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“It’s not just blood, is it?” Isaac asks, his eyes closed.
Large droplets of tears splatter from Freddy’s eyes onto the sheets. “No, Isaac, it’s more than blood.”
“Isaac, I made you a promise and I will keep it.” I lean over. I want him to know that I will always choose him.
Isaac’s eyes search my face. “I’ll make you a promise that I won’t run away again.” His face crumples. “I’m sorry, Mum.”
My legs shake with his words, my whole body vibrating with their jerking movement.
My glance meets Freddy’s and we offer each other an optimistic smile. I know I will spend the rest of forever making up for the mistakes I’ve made with these two loves of mine.
Freddy’s eyes glint. “Remind me though, Isaac, when your leg is fixed, to teach which trees are good for climbing and which ones not so much.”
Isaac’s eyes flutter open and shut, but he has a smile on his lips.
“I love you,” I direct my words at Freddy.
"I love you.” The dark blues hold me firm, keeping me in their sights just like they always should.
“Thank you for finding us.” This doesn’t cover it, but his fingers search for mine across the bed sheets.
"Amber, I will never let you go again."
I’ve been awayfrom the hospital for fifty minutes. That included a fifteen minute drive either way, five glorious minutes standing under the steaming shower in Freddy’s bathroom washing away the dirt from my night spent on a woodland floor, and then the remaining ten minutes leant against the kitchen counter, a cold mug of tea in my hand while I tried to unravel the nightmare that was yesterday.
Freddy and Isaac were kept in last night. Isaac is on a continual antibiotic drip to prevent any nasties from creeping into his wounds. Freddy, they just wanted to keep an eye on after donating so much of his blood. The hospital manager came and apologised to us that they didn’t have the right amount of blood in stock to help Isaac without Freddy offering his own. Apparently, they could have had some sent from a neighbouring hospital, but when they suggested this to Freddy he stepped up.
Dani tells me it was all very manly and sexy when he literally ripped his sleeve off his arm and said, ‘Take mine’. I’m sad to have missed it.
Gently, I pull back the curtain to Isaac’s bed and then let my mouth fall open when I spy Freddy wearing just his undies and a t-shirt, showing Isaac the backs of his legs.
“What are you doing?” I’m shocked and rightly so.
Isaac begins to giggle, “He’s showing me his scars, Mum, and they match mine."
Out of all of Isaac’s injuries, the one he is most obsessed with is the skin graft on the back of his knee.
“Really?” I peer down and investigate the back of Freddy’s perfectly formed leg. As promised, there is a small, faded line along the back of his right leg. “I thought you said all your scars were inside?” I raise a questioning eyebrow.
“I was being poetic; you shouldn’t take me so literally.”
Isaac grins at the two of us, and the angry young boy that ran away from me yesterday is nowhere in sight. Stepping up to the bed, I sweep his hair out of his eyes and check that his water jug has been slightly depleted of the healthy stuff along with the bottle of Lucozade that Bailey insisted on bringing him in, because apparently, when you drink it and eat chocolate at the same time it makes your heart race, which is super cool—in the words of a ten-year-old.
There was this moment when Isaac and Bailey realised that their relationship had been upgraded from friends to cousins and they both went super shy. It was kind of cute. Then they made up a cousin handshake which in my humble opinion wasn’t that cool at all.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper against Isaac’s forehead as I press my lips to his skin.
His hazel eyes focus on me sternly. “You won’t lie again, will you, Mum?”
“I didn’t lie. I just wanted your life not to be too confusing. I know I made a mistake. I just thought that if you and Freddy could become friends in your own right, then any relationship you had would be unique to you. I know I got it wrong.”
How wrong did I get it? There is no scale to measure it by.
“Anyway.” I straighten up a little and address both of them. “I spoke to Elliot when I was home and he’s on his way to see you.”
Isaac flinches a little at my words and his eyes hesitantly flit to Freddy. Freddy looks confused, but I can read Isaac’s thoughts straightaway, and this is exactly why I made all the wrong choices I did. Isaac’s a good boy and he doesn’t like hurting people.
“It’s okay, Isaac. No one is expecting you to just turn your back on the people who are important to you.”
