The voice rings through the silent waiting room like a whip, causing all of us to flinch. Everyone pushes to their feet and turns to the doctor who called out. Elenor steps forward and raises her hand.
“Here!”
The doctor looks down at the chart he’s holding with a sigh and moves our way. He looks to each of us with a frown before settling his gaze on Elenor.
“Are you her immediate family?”
She pulls herself up to her full height, which at best is a little over five and a half feet, and lifts her head. She looks so resolute, and it dawns on me how strong she's been for us all since the accident.
“Yes, we all are. I'm her grandmother, Elenor Cowen. What can you tell us?”
He lifts an eyebrow like he doesn’t believe the rest of us are family, but slowly nods.
“Luna is currently stable and in recovery. It was touch-and-go for a few minutes but she is responding well to treatment. We did have to pump her stomach and put her on an IV. Now it's just a matter of time while the drugs are processed out of her system. She’ll need to be kept under observation but we believe she will recover physically. I am concerned thought as to her mental state. Can you tell me what may have prompted her to take these pills?”
Elenor breathes out slowly and I can almost see the strain of the last few hours leaving her body with the air.
“Yes, just over a month ago, we lost her parents and older brother in a car accident. It’s been very hard on her, to say the least.” She brushes her cherry red hair back with a shaking hand and then straightens further. “When can we see her? Is she awake?”
He pauses to look all of us over again before responding.
“She most likely won’t wake for a few more hours. I don’t know how good it would be for her to have all of you in her room. We wouldn’t want to overwhelm her when she’s in such a delicate state.”
Elenor waves his concern away with a brush of her hand. “When can we see her?”
The doctor’s frown deepens and he huffs out a frustrated noise. “I’ll have a nurse escort you once we have her settled into a room.”
As he walks away, finger by finger I slowly unclench the fists I’ve made of my hands for hours and try to flex the ache out of them. She’s alive, and I’ll do whatever it takes to see that she stays that way.
Chapter 19 - Torrin
The hospital is starting to get busy with morning rounds when a nurse finally leads us to Luna’s room. We fan out around her bed and my chest throbs painfully at how small and fragile she looks lying there. Her skin is so pale I can see her veins under it. There are dark purple bruises under both of her eyes but it’s her chest that I keep my eyes on. Every rise and fall of it has the pain I’ve been holding onto easing bit by bit. As long as she breathes, so can I.
Elenor makes a sound that’s half anguish, half anger. She’s trying to lift one of Luna’s small, pale hands to her lips but a padded strap is holding it down to the bed frame. Reid whimpers and steps back from the bed but Julian’s savage tone is what has me flinching.
“OFF! Get those fucking things off of her, right now!”
The nurse holds up her hands like she has any chance of backing down the enraged beast he’s become.
“Sir! Sir, calm down, please! It’s hospital policy to restrain a patient who has a history of self-harm. The restraints are only there to protect her.”
He takes a menacing step toward her, but thankfully Gage throws an arm out between them. Julian stops but tells her in a deadly calm tone, “Get out.”
She darts a nervous look around at all of us and opens her mouth to say something else. Julian's control breaks and he rages at her.
“Get the fuck out right now!”
The nurse rears back and then quickly leaves the room. We all stand in shock at what just happened. None of us has ever seen him lose control like that before. Julian’s eyes slide to Reid and some of the fury in them banks. His voice is softer when he tells him, “It won’t be the same, Reid. I… we… won’t let it be the same.”
I have no idea what he’s talking about but I trust him completely. Reid’s eyes, glued to the straps on Luna’s wrist, are filled with so much terror that I reach down and gently undo the Velcro holding her right wrist in place. Elenor unstraps her left wrist as I turn and pull Reid closer to the bed and place Luna’s cold hand in his. The tears pouring from his eyes are heartbreaking. I don’t know how to make it better so I just squeeze his shaking shoulder in support.
Julian has moved away from the bed and turned his back to us. The trembling that wracks his shoulders tells me he’s trying to get ahold of himself. Gage moves to him and leans in close, whispering something I can’t hear. Whatever he says seems to work because Julian’s head lifts and with a nod, he swipes his phone from his pocket and starts typing. His fingers fly over the keyboard at a frantic pace as he fires off message after message. I don’t know what’s happening there, so I turn away and slump into the chair beside the bed and reach for her. I brush her hairback from her face and wait for her to wake up. The crushing weight in my chest won’t go away completely until I see her beautiful green eyes looking back at me.
In the silence of the room, my mind goes back to a few nights ago outside the bar. The way her fingers gripped me, the desperation in her eyes and voice when she begged me to help herfeelsomething again. I turned her down. I failed her. I sit with the guilt of that, the regret, until the door to her room opens again and a new doctor comes in, followed by an orderly who is pushing a wheelchair.
“NO, get out. You aren’t taking her.” Jules snarls and steps between Luna’s bed and the doctor.
Gage comes to stand beside him, adding a wall between them and our girl.
