My jaw basically hits the floor. It’s so rare that we hear Maria become so heated and it makes Lucas instantly sit up straighter.
“Maria,” I reach out my hand to her, “we are all right. It’s okay,” I reassure her and she wipes her eyes then fans her face.
“You’re the one in the hospital bed and you’re trying to make me feel better.”
“That’s what family does,” Martin says with a small grin.
Martin checks his phone; Maria does the same after she’s pushed a hot cup of tea and a bowl of soup my way. “What are you waiting for?” I ask. They exchange a look between them. “What? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Shh. Calm yourself, honey. It’s just…well…I thought we would have seen Tristan already.”
“Nora, we were going to send our family attorney to meet him at the police station, however, he refused the offer.”
“What? Why would he do that? I—” I shake my head, “Wait, why does he need an attorney? Is he really in trouble? Did they arrest him?”
“Whoa, babe, slow down. Take a breath,” Lucas says. “Don’t buy trouble before they even have a chance to explain it to us.”
“Nora, he’s not in trouble, that we know of, nor has he been arrested, as far as we know at this point. However, it’s important to have an attorney with you anytime situations like this arise. It’s good practice. That’s why we offered it. As far as him rejecting the offer, I’m not sure of his reasons.”
“We do know that Adrianna followed him to the station. She’s quite the woman,” Martin adds.
“Professor Griffin? Yeah, she’s like a mother to Tristan. She was here?”
“Yes, honey. We had time to talk with her while Tristan was here with you initially. You both have family around you. Whatever happens, we will sort it out.”
***
Lucas finally managed to convince his parents to go home and sleep. He promised Tristan he would stay, and he is. It’s taken me a while, but I got comfortable lying on Lucas’s chest to try and sleep. It’s been about ten hours since they rescued me. I can’t even believe I have to say that to myself. Rescued.
“I don’t know if eating was a good idea,” I tell him with my eyes closed, “I don’t feel good.”
“That’s the adrenaline letting go of your body, babe. I’m telling you to sleep. Just trust me. I will not move from being your pillow. The only other humans who will be in here for the next few hours will be nurses looking at both of us and the breakfast tray, which could show up in ninety minutes. That’s how late, or early it is.”
“Where is he? Why haven’t we heard anything?”
“There is a lot to sort through, I imagine. I’m sure I will be down there eventually too. They have to do their jobs.”
“Their job is hurting me more than…”
“Okay, no. Not even close. I want you to do something for me. I want you to close your eyes and breathe how I am. Make your chest match mine. That should be easy since your rock head is there.”
My lips curl into a small smile against him. “My head does hurt,” I admit. “Maybe just for a few minutes.”
“That’s my girl.” I kiss the top of her head. “The monsters are gone.”
I didn’t know how badly I needed to hear that until the words leave his lips. I allow myself to relax, as much as I can without knowing that Tristan is okay, and drop my heavy eyes closed.
It doesn’t take long until I fade away, drifting off into a hazy sleep that my body has been begging for.
***
I blink my eyes open, just a little, when the light from the hallway slashes across my face, indicating that someone has opened the door to my room.
The nurses have done that once or twice over the last few hours, but this time, the backlit silhouette standing in the doorway doesn’t belong to anyone who works here.
It’s Tristan. He’s back.
Lucas’s arms tighten around me. I think I even hear him snoring a little. The musky smell of my professor quickly fills in the stale air. I count the steps in my head he takes from the door to my feet. I want so much to leap out of bed and wrap my body around him. I can’t. I’m still so tired. I feel like I’m sunken in concrete. I want to tell him I love him, but I can’t seem to make my lips move.
Lucas moves, slowly waking up before turning his head away from me and toward Tristan.
“Oh, shit, you’re back,” he whispers.
“I’m gone for a few hours and I’m already being replaced in the bed?”
I allow my eyes to drop closed again, partially because I’m too tired to even keep them open, and also because I just want to hear the two most important men in my life converse together.
“I didn’t think you’d mind, considering it was the only way I could get her to sit still let alone sleep. She kept trying to get out of bed, saying she needed to find you. What happened?””
From the sound of Tristan’s voice, he’s at my feet. Lucas hasn’t moved from his pillow position. My love’s hands are gliding lightly over my calves and feet. “It was a fucking cluster from start to finish. A young detective came at me first and tried to rattle me Blue Bloods style and think I was the villain in this story. I had to set junior clear straightaway. Then the brains of the operation came in with affidavits from New Scotland Yard. Everything Evan did in London and beyond was sent over in a virtual file that took us nearly eight hours to go through.”
“So what does that mean now?” Lucas asks, and I’m happy he does. I need to know that answer too.
“I gave my statement, gave them all the information that I had, and I explained exactly what happened today. That’s it. That’s as far as this goes now. There are no charges being filed.”
I can feel the relief wash over Lucas’s body just the same as mine.
“That’s great, fucking great, news, man.”
“I’m sure they’ll be reaching out to you soon, but if you stay honest, there shouldn’t be an issue.” I can feel Tristan’s hands lay still on my calf. “How was she? Did she eat something?”
“You can’t see it now, but she’s in pain, she’s as on edge as I’ve ever seen her. She’s missing the hell out of you. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve never seen her so dependent on someone who makes her so independent. I know that makes no fucking sense even as I’m saying it.”
“I know the feeling,” Tristan says. “She’s changed me in ways I couldn’t even begin to put into words. It makes no sense, like you said, but that doesn’t make it any less real.”
I feel like a fly on the wall, a spy, listening in on a private conversation, but it’s making my heart grow and heal. I need them to get along, to understand each other.
Lucas moves around a little then I feel his warmth slip away as he leaves the bed.
“I’m going to leave you two alone for a bit,” Lucas says. “You look like you could use some shut-eye and she’ll want you here when she wakes up.”
“You shouldn’t drive. Let me hire a car for you or something. I owe you at least that. We wouldn’t have gotten her back without your cool head and keen knowledge of her. She is my life, so I owe you mine.”