Not now, okay? I need you to tell me the truth, no matter how much you think it might hurt me. Don’t you see? The wondering has always been worse.”
In time, perhapsI’d understand the gravity of what she was saying. Right now, I could only take her literally. “It hurts like a bitch,” I admitted. “And I’m worried about puking on you. But I feel like this happening was maybe for the best—”
“Luke—”
Gingerly, I pressed my hand over her mouth, never to silence her, just to give myself a chance to get a sentence out. “Mia, if this happening helps the policecatch whoever has been forcing you to live in fear, I’ll take it a thousand times.”
My hand slipped from Mia’s face, revealing her familiar, comforting scowl. “You’re an idiot, then.”
“I’ve never claimed to be anything else.”
She had no argument for that, but her glare remained. “If anyone needed to be hit by a car, then it should’ve been me. Even if it is this... Morgan Whatsit—Idon’t even know his name—I was still the target.”
I started to argue, but my ribs protested, and I groaned instead. Mia’s gaze widened. “Are you okay?”
