Page 104 of Head Under Water

I look up at the sound of the waiting room doors opening, and I stand when I see Will and Cory walking out. Their eyes are brimmed red, and I can tell they’ve been crying.

Will shakes his head, and everything in me drops. No.

The floor rips out from under me. My stomach goes tight, twists violently. I’m going to pass out.

When he reaches me, he holds both hands out, and I slip my palms into his. “She’s back under sedation.”

My muscles go slack.

Oh.

“She’s alive?” Mom says, and it’s clear she jumped to the same conclusion I did.

“Yeah,” Cory says, a hand on Will’s shoulder. “She…uh, that was rough. She started, like, choking, and she wasn’t really breathing so the machine was making this awful noise, and they had to put her back under. They’re going to try again in a few hours, but after that, we have to wait another day.”

Will nods, and I pull him into my arms. “I’m so sorry.” It’s terrible to imagine what they saw, how scared they must’ve been. When he leans back out of our hug, his lips catch mine, and my hands come to his jaw without thinking.

I sink into his kiss.

In the silence, Cory clears his throat. We break apart, just barely.

When I look over, he’s watching us with a smirk. Mom appears distracted with something on her phone, though I suspect she’s pretending.

Yesterday, I would have worried about their reactions, worried about what this all means. Today, I don’t even care. I don’t care if they know.

My mind is too busy processing everything else. Will is the least complicated thing in my life right now.

My fingers lace with his at our side. He reaches up to cradle my face, twisting a finger in my hair, his eyes soft. Tired.

“You should go home,” he says gently.

Home. I like the way the word sounds. Like it’s ours, even if not permanently.

His meaning lands moments later.

“I’m not leaving,” I say.

“It’s going to be, like, six hours before they try again. You should get some sleep.” He looks at Mom. “You too. Cory and I can wait here.”

“Like hell,” Mom mutters. “Margie will find me in the other realm, high on whatever cocktail of drugs they’ve got her on right now, and shave my head if I dare leave you boys.”

“You then,” Will says, the smallest grin on his lips as his eyes fall back to me. “Please. Opal. For me. I need to know you’re resting. It’ll be one less thing for me to worry about.”

“I can sleep here.”

“Yeah. Look, it’s so comfortable,” Cory teases, his legs thrown over the wooden arms of the chairs like he’s a woman giving birth.

I roll my eyes at him, then turn back to Will. “You need me. Don’t make me go.”

He looks broken. They both do. Smiling through the sadness. He squeezes my hand, holding my gaze. “I couldn’t make you if I tried, but I’m asking you to. You can bring me breakfast in the morning, okay? Go home. Sleep. And bring us all something to eat when you come back.”

“Come with me, then. Please. There’s nothing more they’re going to do for a few hours, you said so yourself. So come home and rest with me.”

“Yeah. That’s a good idea. He told me you guys got so much rest last night,” Cory quips, his words loaded with meaning.

My heart skips a beat. He told him?

“I didn’t tell him anything,” Will mutters, voice low. He flips his brother off when Mom’s head is turned.