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“I think so.” I stroke my hand through his hair.
“What about her?” Skid lets out a breath as he looks at my sister.
“No change. Nurses keep coming in and doing their checks, they tell me she’s going to be okay, but… look at her, Skid.” My eyes fill with tears as they fall back on my sister. She looks so small. Her body is covered in bruises and her unevenly cut hair looks so strange. Everleigh always took such pride in her hair, she brushed it a hundred times every morning and then again at night.
“Is he dead?” I ask, closing my eyes when I think about Skid’s brother. I can’t get his face out of my head.
“They’re all dead, Addison. Anyone who might have hurt you or him is dead.” His face is stone cold, and I can’t imagine what it must be like to have taken your own brother's life. Even if the man was evil, there would have been a time in Skid’s life when he loved him.
“Ads, I know you ain’t gonna like what I say here, but you have to come home. I spoke to the doc when I came in, and they’ll call us when she wakes up. I promise I’ll bring you right back in.”
“I can’t.” I shake my head firmly. “She’ll be so scared. She doesn’t know anyone, and all this will be too daunting. You saw the place. You know how we lived. That's all she’s ever known.” I look around the room at the bright white walls and all the machines and monitors. “She needs me.”
“And she will have you. It’s been a long day, you need to get some proper rest or you ain’t gonna be no use to her at all. Trust me when I say she’s gonna need you to be strong.”
“I’m fine, Skid,” I argue.
“It ain’t just you that you have to think about,” he reminds me with an equally stern look on his face. “You don’t need to exhaust yourself. Storm and Jasmine are here, they’ll watch over her. I’ll bring you back as soon as you’ve had a shower and a few hours’ sleep.”
“Or as soon as she wakes up,” I remind him.
“Promise.” He nods, taking my hand in his and kissing my knuckles.
“I’m so sorry.” He crouches down in front of us. “I should have figured Chop runnin’ to Mexico was another of his plans. I shouldn’t have left you both.”
“You couldn’t have known. You went to Oak Creek to keep us safe.”
“It’s over now.” Skid places his hand gently over Charlie’s ear. “Every single Elder from that village is dead. Chop’s dead. There’s no one left to hurt ya,” he reassures me again.
“Thank you.” Tears flow over my cheeks as I take in what he’sreallytelling me. My father was an Elder. I never asked Skid to spare his life. Maybe I should feel guilty for that, but when I look at my sister I don’t. He let this happen to us.
“And my mom?” I manage to ask. I have mixed emotions about her, she was brainwashed, and just as trapped as we were, but I never once saw her fight for us.
Skid shakes his head at me. “I’m sorry. She… She…”
“She used the revolver, didn’t she?” It’s worrying how numb I feel when the look on his face tells me that I guessed right.
“Guns were forbidden, that’s why I was so surprised when you told me the Elders had purchased AKs. But I knew about the one Mom kept hidden, I found it once when I was small. It was a really old thing and she only had two bullets for it.Our secret, she called it.” I always wondered who those bullets were for. I figured they were meant for my father.”
“I’m sorry.” Skid drops his head, acting as if he’s let me down.
“You need to stop being sorry, Skid.” I take his hand in mine and squeeze it.
“Instead of focusing on what was out of your power, focus on what you’ve done for us. You made us safe. We can have that normal life now. No more looking over our shoulder.” Despite everything that’s happened today, I have to look at the positives
“Come on, it’s time to go home.” Skid carefully lifts Charlie off my lap and my poor boy must be shattered because he barely stirs as he makes the switch and rests his head on his shoulder. I lean over the bed and place a kiss on my sister’s forehead.
“I’ll be right back, Everleigh,” I whisper to her softly. “You’re safe now, we all are.”
* * *
I head straight for the shower when we get back to the cabin and once I’ve finished scrubbing my body and washing the events of today from my memories, I head straight toward Charlie’s room to check him.
“I put him in our bed.” Skid’s gravelly voice comes from the corner of the room where he’s resting in the armchair. “I figured he’d want some security tonight.”
“That’s sweet.” I smile at how thoughtful he is and when he stands up and comes toward me, he takes my hand and leads me into the bedroom. I feel his eyes watching me as I slide into some PJ shorts and one of his tees.
“You need anythin’?” he asks.
