AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Stay on with me until he’s in the room with you,” she insisted.
Gabby sighed. “You’re bossy.”
“Only with the people I love.”
The bathroom door opened and Shane filled the frame. Gabby realized too late that she was now naked in front of her brother. He grabbed the towel from the rail and draped it over her, then knelt and looked her in the eyes.
“You’re okay,” he said. “Give me the phone.”
She passed him the phone. He said a few words to Faith then hung up.
“Let me wrap this around you.” He helped get the towel around her and then reached for the hand holding the cloth to her head. “I’m going to have a look. I’ll be gentle, I promise.”
She allowed him to remove the cloth. Nausea rolled through her when he touched her scalp, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
“The bleeding has mostly stopped,” he said. “I don’t think we need to worry too much. Head wounds always bleed a lot.” He sat back on his heels and flashed the phone in her face. “I’m more worried about your pupils being slow to respond to changes in light.”
“Since when did you become a doctor?” She tried to joke, but it fell on deaf ears.
“Teachers have to be certified in first aid,” he said. “Come on. I’m going to help you out of the tub, and then we’ll get you dry, put some clothes on, and take you to the hospital.”
She didn’t protest. It felt nice to have him take charge. He slid his arm around her shoulders and took the bulk of her weight as he bolstered her up. When she was upright, she held tightly to him as she got out of the bath. She stood meekly while he toweled her dry and stepped into the sweatpants he brought. She insisted on putting on her own bra, thank God, but allowed him to assist her in getting a t-shirt over her head.
When they were in his car and on their way to the hospital, she looked around for her phone.
“Need to call Logan.”
“Faith just tried,” Shane said. “He’s not picking up. She’s watching the boys, but Kyle has said he’ll track him down.”
“Okay.” Gabby closed her eyes again. Her heart felt heavy. She wanted Logan with her. Where was he?
25
Logan was flyingalong the crest of a wave when he spotted a figure standing on the beach. He narrowed his eyes as he hurtled closer and realized it was Kyle. He leaped off the board before it hit the sand and hauled it out of the water. He’d have liked to have a bit more time to himself after the altercation with Peach, followed by his mum blowing him off, but it seemed like Corinne had sent Kyle to check on him.
“Hey, man,” he said, striding up the beach toward his brother. As he drew nearer, he noticed brackets of strain around Kyle’s mouth and a groove between his eyebrows. “Everything okay?”
“No.” Kyle’s one-word answer hit him like a blow.
He propped the surfboard up and leaned against it. “What’s wrong?”
“Gabby fainted and hit her head on the side of the bathtub. It sounds like she knocked herself out. Shane took her to the hospital. Mum is on her way there too. She closed the bar.” His lips pinched. “Shane says Gabby has been asking for you, but they haven’t been able to get in touch.”
“Fuck.” Fear oozed through him, icy cold. “Is she all right?”
“She’s in and out of consciousness.” Kyle reached for the surfboard and Logan let him take it. He turned and started up the beach. Logan hurried alongside. “Shane thinks she might be concussed, but I haven’t heard what the doctors have said yet.”
The biting cold spread outward to his limbs. His heart felt frozen solid.
“The babies?”
Kyle glanced over, his expression creased with sympathy. “I don’t know.”
“We need to get there.” Logan picked up the pace, rushing to his trailer, where he stashed the surfboard and stripped out of the wet suit without caring who might see. He tugged on his dry clothes and followed Kyle to his car. He felt sick. Gabby had hurt herself and he hadn’t been there to help. She’d asked for him, and he’d been out chasing his bliss on the waves. She’d needed him, and he’d failed her because he’d been selfish.
God, he was no better than his dad.
He called her phone as Kyle drove, but it was Shane who answered.
