“I’ll drive, Mum.It’s okay,” Eli assures her, wrapping his arm around her waist.They follow Luke out the door, and I let out a breath.“I’ll get Rebecca to get the boys from footy practice.”
“I will stay here,” I assure them.Even though I badly want to go to Reid, I know this is where they need me.
Wyatt glances at me as he grabs his keys.“Reid will—” He swallows.“He will need you,” he whispers, tears gathered in his eyes.“He’s not as—Fuck!I should have been the one to go.”
“Hey, it’s okay.I’ll come,” I whisper, placing my hand on his bicep.“I’ll come.”
The young woman Paisley hired to run the reception area clears her throat.“I will stay for a while longer, until I hear from you.”
I turn to her as the family file out of the bed and breakfast, and grab my bag.“I’m going to call my cousin, Malia.She will come and help with whatever you need help with.Don’t be alarmed when she arrives.If you show her what to do, you’ll be okay to leave.”
She nods, seeming relieved.“Thank you.”Her gaze goes to the door.“I hope they’re okay.”
“Me too, Gracie.Me too.”
*** *** ***
Iclimb out of thecar, feeling my hands shake when I see Liza is barely keeping it together as Eli escorts her inside.I don’t see Luke, but I would assume he is already inside, demanding answers.I’m grateful we have an MTC in our area.Not many hospitals take major traumas, which is why many patients are airlifted to the closest one.
We reach the doors to the A&E, where I nearly stumble coming to a stop at the sight of Jaxon.Blood covers his hands and the blue denim jeans he is wearing as he straightens to his full height.His complexion is pale, his eyes wild and unfocused.
“What the fuck happened?”Wyatt chokes out, glancing at his brother in horror.“How did he get hurt?”
“Black—” Jaxon lowers his head, and a growl works its way up his throat.“He...”
Liam pushes off from the wall, his eyes just as wild, his flesh just as pale as Jaxon’s.“It’s my fault.Isaac saved me.I rushed Black, not knowing the wanker had a trap door built beneath our fucking feet.Isaac pushed me out of the way, but...Fuck!”He spins, punching the sign beside the automatic doors.“It should have been me.”
Max pulls him back, wrapping his arms around him, stopping him from hurting himself any more when he goes to punch it again.“It’s not your fault.It shouldn’t have been anyone.Fuck, Liam.Think.It could have been any one of us.I didn’t even see the door until he...”
My throat tightens even further.Max—funny, charming, unserious and childish Max—is at a loss for words as he points to the ground, like he’s not seeing concrete but the trap door.I can see the struggle in his eyes, the pain he thinks he’s masking when he glances up at his friend.
Tears gather in Liam’s eyes.“I...I lost it.I thought I was back in that room.I thought...”He drops to his knees, and I can’t help but rub at my chest when he begins to break down.I can’t watch anymore.I can’t.This is too much.I’m feeling too much.I need to get to Reid.I need to make sure he’s okay.Whatever these are feeling is not even a fraction of what he and Luke must be feeling.
I step through the doors and my stomach twists when I see everyonebuthim.He’s normally the one you see first.There’s just something magnetic about him.You are drawn to him.I step around the grieving family who are seeking comfort in each other, and my gaze meets Liza’s for a moment.She forces a small smile, but it’s her eyes that silently thank me for being here.And I know...I know this woman is stronger than she looks.
The lump grows thicker in my throat.I step around the corner, reaching the corridor I know they bring ambulance patients through.If he is going to be anywhere, it’s going to be the last place he saw his brother.
I’m right, because that is where I find him.I freeze for a second to watch him.For the first time, it hits me that he might not want me here.I don’t give myself time to second guess my choice.He might not want me here, but I will be anyway.
He’s standing at the end of the corridor, staring at the double doors that have a sign on that says, ‘Staff Only’.A shiver runs through my body when I see his head isn’t bowed, his shoulders aren’t slumped.Instead, he’s staring straight ahead, most likely reliving his brother being rolled through those doors, wishing he could have done more.
Tears fall when I see his hands are covered in blood.I know without seeing him that his clothes will be covered in his twin’s blood.
He doesn’t even notice or sense me when I stand by his side.Just as I feared, he’s covered in his brother’s blood.Not just his clothes, but blood has dried on his legs too.And his hand...his hand is torn open, blood dripping to the vinyl flooring, where there’s a small splodge already pooling there.
“Reid?”I whisper, running my fingers down his forearm.
He flinches, glancing down at me.“Summer?”
I’ve never seen him like this.I may not have hung out with him much, but I feel like I know him on a deeper level that cannot be explained.I felt it the first night we ever met.I’ve seen him when he hasn’t seen me.I’ve heard stories of what he gets up to, who he is.This...this isn’t him.I can feel it.And it scares me.
“It’s me,” I whisper, stepping in front of him.I take his wrists, not wanting to hurt his hand.
A tear slides down his cheek.“I couldn’t...”he swallows, gripping my hand, his head bowing so he can look at me.
“Reid, your hand,” I panic, but he doesn’t hear me or he doesn’t care because he holds me tighter.
“I couldn’t save him,” is torn out of his throat, the sound so different to his normal voice.My heart aches, feeling the pain like it was my own.“I...I tried to hold on.I tried...Oh God.”
