Page 88 of Coastal Rewind

“Good evening, everyone. My name is Ryleigh Kelly, and my siblings kindly nominated me to speak tonight on behalf of the family since I have the honor of being the oldest of our chaotic family.”

“By two minutes!” Owen called out, causing the crowd to laugh.

“And he’s not bitter about it,” I said with a giggle. I looked over at my brother and his fiancée before continuing.

“I wasn’t sure what to say up here. As some of you may know, I have been traveling for a long time. I haven’t been the most consistent sibling like Keegan, or the funny sibling like Nolan, or the overbearing sibling like Owen, or the fashionista like Maeve. And one thing I sure as hell have not been is the most caring, understanding sibling like Aiden.”

Aiden cleared his throat and wrapped an arm around Rori, pulling her into his side.

“There is a rumor within our family that our mother left this earth and personally handed each of us a piece of her soul so her life lives on in each of us. Some people are put on this earth to guide you to be the person you were meant to be, even if they don’t know you forever. Aiden is the best representation of that. He is the one we all went to when we were upset. He was the one who held our secrets. He was the caretaker. He is her warmth and her loving spirit.”

The crowd was silent as I blinked up at the ceiling. “I missed out on a lot over the years, but I was fortunate to watch each of you grow up and bring people into our lives who fit into this family seamlessly. Rori, you are such a light. I have never met someone with so much grace as you work a vigorous and difficult job. No matter if you’re getting off a hard shift, or haven’t slept in days, you show up for all of us. That’s what the Kellys do, and I couldn’t imagine someone more perfect to welcome into this family. My mother would have loved you to pieces.”

Rori raised her hand to her face in an attempt to wipe away a subtle tear but we all saw it. One by one, each of my siblings stood and walked up to where I was standing with a glass of champagne. Keegan handed one to me and I raised it in the air. My arm was trembling and the pain in my stomach was getting worse, but I pushed it away and powered through the end of my speech.

“Please raise a glass to Aiden and Rori. We are so proud to be your family.”

The crowd cheered, but the happy screams quickly morphed into ones of panic, and that was the last thing I remembered before the world went black.

thirty-seven

Mason

I sprung from my chair the moment I saw Ryleigh sway on her feet. The glass of champagne she was holding shattered on the ground as she collapsed. Owen lunged forward and caught her before her head hit the floor, lowering her softly down.

That was when I noticed the blood seeping through her light purple dress.

I was on my knees, already pulling out my phone to call 911 when Rori sank down next to me. Her professional mask slid into place as she placed two fingers at Ryleigh’s neck. My hands were trembling and my ears were ringing. I could hear the faint sound of someone on the other end of my phone but I couldn’t speak as I looked down at the most precious thing in the world to me laying there lifeless.

Rori took the phone from my hand and started telling emergency services what was happening but her words didn’t register.

It was probably only minutes before they arrived and had Ryleigh strapped into the gurney, but it felt like hours. Someone pulled me to my feet and slapped me across the cheek. I blinked in surprise and found Owen standing in front of me.

“Get your shit together and go with her. She needs you.”

I looked around and saw them loading Ryleigh into an ambulance. I took off, climbing in behind her. I saw her siblings huddled together with tear-stained faces as the doors closed and we took off toward the medical center.

I didn’t let go of Ryleigh’s hand the entire ride to the hospital or even as they unloaded her from the truck. It took two nurses to pry my fingers off her as they rushed her into a trauma room in the emergency department, effectively locking me out.

I was pacing when the rest of her family arrived. Nolan came up to me first and dropped a bag at my feet before handing me a bottle of water. I pushed the bottle back toward him, but he pinned me with a glare.

“Drink the water before you have a panic attack.”

I took the bottle from his hand but didn’t move to open it. “MJ?”

“I stopped by the house on the way here. Zane and Mack are staying with him. I grabbed you some sweats to change into.”

“Thanks, man.” My voice was raspy as I tried to hold in my emotion. Standing here just waiting was possibly one of the most excruciating experiences of my entire life.

A doctor pushed through the doors of the waiting area and the entire Kelly family stood as he approached.

“Are you all family?” He looked around at the massive group.

“I’m her father, Robert Kelly, and this is her boyfriend, Mason,” Mr. Kelly said as he walked up next to me.

The doctor nodded and gestured for us to follow him a few steps forward to give us some privacy.

“Ms. Kelly is being prepped for surgery now, then she will be placed in a room where you can see her. I’m not sure how long she will stay; it depends on how extensive the damage is.”