Page 45 of Rule Breakers Fall Hardest

ROSIE

I burrow into my sweater,seeking even a modicum of warmth. Though even if the waiting room was warm, it probably wouldn’t matter. Ice has been coursing through my veins since the moment Daire’s dad dropped to the floor.

Across from me, Daire paces from one side of the room to the other. Asher and Hudson, the two eldest Hendricks brothers, are speaking in hushed voices in the corner. Asher’s wife, Veda, went to find coffee a while ago and hasn’t returned. Cash sits beside me, drumming his fingers on the arms of the chair while Romanflirts with one of the nurses at the station to our left.

“This is all my fault,” I whisper.

Cash stops drumming and cocks his head. “Your fault?”

Blinking back tears, I peer up at him. “Daire told him we got married, and then he just collapsed. So yeah, this is my fault.”

He shakes his head. I don’t think I’ve ever seen his usually golden skin so pale. As I frantically called 911, the boys appeared, one by one. The house is enormous, but apparently my panicked scream carried far.

Cash shakes his head. “This isn’t your fault. Dad hasn’t been taking the greatest care of himself. He’s healthy enough, or so I thought, but he avoids going to the doctor like he thinks they’re going to lock him away. God only knows what’s going on inside his body.”

With my lip caught between my teeth, I wrap my arms tighter around myself. “I can’t help it. I feel guilty.”

“Rosie.” He says my name softly, pulling me into an awkward hug with the arms of the chairs between us.

There’s a growl nearby, like an annoyed dog. “Stop touching my wife, Cash.”

Huffing, I roll my eyes at my so-called husband. “Stop being a dick. How about that?”

Daire pinches the bridge of his nose. “Excuse me for not liking the way my brother is pawing all over you.”

“Territorial much?” I fire back, sitting up straight. “It was a hug.”

Every eye in the room is fixed on us. Shit. We’re in a hospital waiting room while his dad is being seen for a possible heart attack. Arguing is the last thing we should be doing. But I can’t seem to help it. He brings out the worst in me.

Veda returns then, wearing a cream-colored sweater. She’s pushed the sleeves up to her elbows, revealing the floral sleeve tattoo on her right arm.

She scans the room, bracelets jangling on her wrists. “I feel like I missed something.”

Asher doesn’t stop talking to Hudson, despite the way she’s focused on him.

“My little brother is feeling a bit… challenged, which I find extremely interesting. What do you have to be insecure about?” Cash taunts Daire. “You’re married.”

Veda’s eyes flash between me and the two brothers. Snickering, she raises the cup of coffee to her lips. “Oh, this is fun.”

Before I can delve into what she means bythat, my parents and my sister step through the sliding doors at the front of the building.

I stand up, leaving both annoying brothers behind me. “Mom!” I rush into my mother’s arms. Though I called them soon after we arrived at the hospital to tell them what happened, I conveniently left out the part about being married.

She takes my face in her hands the way she used to when I was a child. “What happened?”

“He just collapsed,” I explain. “It happened out of nowhere.”

“Do you know anything yet?” my dad asks, scanning our surroundings like he’s ready to take charge.

“No, nothing yet.”

He disappears without another word, probably to go in search of hospital staff he can berate information out of.

“Hi, Rosie.” Grace waves. The sound of her voice and her proximity alone bring my anxiety down to a manageable place.

“Gracie!” I all but tackle her in a hug, unable to keep from smiling. I’ve missed her so much. I force her to FaceTime me at least once a week, and it’s still not enough.

“You’re squeezing me too tight,” she accuses.

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