Nicole
The lights buzzed in a cold white glow as the kids and I entered the hospital’s ER. Sliding doors kept opening as nurses and doctors rushed into different rooms. Monitors beeped behind curtains. It reeked of antiseptic. People sat slumped in stiff chairs in the ER waiting area. Unmoving. Eyes blank and faces heavy with worry.
Brian and Amanda were among them.
He was wearing his khakis and shirt with his HVAC logo on it. The same clothes he’d left in yesterday morning for work. Dark circles had formed under his eyes, and his hair was unkempt.
Amanda looked wrecked. Her hands cradled her head, elbows propped on her knees, tears carving shimmering trails down her puffy face. She wore her favorite pink summer dress. The kind meant for something good. Not this.
“Dad!” Lila shouted and bolted toward him, followed by Dylan.
Brian’s head snapped up, and he caught both kids in a crushing hug. He buried his face in their shoulders. The kids held on tight. Then they let go of Brian and wrapped Amanda in a tight embrace. The kids had always been so close to her. Amanda had practically raised them alongside Lacey and me.
Ethan shifted in my arms. Wide-eyed. Confused. Too young to make sense of all this, but old enough to know something was wrong. He stretched his arms toward Amanda. Of all people, he reached for her—another sign of these kids’ love for her.
She grabbed him without a word, hugging him like he was the only thing keeping her from falling apart. Her lips pressed against his golden curls for a kiss.
“Where is Lacey?” My voice cracked. “How is she?”
“She’s fine,” Brian said weakly. “She has a head injury. Nothing serious, but they’re running more tests just in case. She’s in room 12, down the hall.”
Relief hit so hard, it almost brought me to my knees. My lungs finally remembered how to breathe, and the invisible corset wrapped tight around my ribs finally loosened.
“And Zach?” I asked. The words came quietly. Carefully.
Amanda handed Ethan to Brian. Their eyes met for only a heartbeat before she looked away. Her tears poured, with no stopping them. I stepped in and wrapped my arms around her. A motherly hug. Fierce. Familiar. I’d known this girl nearly as long as I’d known my own daughter. And after the grandmother who raised her had passed, we and Zach were all the family she had.
She sobbed into my shoulder. Her body shook with every breath.
As I held her, my gaze drifted down the hall to room 12. A doctor was speaking to a detective in a suit. Both turned at the same time, their eyes finding mine across the corridor.
The detective was in his mid-twenties, with a gun holstered at his hip and a gold badge clipped to his belt. He was tall and athletic, with dark hair and hazel eyes, not handsome but not unattractive. He was quite young to be a detective, so he was probably extremely ambitious or incredibly good at what he did.
The doctor beside him was tall and thin, his face mostly hidden behind a surgical mask.
“What happened?” Dylan asked before I could.
Amanda took a step back. Her eyes stayed fixed on the floor.
“We don’t know,” Brian muttered, slowly shaking his head. His voice cracked again. “We … don’t know.”
Then his eyes locked onto mine.
This wasn’t a conversation to have in front of the kids.
The police officer walked over.
“I’m sorry for interrupting you,” he said. “I’m Officer James Nolan with the New Hampshire State Police Major Crime Unit. I think we spoke on the phone?”
I gave a small nod. “Major Crime Unit?” That part he hadn’t mentioned earlier.
“Would it be all right if I ask you a few questions?”
I stared at him, trying to make sense of what the hell was going on.
“Come on, kids,” Brian said. “Let’s see if the cafeteria has some muffins and hot chocolate.”
Lila slipped her hand into his. He hoisted Ethan, but after a few steps turned around and looked back at us. Dylan hadn’t left my side.
