His eyes spouted tears again and he found himself being pushed towards a row of chairs in the corridor. His dad was behind them, his uncle – Scott’s father – there too. He could hear their voices as they talked to a doctor.
“He talked about you before he blacked out, Key. I think you kept him hanging on. Literally hanging on. Fuck. Why wasn’t it me? Why didn’t that bastard fall on me? Scott’s going to be a dad… I should’ve fell…” He felt an arm around him and this time didn’t shrug it off.
“Jake, you saved Lois’ life. And then you saved Scott’s. Scott’s tough. He’s going to be okay. He has to be okay.” And he heard the fear in her voice because nothing in this life was guaranteed.
25
Keren sat by the hospital bed, her fingers tracing the same pattern on Scott’s hand as they had been doing for the past ten hours. He was alive. He was injured, but alive. The other man, one of Lois’ kidnappers, was not. He’d died fairly quickly after being admitted to hospital and the only reason she was sorry was for the amount of unanswered questions he’d left behind. But he was dead. The man who had caused her friends to be trapped in a cave underground for hours, kidnapped her friend’s sister, potentially set fire to her house and caused her boyfriend, lover – no word was enough to describe him – to be severely injured, was now dead. He could hurt them no more.
Scott was in a medically induced coma and this was the third day, and potentially the last. The doctors were becoming more positive that he was going to pull through; the swelling on his brain had reduced and he was beginning to respond to stimulus. He’d suffered a dislocated shoulder, a fractured ulna and more bruises and cuts than she’d ever seen, including a deep gash on his shin that had been stitched, the bone having been exposed. She lifted his hand and placed it on her belly.
“The baby’s kicking. Beanie’s been kicking more. I think he needs to hear your voice.” She needed to hear his voice too. She needed him. “I’ve put an offer in on the house. It’s been accepted. And Layla’s here already. She’s come over early to help out while you get better.” Because he had to get better. They needed him. All of them.
“You need to stop crying.” Jake’s voice came from the doorway.
She had no idea how long he’d been standing there for. He’d been here almost as much as she had. Alex and Rayah and Zack had all been here too, but no one more than Jake.
“This isn’t your fault.” She’d told him the words countless times since the doctors had explained why they’d sedated Scott.
“I should’ve swapped with him.”
Keren shook her head. “Jake, there wasn’t time. And what would it have achieved?”
“I’m not the one with a baby on the way. Your child needs her daddy.”
“Don’t you start with the girl predictions. I’ve already had Reena dropping off little dresses.” She wasn’t sure it was a boy either, but she wanted the surprise. And she wanted Scott to have that surprise too.
Jake laughed, the first time she’d heard him laugh since the incident. “I think everyone wants to see Scott with a daughter. She’d be wrapped around his little finger just like you’ve got him.”
There was pain in his words. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” He sat down on the other side of his cousin, patting his shoulder. She noticed the care he took not to disturbed any of the mass amounts of wires and tubes that were monitoring Scott, keeping him stable.
“For not feeling the same way about you.” There was no reason to not be honest.
“Keren, that isn’t something you get to apologise for. I was crazy about you. I was for years. Rayah told me you weren’t interested in me like that and at first I was like, why’s she not interested but every other girl is? Then I realised that you really didn’t see me that way.”
His honesty was like nothing she’d heard from him before; carefree, larger than life Jake Maynard who never took himself or life too seriously.
“I didn’t. You were Rayah’s brother, Scott’s cousin…”
“Because it was always Scott, wasn’t it?” He interrupted her, smiling. “I saw it. I used to watch how you looked at him. There was one night when he’d just graduated and we had the fire on the common with marshmallows and Scott brought his guitar. He was warming up, just strumming and you couldn’t take your eyes off him. Later on that night, you sat next to him and you were talking about something. I thought he was going to kiss you…”
“Scott?” She felt his fingers move on her belly. “Scott?”
“Do we need a nurse?” Jake reached for the call button.
Keren watched Scott as his eyes started to flicker. He was waking up. There was a long moan just at the point when a nurse came through the door. She gestured for Jake to move from the side and she started to check him over.
“He’s beginning to come to, which is a good sign. He’s going to feel like hell and he may try to pull that tube out so he can speak. Don’t let him, just buzz for me and keep him calm. He may just go back to sleep. I’ll have the doctor come in and check in a few minutes. It’s looking good.” She shot them a smile and headed out.
Scott was now still, calmer. Keren noticed a change in his breathing. It was more level, less raspy, more like she remembered when he was lying next to her in bed. How she had missed him. She needed him back with her so desperately.
“Maybe he doesn’t like you talking about how you liked me,” she said to Jake. “Maybe that’s what stirred him up.”
Jake laughed, watching his cousin. “You two could’ve been together so much sooner.”
“We could. But we’d have been much younger and there would be no guarantee that we would’ve had the future we’re going to have. And given the fact I’m pretty much convinced I got pregnant the first time we had sex, my life and career could’ve been completely different.” Keren still had Scott’s hand placed on her bump. She felt his fingers move and then there was a kick. She smiled. Baby knew Daddy was there.
