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But then Gabriel let his shoulders drop, and he glanced at Nick and Chris. His voice was bland. “It sounds great. Come on, guys.”
And just like that, they filed out of the room.
Silence fell around Michael like a cloak. He dropped onto the side of the bed and waited for something to happen.
Nothing did.
His brothers were gone. He was alone.
CHAPTER 17
Near midnight, Hannah found herself outside Michael’s hospital room. The door was partially ajar, and the lights were off. He was curled on his side, the blanket draped over his form. The monitors cast an eerie glow on the edge of the bed, but she could tell his eyes were closed.
She slipped into the room, moving as silently as she was able. His breathing was soft and even, so she eased into the chair with barely a whisper of sound.
His eyes shot open anyway, and he shoved himself up on one arm.
“Easy,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you.”
“You didn’t.” His voice was rough, and he ran a hand down the front of his face and pulled himself all the way to sitting. He must have been on a boatload of painkillers to move so easily this soon. His shoulders drooped as he looked at the door. “What time is it?”
“Almost midnight.”
He nodded, but didn’t look at her. “Do you know?” When she didn’t answer right away, he turned his head. “Do you know what they did?”
The pain in his expression took her breath away. She nodded. “Yeah. I know.”
He folded his arms across his stomach and seemed to curl in on himself. His breathing shook.
Then Hannah realized he was crying.
It took her by surprise. He was so strong—so stoic. Seeing Michael crying silently in the dark in a hospital bed surprised her as much as it would to find her father the same way.
She pulled the lever to drop the railing on her side of the bed and sat beside him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.” She put a hand on his arm gently, unsure he’d welcome her touch.
He unwound his arms and pulled her closer. It put his face against her shoulder, his arms tight around her back. She could feel him shaking. The only other person who ever clung to her like this was James, after the really terrifying nightmares.
Only this wasn’t a nightmare.
“I don’t know where they are,” Michael said, his voice thick with emotion. “They wouldn’t tell me where they were taking them.”
Hannah drew back enough to speak. “They wouldn’t tell you? Don’t they have to?”
“No. Said it was safer if I didn’t know.” He pulled back and seemed to gather himself a bit. “I’ve spent five years drilling it into their heads that I have to know where they are, and now it’s the middle of the night and I have no idea.” He glanced at the side table, then at the door. “I don’t have a phone. I can’t even call—”
ER 16
Michael forced himself to sit on the edge of the bed. His chest still felt like it was being held together by nothing more than a few stitches. Every movement hurt. Every breath. Every thought.
Or maybe that was just the sensation of his world collapsing.
He’d been so worried about a Guide tearing his family apart. Not a nondescript girl with a clipboard in one hand and a court order in the other.
It felt as if hours had passed since everyone had vacated his room, but he was sure it hadn’t been more than a few minutes. He couldn’t even remember the social worker’s name, but she’d agreed to wait in the hallway, to let him break the news to his brothers.
Some small, cowardly part of him didn’t want to do it. He wanted to beg the nurse to come back, to pump him full of painkillers and let him drift off to a land of unawareness.
