Page 153
* * *
As monitors beeped around the corner, punctuating the ward’s eerie calm, Evie’s nurse gave Nick and Sam a subtle nod. “Visiting hours end in less than five minutes.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Nick hesitated in the hall, preparing himself for what he was about to see…and say.
Sam held out his hand. “Flowers?”
“Oh right.” He passed Evie’s brother the verboten bouquet of daisies and hugged his middle.
“First bed on the left,” said Sam.
Legs suddenly weak, Nick slowly wandered around the doorjamb.
Eyes closed and skin pale, Evie looked so tiny, so vulnerable. Tubes and wires seemed to come from everywhere: her nose, wrists, chest, and under the blankets.
Oh, Evie baby… The ache in Nick’s chest stole his breath as he crumpled on the chair beside her bed. “I wish you’d told me,” he whispered through tears. “I love you, Tigs. For always.” He gently caressed her hair. “And I’m so sorry.”
THIRTY-TWO
EVIE
Now, Friday, August 11
“Oh my god.” Evie wiped her eyes and runny nose. “You were there?”
Nick nodded.
“I dreamt it. I dreamt you were holding my hand, stroking my hair.” His face blurred through a watery veil of tears. “It was real. You were real.” Evie scowled at her brother. “I can’t believe you sent him away and then lied about it all these years.”
Sam held up his palms. “Sprout, I only suggested he go—no one put a gun to his head. Frankly, I was surprised he actually left.”
Nick scoffed over his shoulder. “That’s bollocks, mate. You knew I would. I would’ve done anything to help Evie recover.” Turning back, his expression softened with tender sincerity. “Even walk away.”
Evie blew out her cheeks, her gaze hardening as she side-eyed Sam. “You said you wanted what was best for me, but…why didn’t you think that was Nick?”
“Because he was a bad influence! You were constantly twisting your life to fit his!”
Evie huffed. “That’s not true.”
“Dressing differently”—Sam counted on his fingers—“champagne on the beach, raving at his gran’s, moving to London permanently—”
“But I didn’t move permanently, did I? I realized London wasn’t for me—myself. And despite that, years later you still hate him for something that never happened.”
“I don’t hate him,” replied Sam. “I just think you’d be better off with someone local and responsible.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Cheers, mate.”
“C’mon, Nick. You’ve said it yourself: your life is a circus.”
“Was a circus,” he corrected. “It isn’t now.”
Sam’s attention slid to Evie. “You didn’t need outside distractions. You needed to get better. I needed you to get better!” He leaned closer and she noticed tears glinting in his eyes. “The day of your surgery was the worst of my life. The complications and blood loss…we were so scared we might lose you.”
Stomach churning, Evie wiped her nose.
“I was furious at the world, thinking how could this happen to my baby sister? Then Nick showed up out of the blue and…I saw red. I needed someone to blame, and there he was: the cause, the reason you’d gotten so sick…”
Evie closed her watery eyes. “So, I’ve been living all these years thinking Nick didn’t love me the way I loved him. All because you hatched up a stupid plan—”
