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“You are now. Go on and get her.”
But I didn’t have to because Skye hobbled into the waiting room using crutches. She had a blue cast on her leg, and she looked annoyed. I rushed over to help her, and she gave me a pained look.
“I want to go home,” she said with a look of defeat.
I nodded. “Okay, let’s get you home. Say goodbye to the Parks and thank them for all they did for you.”
I watched my sister say goodbye to the Parks. Sophia hugged her tight, but my baby sister looked completely miserable, and that hurt my heart. Right now, all I wanted was to get her home and comfortable. I wasn’t thinking about anything else, and in hindsight, that was bad.
I helped her into the car, and we sped off down the turnpike toward Philly. I had another two-plus-hour drive on my hands, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. I didn’t bother trying to find my charger. I just wanted to get Skye home.
“Are you in pain?” I asked.
She nodded. “They gave me some pain medicine after they put my leg in the cast. I have to be off my feet and on crutches for six to eight weeks. What a shitty summer vacation.”
“Language!” I scolded.
“Fe-fe, you swear like a truck driver. Let me complain,” she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
I put a hand on her arm and gave her a gentle squeeze. “You’re okay, and that’s what matters. I know it sucks, but you’ll pull through.”
My mind was racing, thinking of all the stuff I’d need for her. We’d need to set her up on the couch, so she didn’t have to deal with the steps. We’d have to deal with the porch steps at our house, but we’d make it work.
My mind went to thinking about the medical bills. That wasn’t something my sister needed to worry about. Luckily, I had health insurance from the brewery since I was full-time, which was rare for people in the service industry. Declan felt strongly about providing benefits to his employees, and it was one reason I had been with the brewery since the beginning.
I asked Skye about her trip to distract her from the pain. I listened to her go on about her beach adventures. It was unfortunate this was how her vacation ended.
“I’m sorry to cut your vacation short,” she said after a few moments of silence had passed.
“It’s fine,” I muttered.
But at that moment, I realized I had never said a word to Gemma this morning. I had been so worried about my sister that I wasn’t thinking straight. And now I couldn’t tell her what was going on because my phone was dead. I felt like such an asshole. She was probably worried sick about me. Who doesn’t wake up the person they love and tell them they have a family emergency?
“Do you have your charger?” I asked my sister.
“It’s in my suitcase.”
“Which is where?”
Skye cringed. “In Mrs. Park’s car.”
I clenched my jaw in annoyance. Of course. Of fucking course. Not that I was blaming my sister. This was on me. I should have woken Gemma up. I should have told her what was going on. I warned her my sister would come first, and this was one of those times. But I should have at least given her a heads up. Maybe this was a sign from the universe that we were doomed from the start.
“Fe, what’s wrong?” Skye asked.
I shook my head and focused on the miles of road outstretched before me. It was going to be a long drive back to Drakesville.
When we got home, I forgot about plugging in my phone. Instead, I carried my sister up the steps into our house and set her down on the couch in front of the TV. It was mid-afternoon, and I made us lunch as we ate on the couch together.
She got cranky after a little while, so I gave her another ibuprofen. “You think you can handle the stairs?”
She chewed on her lip and used her crutches to get off the couch. “I don’t know.”
“Okay,” I sighed and lifted her into my arms.
“Fe-fe!” she cried. “Let me at least try.”
“Maybe tomorrow. Let’s get you up to bed so you can lie down.”
