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“Alright, thanks.”
I make my way to the door and follow Hawk as he heads to the car. The engine is running by the time I jump in, and the second I close the door, he pulls out and speeds toward the hospital.
“I thought that fucker was going to keep us there all day.”
“He apologized. I get the feeling he’s seen one too many cases of domestic violence, and that scene in there triggered him.”
“I don’t give a fuck. Avery is in the hospital after getting shot, and we might as well have been doing our fucking laundry.”
I shut up because when Hawk’s like this, it’s better just to let him work through it.
We drive in silence until we pull up outside the hospital forty minutes later.
“Want me to call the guys?”
“No point yet. Not until we know more.”
“They’ll be pissed we didn’t tell them.”
“Right now, I don’t fucking care. We both know they’re just as mad at Avery for leaving as we are. They aren’t exactly going to be rushing here with flowers and Get Well Soon cards.”
I frown at him as I climb out of the car and wait for him to join me. “She took a bullet for me, Hawk. I think they’d be grateful for that, at least.”
“Grateful that you’re okay. Sure. But I don’t see them caring that she was shot.”
I shove him, making him stumble. “What the fuck is your problem? You make it sound like they wouldn’t care if she lived or died. That’s not who they are, Hawk, and you know it.”
His hands fist at his sides as he glares at me.
“Or is it you that doesn’t care?” I step closer and watch his jaw clench. “You wish she was dead, Hawk?”
“It would be fucking easier,” he yells, whirling around to face away from me as he tugs his hair.
“If she was dead…”
“Then she’d have a good reason for not coming back.”
I shake my head and walk away.
“Don’t pretend that you didn’t think the same thing over the years,” he shouts.
There was a time when my worry morphed into anger. When my fear that something had happened to her drifted into hoping something had happened, as sick as that sounds, it was the only way to move forward. Otherwise, we had to admit that she’d simply walked away.
“Maybe, but that was before I looked into her eyes as she took a bullet for me. She might not be ours anymore, but I’d rather know she was safe somewhere out there in the world—even if that means seeing her with someone else—than in a wooden box six feet under.”
“Guess that’s the difference between us, then. Because I’d rather see her dead than with someone else.”
He storms into the hospital, leaving me to question whether coming here was a good idea. Hawk is a loose cannon at the best of times, but when Avery is added to the mix, his sanity goes completely out the window.
I make my way inside and follow the directions to the second floor. I find Hawk sitting on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs with his head in his hands. I sit next to him, but I don’t say anything. He’ll talk when he’s ready.
We sit in silence for an hour before he speaks. “I lied. I don’t want her to die. She can’t fucking die.” He looks at me, his eyes dark with anger and fear. “I’m so fucking pissed at her, Creed, but she can’t die.”
“She won’t. She’s strong. You know that.”
He blows out a breath and leans back.
“If she’s back, we need to warn James. We have no idea how or when Astrid’s vision might come true,” I remind him.
