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“Father’s plane… it crashed. The landing gear failed or some shit. He has a broken arm and a slight concussion… the good news is he’ll be fine.”
I know that’s not all as I watch his eyes fade off into the distance. “And Tori?”
Aiden shakes his head slowly. My hand shoots up to my mouth, and I stumble back and sit in the chair in shock. “Oh my God,” I whisper. I’ve only met Tori once, but I can’t believe she’s gone.
Knowing Killian and Daniel are friends with her, my thoughts immediately rush to them as an intense sadness washes over me.
“We need to go to the hospital to pick up Father. They won’t let him go home tonight unless he has someone with him due to his concussion.”
Even though I’m not Niall’s biggest fan, I still don’t want to see him hurt. And, I definitely don’t want to see Aiden upset.
Aiden stands, and we make our way to the car, then over to the hospital. Once inside, it’s full of patients from the crash. Loud sounds fill the air as people talk and rush around all over the place. The hospital is full to capacity with family members who have congregated in the halls. Staff move past us to attend to buzzing alarms, and I can’t help the fact that a sense of nervousness and anxiety creeps up on me. Who knows why? I guess it has to do with seeing Niall—the asshole—once again.
We walk briskly, looking for Niall when we hear yelling from a cubical. “Get away from me, you filthy bastard. I don’t need your damn help.”
We glance at each other and intuitively know it’s Niall in all his glory, not just by voice but simply by the way he is speaking. We follow the raised voices to bay six where we see him fighting a male nurse who’s trying to put his arm in a cast. The male nurse has an agitated look while Niall’s trying to pull off the bandages.
“Father, stop being a damn idiot. Your arm is broken. You need to have a cast fitted.”
Niall immediately stops carrying on when he sees Aiden. He furrows his brows, then looks straight at me. “Why did you bring that with you?”
I shake my head and frown. Why does Niall always call me that or it? Can’t the stupid bastard tell I’m here to help him?
He frustrates me so much.
Aiden walks in and stands next to him. “Father!” he warns. “My future wife’s name is Jeni… you’d do well to remember it. You get away with this shit all the time, and I’m over it. It stops now! Do you understand me?”
Niall shrugs. “Yes, yes… whatever.”
Aiden huffs. “How are you?”
Niall stiffens, and his bottom lip starts to quiver.
Well, this is a rare emotional side I’ve never seen from the old asshole.
“Tori, she’s—”
“I know,” Aiden interrupts his father.
Niall exhales and frowns. “The plane crashed. When I woke up, she was sprawled across my lap with a metal shard in her head…” he pauses, then continues, “… I knew she was dead. I kept trying to wake her, and she wouldn’t…” Niall’s face shows a pained stare.
My hand shoots to my mouth in horror and also in surprise—this is the most open Niall has ever been around me.
“It’s all right, Father,” Aiden states as he takes his father’s hand with a worried frown.
The male nurse returns and starts to do his job again, but in true Niall form, he agitates and pushes the nurse away. “Ouch, be careful. You’re hurting me, you prick.”
And the asshole that is Niall is back, ladies and gentlemen.
I roll my eyes—what else should I expect?
Arriving at the mansion, we escort Niall inside, leading him into the living room. Of course, he’s practically kicking and screaming, telling us everything we do is wrong or it hurts. This big burly man is like a tiny baby, whining and complaining. I don’t know how Callie ever put up with the old idiot.
Leaving Niall on the sofa, Aiden walks out of the living room toward the kitchen. I want to help make Niall more comfortable—even though I should probably leave well enough alone—so I move to the footstool under his feet, and he drops his legs down. “It’s too damn high,” he complains.
“ Niall, the stool’s not adjustable. I can’t make it go any lower.”
“Well, what fucking good are you, then?” he yells, kicking the stool at me and luckily it just grazes my shin.
