Page 44 of Myla: The Hawthornes

“Do you think they’re going to stay up here all night?” Lou asked quietly, pointing to a sign for the vending machines. “I don’t mind staying, but I hope they have some coffee somewhere.”

“I’m guessing Cian is here for the night. He wouldn’t leave Aoife here by herself.”

“I can’t imagine what she’s going through,” Lou said sadly. “They’ve been together forever. She must be losing her mind.”

“Since high school,” I confirmed. I’d once asked Cian about it, and he’d told me he barely remembered a time when Richie and Aoife weren’t together.

“And dealing with Aisling being hurt, too,” Frankie said, staring at the machine filled with snacks. “That’s her baby.”

“It’s a lot to deal with all at once,” Lou murmured.

I didn’t say anything as I stared blankly at the assortment of chips behind the glass. I tried to imagine how I’d feel if something had happened to one of my brothers—but I couldn’t. I was sure that my brothers had been in scrapes, but we’d never dealt with something as serious as Richie’s injuries. I wasn’t sure how to help Cian. I had no idea what to say.

“You want anything?” Frankie asked. By the look on her face, it wasn’t the first time she’d tried to get my attention.

“No, I’m good.”

“I got Gray’s water,” Lou said, lifting it up and shaking it from side to side.

“Think we gave them enough time?” Frankie asked, juggling her various junk food as we headed back toward the waiting room.

“Who gives a shit?” I mumbled.

“You’re getting tired,” she sang back. “You’re getting pissy.”

“I’m not pissy.”

“Holy crap,” Lou said with a scoff. “How have we already been here an hour?”

“Hospitals,” I replied easily, reaching for the ponytail on my wrist. “Time has no meaning here. Time either passes at a snail’s pace or it flies.”

“Oh, look,” Frankie said under her breath as we rounded the corner to the waiting room. “They’re done.”

Gray was on his phone and looking out of one of the big windows along the edge of the room, and the rest of the guys were kicked back in their chairs. They weren’t relaxed, there was too much tension in their bodies to give that impression, but they also didn’t look like they were conspiring to take over the world anymore.

“Got you jalapeño chips,” Frankie announced, throwing a bag at Cian. She turned to Bas. “Sour cream and cheddar for you, you animal.”

“Thanks,” Bas replied with a small smile.

“Plain ones for you,” she said to Brody, tossing his on his lap. “You must like missionary sex.”

A choked noise came from the edge of the room as Gray turned to look at us.

“What?” Frankie asked nonchalantly.

“Stop baiting Brody,” I ordered as I dropped back down next to Cian. “You good?”

Cian nodded and set his hand on my knee again. “You shoulda let me know you were comin’,” he said quietly, glancing at Gray.

“If I did, you would have told me to stay home.”

“Probably.”

“And I wouldn’t have listened,” I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. “And then I would be here anyway, but we’d be fighting.”

“Think you got me all figured out, huh?”

“I think I have a pretty good idea, yeah,” I confirmed.

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