“A knife wound or two will do that to you.” I paused. “She’s not going to wake up alone, is she? She feels alone enough as it is. She can’t wake up alone.”
“One of the girls will be there. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“We both know that’s all I’m going to do.”
“I know. That’s what we do. I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to get a hospital wing here, though, because this is exhausting.”
“I’m sorry we got stabbed. I know it must be hard on you,” I said, only a little bite in my tone.
“Take it out on me. The more you do, the easier it’ll be when you get out of here and don’t have all this rage inside you.”
“You weren’t that bad after the shooting.”
Cross frowned. “I talked to people. And I had Hazel.”
“Macon was the one who didn’t have anyone.”
Cross shook his head. “No, he didn’t. He could have had us, but he closed himself off. And he didn’t have Dakota until it was almost too late. So, he fought, and bloodied himself, and he got out his rage that way. You’re probably going to be angry for a long time.”
“The cut on my side wasn’t that deep.”
Cross narrowed his eyes. “Fourteen stitches, Nate. It was deep enough.”
“No, it was just long. And it bled a lot. Myra, though? That cut was horrendous.”
“I didn’t get a look at it, and I’m kind of glad I didn’t.”
“I was an EMT for long enough, Cross. I saw some shitty things. That was one of the worst.”
My brother studied my face. “It could be that it was the worst because it was on a woman you love.”
My heart ached at that, and I shook my head. “She doesn’t love me, Cross.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“She told me she cared for me and then pushed me out of the house once I told her I loved her. Pretty sure that seals the deal.”
Cross looked at me and shook his head. “She’s scared. You have both been through a lot. And that was before her cousin decided to go fucking insane. But she loves you. It might take her some time to realize that. And you should give it to her. Don’t rush into that. It’s how you make mistakes.”
I closed my eyes and groaned. “Yeah, I made horrible mistakes before when it came to Myra, I guess it’s routine for us.”
“Don’t let it be. She’s going to get out of the hospital soon, just like you, and you guys will fix this.”
“I don’t know if we can.”
A pause. “Do you want to?”
I looked up at my brother and swallowed hard. “I do. I love her. And she’s so strong, Cross. She crawled on the floor, bruised and bleeding out to help me. I thought I was strong enough to push Roland down and away, but that guy was muscular. He was big and knew how to fight.”
“He’s not going to bother you again.”
“Am I supposed to feel something that he’s dead? I don’t feel anything. Does that make me a psychopath?” I asked, only partly joking.
Cross gave me a look. “Once you’re off the pain meds and not in shock, you’ll feel something. And it’s going to be horrible. And you’ll wonder if you’re ever going to get over it. But you’ll talk to people. You’re going to talk with Arden and me. You know we’ve been through this before.”
I let out a rough laugh and then reached up to wipe the tears from my face. “How did our family end up like this? How is this even happening?”
“I just hope this is the end. That, after this, you and Myra find each other, and we never have to be in this hospital except for good things.” He paused. “By the way, Mom and Dad are on their way.”
I let out a soft laugh. “I’m surprised it took you that long to mention that.”
“They were on the first plane out. And, Nate? They’re moving back.”
I blinked. “I thought Mom and Dad loved it there.”
“They do, but you know Dad’s retiring, and he wants to settle here.”
“Because of us?”
“Of course, because of us. Mom and Dad had a great opportunity over there, and it was good for them.”
I nodded. “I never held that against them. It was the best thing for the two of them.”
“Now, they don’t want to miss out on anything.”
“I don’t plan on being in the hospital again.”
Cross shrugged. “I hope to hell not. But that’s not the only reason they’re coming here. Liam and Arden are adopting. There’s going to be a few weddings coming up. And grandbabies.”
“You and Hazel?” I asked.
“Yep, she wants kids. And hell, so do I. And I know Dakota and Macon are already talking about adding a brother or sister to their family for Joshua so the age gap isn’t too big. And, hello, Joshua is their grandkid now. Of course, Mom and Dad want to be around.”
“I’m kind of afraid of what kind of child Prior and Paris will create,” I laughed.
“I’m going to have to agree with you. But if we ever say that in front of her, Paris will create a voodoo doll of each of us. We know this.”
I laughed and then groaned, holding my side. “Okay, no more laughing,” I said, trying not to laugh again.
“Deal.” Cross sobered. “I’m so sorry you got hurt.”
“It’s par for the course with us.”
“So let’s make sure it never happens again. This sucked. All of us getting hurt as much as we have. Let’s not let it happen again.”
“I’ll try. But, Jesus, I’m never going to get the sight of Myra out of my mind. She lost so much blood, Cross.”
“And she survived. You got there in time.” My brother paused. “How did you know to be there?”
I shook my head and regretted the movement again. “I was there to apologize and to try to fix the shit we were going through. There was a car in the driveway, and no one answered the doorbell, so I went around the side of the house and hoped the studio door was unlocked.”
“Good timing,” Cross muttered.
“I heard her talking, even though it was mumbled. I think she was trying to convince him to call the ambulance.”
“Maybe he would have, but we don’t know for sure. Regardless, you saved her.”
“She saved me.”
“So, what are you going to do?” Cross asked after a moment, and I swallowed hard.
“She needs time to heal. And the girls need to be with her.”
“You’re not going to back out, are you?” Cross’s voice went stony.
“No. I’ll go to her. But she needs to heal,” I repeated.
“So do you. You can do that together.”
“She was so scared, Cross. I don’t want to hurt her any more.”
Cross gave me a look as if he understood, but I wasn’t sure I did.
Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to rest. I knew that no matter what happened the next time I saw her, I would never be able to get the sight of her bleeding out on the floor, unconscious in my arms, out of my mind.
It would haunt my nightmares until the end of time.