Page 127 of Trusting You

“Pick up?” I ask dumbly.

Ben shuffles uncomfortably. “Yeah…she’s been calling the hospital. Lily’s ready to be discharged. To family.”

Familiar sickness grows in my stomach. “Right.”

“Uh…you can stay with Lily until then. Astor requested it,” Ben says like that can lift my spirits.

I can now go see Lily because Astor, Lily’s aunt, granted me permission.

When would my heart stop tearing? Every time I think it’s reached the point of no repair, there’s another rip, a further shred, to an already tattered organ.

“Let her know I’ll meet her in Lily’s room, then,” I say in a more professional tone.

“Yep.” Ben’s not looking at me anymore.

In fact, Easton’s arm has dropped from my shoulders and Asher’s back to wall-leaning.

It’s a miracle they allowed me in Locke’s room in the first place. Incredibly shocking they didn’t scream, Imposter! as soon as they saw me race into Locke’s room while shouting for security.

I slump. Mean thoughts won’t get me anywhere. And these guys have been nothing but polite so far. Their loyalty lies with Locke and the Hayes family. That’s how it should be. I’m a stranger dancing along the edges of their group, connected by a baby they’re only just getting to know.

If I were them, I’d be cautiously polite, too.

“See you,” I say quietly, then walk away from them.

Nobody tries to stop me.

* * *

Nurse Averypolitely doesn’t discuss the information that I’m not Lily’s mother when I get back to the room.

Lily’s asleep, and Nurse Avery explains they’re letting her go a little longer now without waking.

“You should catch some shut-eye, too, honey,” she says softly as she rounds Lily’s hospital crib.

She pats my shoulder as she departs, and that very act of kindness nearly sends me into a fresh round of tears.

For the moment, Lily’s not being taken away, and I must remember that. Stay strong in it.

I take a seat in the chair next to her crib, staring at the small rises and falls of her chest, and can’t help drifting off myself.

A light jostle wakes me, and I blink my eyes open to see Astor standing above me. She’s clad in a black suit, probably rushing out of her office when she heard about Locke’s accident.

An accident I should’ve called her about.

“Astor, I’m so sorry,” I start, and she shushes me, glancing at Lily.

I nod, and with her help, get out of the chair and step outside the room.

“I didn’t call you the instant I learned what happened,” I say to her once the door to Lily’s room is shut. “I can’t believe I didn’t.”

“There was a lot going on. You wanted to get to the hospital,” Astor says, and now I feel guilty for making her reassure me when it’s her brother and niece staying overnight at a hospital.

“I got a phone call as soon as Locke was admitted,” Astor says. “I’m annoyed it took me this long to get here, but that’s not because of you. It’s because of fucking car idiots on a small island called Manhattan.”

“You’ve been filled in?”

Astor nods. “Ben told me everything. My brother…what a moron. As soon as he gets enough oxygen in his lungs, I’m depleting them again.”

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