Page 97 of Boundaries

Melanie said that we could stay at Lamb Hill for as long as we needed.

That second day, Boyd and Seth had well and truly had the wind sucked from their sails. They were both subdued and spent most of the time pacing the house, eating.

Melanie’s sister, Rachel had come over to support the family and was in the kitchen cooking. This provided a constant flow of food.

As the evening approached, we’d put the TV on. Not many of us watched it but it gave a bit of background noise. We all chatted on and off about stuff that was going on in the village, until Nixon brought up the fire again.

“It must have been another arson attack, it’s too much of a coincidence,” Nixon put out there. Mattie nodded his head and Jenna released a moan before chewing on her lip. She looked especially frail.

My father who had been with the police and the fire service for most of the day agreed, “The police suspect arson and are looking into it but the site is still too hot to enter.” Nixon was watching him with an eerie fascination. My own instincts still screamed foul play.

My mother appeared to be in denial, stating how we didn’t have any enemies. Ironic considering where we were.

At that point, I started to feel numb about the house and the fire, I just wanted to know about Mason. If Nixon was annoyed by my constant request for updates from his phone, he didn’t show it.

We all went to bed that night with hope in our chests, Melanie stating that no news is good news. Of course, Mason would need time to recover.

That second night not knowing was the hardest and I hardly slept. I spent most the night watching my mother’s peaceful face. My heart in my mouth.

In the morning, there was news.

I was awakened by Nixon banging on the bedroom door and I shot out of bed. I’d slept in my clothes on purpose, in case something came up during the night. My mum was still fast asleep under the covers.

As I dragged open the door, the tower of my brother-in-law in his boxer shorts stood before me. I hardly even noticed to be honest, I was too keen to hear what he had to say.

“What is it?”

He smiled, surprise flaring in his gaze, “Its Mase. He’s awake, Amy. He’s asking for you.”

It took me a minute to register what he said, “Me?” I stuttered. So happy that Mason was asking for me, even before his parents and brothers.

Nix nodded, that smile on his face widening, “Yes, his girlfriend, apparently.”

And BOOM! Mason had asked for me, his girlfriend.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Those were the words on the text I received. Now get yourself sorted. I’ll get dressed and we’ll go in my car. Wake your mum and ask her to let the others know. Jenna isn’t up to it and I’ve left her asleep.” Nixon’s possessive behaviour was always on the surface.

I nodded, hoping Jenna would be OK without Nixon there. He must have read this on my face. “My mother is watching her. They’re both going to follow us later. He’s only allowed one visitor at a time.”

That sense of relief was euphoric.

“Let’s go and see our boy, Amy,” he said, repeating his mother’s words from the hospital.

The drive over was straightforward as it was early and there wasn’t much traffic. Nixon and I spoke briefly about Jenna and I asked about her health, considering I’d overheard she’d been seeing the doctor. He said it was nothing to worry about and that it was just to do with her anxiety, but I knew he was hiding something. That however was a battle for another day.

After Nixon managed to park the car, we hurried into the hospital. The lady on reception gave us directions to the correct section.

The doctor and family liaison staff nurse greeted us when we arrived in the correct wing.

Nixon was directed toward the general waiting area.

“Tell him to stop being a pussy and to get up already,” Nixon said with a grin, wanting me to pass his brother that message. Like that was going to happen.

I then got my stern instructions from the doc, “No excitement. He’s just been through major surgery and I’m surprised he’s awake so soon, but he was asking for you. We tend to give a patient who is recovering from a brain injury what they need. Keeps them motivated to get better and can speed up the recovery process.”

I nodded, taking on board his comments, but I’m not going to lie, my legs felt heavy as I followed the doctor down the corridor. A nurse had also joined us. I was dying to ask more questions but was terrified of the possible response.

---