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“Holy shit, Stace,’ he cursed again, grinning. “I was so worried, but you did real good out there. Real good.”
His right eye was bruised.
“What happened to your eye?”
“It’s nothing.” He shrugged as Tom appeared at the end of my bed, hair ruffled, and his clothes crumpled. He’d often curled up in my bed as a young teen, looking just as crumpled while I recovered after surgery at home. He smiled, squeezing my foot. “Hey sis, good to see you’re awake.”
Ryan clasped my hand. “Liam’s okay. They discharged him two days ago. He’s completely fine.”
“I know. Amanda told me.” I cleared my throat. “But what happened? Wait.” Amanda had said Liam stayed for one night in hospital. “I’ve been here three days? When do I get out?”
Ryan refilled my cup. “Yep, three days. We’ll tell you everything and we have questions for you, too. And the police.”
I nodded.
“You were pretty out of it when they found you and Liam.” Tom sat on the edge of the bed, yawning.
“Did you sleep here?” I drank more water. My throat was so raw.
“Yeah, course. We’ve all done shifts. Amanda’s done most of the day shifts and some nights. I was on duty last night. Ryan did the night before. And Mum did the first night and comes in every day. Been giving Lily twice daily updates too. As if we would leave you alone in here for a second.”
Tears welled in my eyes.
“Shit,” Ryan pulled out his mobile. “Mum will be pissed that she’s missing this. She went on a snack run. I’ll get her.”
Ryan dialled a number on his phone as he left the room.
“So what happened—” I began when Mum rushed into the room with an anguished cry, smothering me in a hug. I blinked back tears. Vending machine snacks went flying. Water spilled over the bed.
“Let me get you more. I’ll clean that up.” She fussed with tissues to soak up the water.
“Stop. Please, tell me everything about what happened.” Mum sat down on my bed. “I was covered in mud. And we were hidden. How did you find us?”
“The nurses let me clean you up, after you were scanned to make sure you didn’t have a skull fracture or a brain bleed—” Mum sniffed and then continued. “Or, any other serious conditions. I gave you a sponge bath after that.”
She clasped my hand while Amanda and Tom watched on.
“They found you unconscious, kind of. You were lucid but then would drift off in the ambulance and emergency. You’ve been in and out of it for days. But the doc just wants you to rest so you can heal. You don’t have any more damage to your lungs. The doctors were concerned about smoke inhalation like last time, but oxygen and rest should do the trick. Maybe cortisone to give your system a kickstart.”
I had so many questions, but something needed answers now. “But who found us? I remember shouting at my phone. Someone called me.”
Tom moved to Mum’s side. “The crews heard the ute explode, which we now know was the fuel tank. Sent a truck immediately in that direction to contain the fire and look for you as you’d called Uncle Bruce on the CB. Not gonna lie, Stace. I thought I was going to find you dead.”
Mum let out a sob and Tom put his arm around her shoulder. “Fire started to spread then but then the cool change came through as forecast and wind changed direction. You were so bloody lucky, Stace.”
“Where were we? All I know was we managed to find a creek bed.”
“Dead Horse Creek. You know the boys at the Shed reckon you’re a superhero who’s unkillable.”
Mum slapped his stomach. “That’s enough of that!’
Tom shrugged. “They’re not wrong. Stace is a superstar.”
I snorted. “I was just scared. And, training kicked in.”
God, I was so tired, even after three days of lying in a bed.
“Liam had my phone,” I said. “Someone called. I don’t know who it was or even if it was real.”
