Page 93 of Shattered Hearts

“Now we wait,” Cole murmurs, sinking down in the spare chair.

Panting sounds in the doorway. Macie rushes in first, yanking Reid in a hug and sobbing into his neck. Laynie rounds the corner, looking puffed.

Standing from the bed, she’s in my arms a moment later, forehead tipped against my chest, and I let out a cracked sob. Her arms tighten around my waist, pulling me impossibly closer, and I fold myself around her, letting the pent up feelings release all at once.

“Austin. We came as soon as Reid called,” Macie’s voice comes out quickly, and out of the corner of my eye, I see her hug my dad.

Laynie’s fingers dig into my back, and I rest my chin on her head, shutting my eyes to turn off the rest of the world. It’s too hard. It’s too much for my mind to take.

Sucking in a shaky breath, Laynie’s hand curves around my neck. I cry into her neck, not caring that my brothers are here. I hate the idea of losing people. It’s always terrified me. To receive that phone call from Dad almost killed me. I can’t go through that again.

“Macie and I will go find some coffee,” Reid says, possibly needing his own space to deal with this.

Cole stands. “I’ll call Holden and see where he’s at.”

They disappear out the door, and I cling to Laynie as tight as I can for a few minutes before pulling away, holding her face in my hands.

“Thank you for coming,” I squeeze out at the time she says, “I came as soon as I could.” My lips wobble as she pulls my face closer, my forehead resting on hers.

A knock sounds at the door.

Straightening, I hold onto Laynie’s hand as nurses come in with Mum on a bed, completely knocked out.

“She still needs rest, but she should be awake soon. You’re welcome to wait here and the doctor will be in shortly,” the male nurse directs the information to Dad, who nods quickly.

“Thank you.”

Smiling, they leave the room.

Dad is by her side, holding Mum’s hand. Laynie squeezes mine. I sit her down in the spare chair, not wanting her to get tired on her feet. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I watch Mum breathe unconsciously, grateful that she’s still here.

Laynie has fallen asleep in the armchair. She looked exhausted when she came through the door, so I’m not surprised. The doctor came through almost an hour ago diagnosing Mum with adult-onset epilepsy. He’s given her some medications that she’ll need to be on for the rest of her life, as well as some lifestyle changes to work on. She also can’t drive for six months as a precaution in case it happens again.

Dad was a trooper, taking notes and hanging onto the flyers the doctor passed to him as Mum nodded along. She was quiet for most of the diagnosis, but as soon as the doctor left, she burst into tears, apologising like this was somehow her fault.

It wasn’t, and we told her that, but I can tell she feels somehow guilty about this. Like if she’d had it looked at, it could have been avoided.

She’s resting now, too. Dad is reading through the information, while Cole sips on coffee. Macie and Reid are out in the hallway; I think they wanted to talk on their own.

Standing, I nod my head towards the door, telling Dad I need to step out for a bit. Reaching the hallway, I see Macie and Reid hugging each other, and for the first time, I’m actually glad that they’re together. They hold each other up.

Just like Laynie and I.

Turning on my heel, I put my hands in my pockets, striding the other way.

I hear my brother yell out, “Wait!”

Reid rushes towards me, ignoring others staring at him for being so loud. He stops in front of the door, nudging Macie inside before walking towards me. As soon as he’s within earshot, he asks, “You want to take a walk with me?”

Outside, it’s cold and dim, clouds blanketing the sky above. The frigid air chills me to the bone. Reid walks beside me, hands in his jacket as we pace towards the car park when the ute is. Strolling, I peer sideways at my brother, waiting for an explanation as to why he wanted to come here when he stops at a bench and sits down.

I follow suit, shivering a little from the cold.

“I’m worried about Mum.”

“Yeah, me too…” I breathe out, feeling the tenseness in my chest dissipate.

He sighs heavily, head tipping forward between his shoulders. “What if I have this too?