“He told you he loved you,” Jules said quietly.
“Whaaaaaaat?” Cora gasped as she looked between Jules and me. “He did? I take it you talked to him in New York then? How did you leave that part out, Juliette?!”
“We did talk, and we agreed this thing was too good to pass up. I didn’t think “I love you” was on the table, but I can tell you it came out of my mouth without hesitation after he almost said it. He couldn’t even get the whole thing out.” I had to stop to catch my breath with that sentence. “I feel sick that he’s fighting for his life right now becauseof me.”
“Don’t you call him Batman? He sure as shit saved you today. You should call him BatVan!” Jules snickered. Leave it to her to be the one to try to break the tension, but I kind of loved that.
“I can’t believe it. God. This is all so, so messed up, I can’t even wrap my head around it. He’s going to jail, right?” I asked as I shifted, trying to find a comfortable position.
“From what I’ve gathered, he’ll be charged with attempted murder, and the sentence for that in South Carolina is thirty years. I’m not sure what his parents will do or how they will fight it, but you will never see him again,” Jules answered with enough conviction that I believed her.
“Has anyone contacted Donovan’s sister, McKenna?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. No one has her number,” Cora answered.
“Can one of you hand me my phone? She needs to know what’s going on,” I said. I looked through my phone, eternally grateful she made me take her number down at brunch. I called, and she answered on the second ring. The background was loud, and I wondered if she was out with Nathan’s friend again.
“Hi McKenna. I have some news. I need you in a safe spot? I have to tell you something.”
“Safe? No. What’s happening? Her voice raised in panic. Let me just get outside.” After muffled voices and a pause, it was quieter. After about a minute, she came through again, “Ok, I can hear now, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.”
“There’s been an accident…” I started, but then my voice gave out. Jules picked up the phone from my hand and put it on speaker.
“McKenna, it’s Juliette. You’re on speakerphone. Donovangot hurt tonight. He is in the ICU with a stab wound and a collapsed lung. Audra would have called earlier, but she just woke up from a stab wound to her side.”
“What?” McKenna shouted into the phone. “What the fuck happened?” If she was with Nathan’s friend, Sebastian, partying like the other night, she was probably a little buzzed, too.
“Audra’s ex came into a bar they were at and attacked her. Donovan intervened to save her life, and got stabbed in the chest before knocking the ex out,” Jules said.
“I’m coming to you,” she replied. “I’ll leave right now.”
“He’s in the ICU and hasn’t woken up from surgery yet,” I chimed in when I got my breath back. “I’m in the hospital too, but should get released within twenty-four hours. I mean, I know you’re coming, but I can’t help you around town, McKenna, I have to stay with Donovan.”
“I can,” Jules offered. “I’ll be here for a few days and I’m staying with some friends. You can stay there too. The house is huge.” It was a bold move, seeing as she obviously hadn’t run it by the twins, but we all knew who she was talking about. The two of them would give the shirt of their back to someone in need.
“Okay, thank you, I’ll take off from here, and head right to the airfield if I have to. Donovan is the only family I care about. I’m not even going to tell my parents if he’s stable, because they’ll just turn it into a publicity stunt. Audra, I have to get there. I’m so scared right now.” I could hear the slightest tremble in her voice.
“From what I understand, he’s still stable. We’re just waiting for him to wake up. Go home to pack a bag. Who knows how long you’ll be here.”
“Ok. I’m hanging up, packing, and heading to SouthCarolina. Audra, do you promise I have time to do all that? I can just Uber to the airfield, take off, and figure things out there,” her voice hitched again.
“I’m telling you what the nurses told me, but it sounds like you have time. I haven’t been allowed to see him yet either.”
“I’ll go as fast as I can,”
“If there’s any change, I promise I will call you immediately,” I assured her.
“Okay. And Audra, how are you? You got hurt too?” she asked.
“I did, but no major damage.” The last thing I needed to do was to have her worry about me, too. And I really was going to be fine.
“That’s good to hear. I hope the fucker who did it is dead,” she blurted out.
“Not quite, but he will be in jail for a very long time,” Jules threw in.
“Thanks for calling me, Audra. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course, McKenna. Safe travels,” I said. When we hung up, I turned to the two of them. “Speaking of travels, how’s Maeve? She’s still in Hawaii, right?” I asked.
