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“Why?”
“Don’t know…”
“Where is she now? The cousin.”
I look up with renewed rage. “I. Don’t. Know.”
His eyes latch onto mine for a long pause, but with a soft nod, he finds a seat and joins our silent vigil.
I’m so tired, I’m not sure I can ever truly catch up again. I’ve had my fair share of all-nighters when out with my brothers, but this is different. I feel defeated. My whole body aches; not a training ache, but like my essence, my soul, has been stomped on a few hundred times.
We sit and we wait.
And wait.
And wait.
I stare at the cracked linoleum on the floor and count the lines and squares. I stare at the cracks in the cement rendered walls, and follow the lines as they spider toward the ceiling. I look at the water stains left behind by an ancient leak.
And I wait.
The nurse that brought us here eventually comes swinging back into the room. It’s not like she’s covered in blood. Nothing awful has happened to her physically, but her eyes are different. Her hands are different.
Jack’s eyes snap up with dread, and despite always wanting to be a man, he leans into me so our shoulders touch. He’s terrified, and he’s desperate for information on his sister, his only living relative.
Fuck!
I don’t want to think it; my heart rejects the direction of my thoughts. But what if? What if she doesn’t make it? Jack will be all alone in this world. At fifteen fucking years old.
No, he won’t. He’s my brother now, just as much as Jim or Aiden or Jon is. He’s not alone – he’ll never be alone again. And none of that matters anyway, because she can’t not make it. It’s universally impossible, because without her, the universe ceases to exist.
“I’m sorry I took so long. I saw Kit, and I want you guys to know she’s in good hands. The best we have. Dr. Bormann is her surgeon tonight, and he’s very good at what he does.”
Jack clears his throat nervously. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Her injuries, that we know of so far…” She shuffles her feet and watches us with a pale face. “Ah, so far they’ve found broken ribs, a punctured lung, deep gashes in her arm, her shoulder, and her wrists, and several cuts on her face and head that will need sutures. When Ms. Reilly was hit by the car, it broke her–”
“She was hit by a car?” Jack interrupts.
“Yes, she was. The collision broke her left arm in three places, and her shoulder is shattered and will need reconstruction.”
“Who the fuck hit her?” he snaps.
“An older couple; they’re in this hospital right now, too. Our administration staff are in contact with authorities, so we’re fully informed on everything that has happened tonight. I want to assure you, the driver has nothing to do with Kit’s earlier disappearance. They’re being completely cooperative with the police and us, including the drug and alcohol testing requested. They called an ambulance at the scene of the accident, and they’ve stayed with her the whole time.”
She nervously threads her fingers together. “Ms. Reilly has significant swelling in her brain, so we’re working hard to keep it under control, but if she continues to swell, Dr. Bormann may be forced to relieve the pressure surgically. But for now, after they’re done, they’ll be keeping her in a medically induced coma for a few days at least, to allow her time to heal.”
“Will she be okay?” Jack bravely manages to ask all the questions I can’t force past the lumps in my throat. I feel like a selfish pig, a coward, because he can still ask these things even as he cries for his big sister.
She sighs. “Mr. Reilly – Jack… I’m sorry, I don’t know. I’m not a doctor, I’m not authorized to make those statements. Her injuries are extensive, her blood loss is severe, the swelling around her brain is dangerous… I just… I don’t know. She’ll be in surgery for hours yet, and the more they investigate, the more injuries they’re finding. She’s been through hell tonight and her body is struggling, but we’re doing the best we can. I’m sorry.”
And with that, she walks out and leaves a group of shattered men in her wake with nothing else to do but sit and worry.
Time ticks by, the only marker being Jim’s coming and going. He stays with us for an hour, then spends an hour with Iz, back and forth, back and forth, and when Jim’s with us, Jon goes to Iz.
Every now and then, people chatter noisily in the hallway, but no one comes in to speak to us. Jack left three times to get coffee – Kit’s done an amazing job of addicting a fifteen-year-old to caffeine.
Aiden didn’t leave once.
