McKayla
It had been two hours since the paramedics wheeled Erin away from us, and every second of it had crawled by painfully slow.The adrenaline that had gotten me through finding her at the motel had worn off nearly an hour ago, leaving me shaky, emotionally drained, and running on fumes.
I sat curled sideways against Push in one of the uncomfortable blue waiting room chairs, my legs draped over his lap while his arm stayed wrapped around my waist like he thought I might fall apart if he let go for too long.
Maybe he wasn’t completely wrong.
Across from us, Anchor sat leaned forward with his forearms braced on his knees while Pearl rested against his side.Prime and Shay had taken over the corner near the vending machines, Shay curled into his side while he absently rubbed his thumb over her shoulder.
Piney, Cross, and Vin had spread out across the rest of the waiting room like a group of giant tattooed gargoyles who looked wildly out of place beside elderly women reading magazines and tired parents carrying sleeping kids.
Every once in a while, somebody glanced nervously toward our side of the room.
We looked like we either belonged in a prison documentary or were about to rob the hospital pharmacy.
I rested my forehead against Push’s shoulder and stared at the floor tiles.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Erin tied to that bed again.Pale.Bruised.Completely still.
I swallowed hard.
Push’s hand slid slowly up and down my back.Not soft and overly comforting.Just there.“You need water,” he muttered quietly against the top of my head.
“I had water.”
“Three sips isn’t having water.”
I sighed.“You’re becoming annoyingly bossy.”
“That implies this is new.”
I lifted my head enough to glare at him weakly.“You know what?Fair point.”
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
That tiny almost-smile from him was becoming my favorite thing in the world, which felt a little insane considering where we were sitting and why.
Shay leaned farther into Prime and glanced me gently.“How are you holding up?”
The question should’ve been simple.
It wasn’t.
I rubbed both hands over my face and exhaled shakily.“I don’t know.”My voice sounded rough even to me.“I found her.That should feel good, but…” I swallowed hard.“She looked so bad.”
Silence settled heavily over the group.
Nobody tried to bullshit me with fake positivity or tell me everything would definitely be okay.
Push’s arm tightened slightly around me.“She was breathing.”
Bare minimum reassurance.
Very Push.
I looked up at him.“You know that your version of comforting people is aggressively gruff?”
His eyes dropped to mine.“You still leaning on me?”
I blinked once.Then sighed dramatically.“Damn.Good point again.”
