“She’s still asleep, but you can see her. One at a time,” she reminded us.
Gently, I shook Riot awake. “Ri, it’s time to get up, baby.”
His eyes flew open and he nearly fell off my lap in his haste. I got ahold of him just in time, so he didn’t go crashing to the floor.
“Jeez, Ri. Easy.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. You can go visit with Cara now. She’s still asleep, but I’m sure she would love to hear your voice.”
Riot stood but didn’t move immediately. I squeezed his hand. “It’ll be okay, Ri.”
He swallowed before nodding. “Y-yeah. Yeah, I know. She’ll be fine. She has to be.”
At this moment, I couldn’t imagine another outcome.
It hadn’t been like this with my dad. He’d died upon impact. I hadn’t seen his body until two days later, when Aunt Leilani had finally gotten there. Dad had had no family, so she’d taken me to identify him. It had been awful, the worst days of my life, but at least there’d been no hope. I hadn’t spent time sitting in the hard waiting-room chairs, praying to every deity I could think offor my dad to survive, only for that hope to be ripped out from under me. If Cara didn’t survive this . . . I couldn’t even think about that.
“Come with me?” Riot asked quietly, hand out toward me. “Maybe just wait outside?”
I didn’t even bother looking at the nurse. If Riot wanted me with him, that was where I’d be. I took his hand, and finally we followed her through the double doors and down the hallway. If she had an issue with me following, she kept it to herself.
We finally stopped in front of the door to her room. Riot pressed his hand against it but didn’t open it. He took a shuddery breath before bracing himself. I stayed close, only a few inches between us while he steadied.
“Okay,” he whispered, more to himself than to me, then pushed her door open.
I could’ve peered through the small glass window to see, but I didn’t. He deserved his privacy.
I slumped against the wall, eyes closing. Now that the adrenaline had eased, the exhaustion of the day was catching up to me. Fuck, it had started out so good. Cruz had been so excited that he was finally making friends, but now . . .
I tried to rally. I had to be there for Riot. Needed to take care of him. I couldn’t fall apart.
I had no idea how long Riot was in there, but eventually the door opened. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was blotchy, like he had been crying, but he wasn’t anymore. He looked at me with a tired, lost expression.
“Oh, sweetheart, come here.”
Riot fell into my arms. His body shook as it was wracked with sobs. His fingers dug into the back of my hoodie, his head buried in my shoulder.
“Koa. Oh god. I don’t know what to do.”
His words were muffled, but I heard them. “You don’t have to do anything. Just be here for her. Remind her that she’s loved and that we’re all here waiting for her.”
“Y-yeah, okay.”
“C’mon, sweetheart. There’s nothing else you can do for her tonight. Let’s go home and get some sleep. We’ll come back tomorrow.”
Riot looked up, and for a second, I thought he was going to argue. There was something about his expression, like he was deep in thought.
I opened my mouth, ready to push him, but I didn’t get a word out because Riot cupped the sides of my face, reached up, and pressed his lips against mine.
It was a quick kiss, more of a peck really.
“Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”
He looked like he didn’t even realize he’d done it. “I-I don’t know. I guess I just needed it.” I traced his lips with my thumb.
“Anytime, baby. I mean it. But now, let’s get home, alright? It’s been a long day. You need rest. We both do.” I needed to get him bundled in bed, where hopefully we could manage a few hours of sleep before the kids woke up and were looking for answers.
