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I nod again, the movement belonging to a rusty robot. Zara and Emily escort me outside.
We step into the pine-scented night, and the air can finally ease in and out of my lungs. We walk along the sidewalk and around the corner to a small flowering rock garden. Artisan lampposts light up the three empty benches there. We sit on the closest one.
I pull my feet onto the seat and hug my knees. “I’m sorry.” My voice is low and scratchy as if it hasn’t been used since the night of the accident. “I was in a bad car accident ten years ago. I’m not a fan of ERs.”
Emily puts her hand on my shoulder. “How come we didn’t know about that?”
“No one does. Other than Avery and my coworkers at the agency where I was working. Grams doesn’t know about it. And I’d prefer to keep it just between the three of us.” I feel bad not including Kim. But if I had my way, Em and Zara would also be in the dark about what happened.
“Why doesn’t your grandmother know about it?”
“It’s not something I like to talk about.” My voice is soft, the message clear. Both women nod.
“So your reaction has nothing to do with Lucas?” Zara asks.
“It has a little to do with him. I’ll be a lot happier once I know he’s okay.”
Emily texts Kellan to tell him where Troy can find us once he has news about Lucas’s condition.
It’s Kellan who eventually comes to find us. “He’s going to be okay. Samuel stitched him up and he has a mild concussion, so you’ll need to keep an eye on him. But other than that, he’s free to go home.”
“Thank you.” I rise to my feet.
“Is he still in the ER?” Zara lightly rubs my arm, but her question is directed at Kellan. “Or have they released him?”
“He’s filling out the paperwork now,” Kellan says. “He should be done in a few minutes.”
Zara continues to rub my arm. “We can wait for him at the front doors, Simone. Then you don’t have to go back inside.”
I nod, hoping Kellan doesn’t ask me questions about what’s going on with me. He’s usually good at not prying into people’s lives, something he’s avoided doing since he was a kid, but who knows if this will be one of those rare times when he crosses the line.
We walk to the entrance. Kellan disappears inside the sliding doors. We remain outside. He returns with his brothers. Troy pushes Lucas in a wheelchair. Sterile gauze is taped over Lucas’s left temple, and he’s wearing a perturbed expression.
A giggle stumbles from me. I bite my lower lip to keep back its friend. “I take it you’re not thrilled with being in the wheelchair.”
He grunts his opinion. “I can walk to my SUV.” Lucas makes an attempt to stand.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Humor me for a moment and stay in the wheelchair till we get to your vehicle.” I kiss him gently on the lips and gaze into his warm brown eyes. “Pleeeease.”
He releases a forced-out breath, but his expression doesn’t soften. “All right.”
His brothers help him into his SUV, and he tells them to meet us at our house.
I climb into the driver’s side. “Shouldn’t you be resting once we get home? I don’t think Samuel meant for you to have a party after he released you.”
“I’ll be fine. And it’s not a party. I just want to talk to my brothers about what happened at Barside.”
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow, when you’re feeling better?”
“No. Not if what happened tonight could be linked to the drugs found in my house.”
I don’t say anything else. There’s no point. Lucas has made up his mind.
Just be happy no one told him what happened in the waiting area.
33
Simone
