“Sure, go ahead. Just be aware, we’ve told her about Natasha. Please pass on our thanks to your friends who kept searching until they found her,” Phil whispered. There was a knock, and the ward doors opened, and the prospects entered. Family members looked up as they walked in, laden down.
“We’ve brought some food,” Joe announced, blushing faintly. He glanced around and placed the platters on an empty bed.
“We’ll be back, we’ve got more in the SUV,” Rory added, and they disappeared.
“Go speak to our girl, we’ll organise this,” Phil murmured, heading towards a table. “Grab that end, Duke.”
I walked over to Amy, who smiled sadly. Without a word, I sat, and she slipped her fingers into mine. Amy clung to me as if I were her lifeline.
Amy
“They found Tash,” I murmured, and tears welled in my eyes again.
“Aw, honey, I heard. I’m sorry for your loss,” Vortex said and squeezed my hand.
“She didn’t deserve to die that way. None of them did. Do they know what happened yet?”
Vortex looked uncomfortable and bit his bottom lip. Immediately, I got the sense that he was hiding something from me.
“Don’t lie,” I ordered, and he smirked.
“Nobody knows much. There’s talk of explosions, but no one knows what caused them. There’s a lot of speculation, but nothing has been confirmed. The names of the identified dead are just beginning to be released.
“I don’t want to be in the news,” I hissed with distaste.
“And so far, your name isn’t. Actually, about three of you remain a mystery as far as the media’s concerned. The other five’s family have given interviews.”
“More fool them. Who wants to be famous for this?” I said and stared around me. I wanted to go home, either to my dad’s or my crappy little apartment. My entire life felt disassociated, and itwasn’t right. I needed to be myself again, even though I realised the accident had changed me irrevocably.
Right now, I couldn’t comprehend life without my bestie at my side. How the hell did I walk away unharmed, but Natasha, who’d been sitting at the same table, died? How the fuck did anyone make sense of that? We weren’t in different areas. We were in the same space. Yet I lived, and Natasha didn’t.
Vortex just sat there, letting me process my thoughts. He didn’t say a word, and his presence was strangely comforting. We didn’t know each other, were total strangers, and yet he soothed me as no one else could right now.
Was it that thing where you latched onto someone? What was it called? It wasn’t hero worship, but… I ground my teeth in frustration. It was on the tip of my tongue. Trauma bonding! That was it. Was this a case of trauma bonding? Who the hell knew, but I needed Vortex to keep the demons at bay.
A plate was put in front of me, and made me jump. “Eat, munchkin,” Dad ordered. I stared, noting how delicious the food looked compared to the limp sandwiches we’d been offered earlier.
“The old ladies will be insulted if you don’t eat,” Vortex commented in a light tone.
I picked up a ham salad sandwich and bit into it. My mouth watered at the flavours. Shit, it was good. I’d not eaten since the early hours of the morning in the restaurant, and I was suddenly starving. I devoured the sandwich in front of me and started in on the bagel.
“This is amazing,” I muttered around a mouthful.
Vortex smiled while my Papa looked slightly bemused.
“Amy, I’ll get you more,” Papa said, and I nodded. Dad was sitting between my bed and Declan’s with his own plate and making sure Declan ate something light.
Declan had regressed into himself. He was refusing to speak to anyone, and it was obvious he was scared and confused. Dad kept chatting away, even though Declan didn’t respond. At least the boy knew someone cared, even if it was a stranger. Declan was just one of the tragedies that had happened last night. Figures had been confirmed: two hundred fifty passengers and fifty staff. Of those, only eight had survived.
How I was one of those lucky few, I didn’t know, but I was deeply grateful to be alive, even though guilt swamped me.
As I ate, some men entered and showed the doctors their badges. The doctors examined them and nodded. They exchanged words, then two headed over.
“Feds,” Vortex murmured.
“Miss Wright, Amy Wright?”
“Yes,” I replied and subconsciously leaned into Vortex.
