Page 127 of Indigo Sky

“We almost lost you, buddy,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

But that wasn't true, was it?

"I'm fine, Dad," I grumbled, wishing Mom wouldn't hold me so tight for so long.

"Roy's son …" He blew out a heavy sigh and shook his head. "He was always a little … you know …"

"Troubled," Mom muttered against my shoulder, her fingertips digging into my back.

"But who could've expected this?" Dad wiped one hand over his mouth, his other hand squeezing my shoulder. "I just … I can't believe we almost lost you. Once was enough, buttwice?"

"I'mfine," I pressed, finally wrenching my body from both of them.

"Oh, but, honey, how can you be?" Mom asked, distraught.

I dropped back into the chair Officer Payton had left me in earlier. "But Iam."

They took the seats on either side of me. Mom grabbed my hand while Dad was a stone-faced statue. That was always his tell. He avoided the things that made him upset—I knew this after years of him being unable to look me in the eye.

"Sweetie," Mom began, stroking the top of my hand with her thumb, "you—"

"Will you pleasestop?!" I asked, not intending to shout.

A nurse walking by jumped and glanced in our direction, and I sank deeper into the chair.

"Stop," I repeated. "Just …stop, okay? I am fine. I wasn't hurt. I didn't fuckingdie."

Dad grunted, "That doesn't mean you're fine, Revan."

"Oh, yeah? How about Angela, Kate's dad's nurse? She was shot in the fucking head. She died. How can I even claim to be anything but okay when she's fuckingdead?"

"Rev—"

"How about Kate? Huh? She went through twelve hours of fucking hell. Beaten and …” My lips pressed shut, unable to relay the other horrors she’d lived through. “Should I bitch about how I'mnot okayafter she went throughthat?"

Mom hung her head, her hand still against mine. "Oh, sweetheart …"

"And Nate? What about him? He might fucking die. He's been in surgery for … for … I don't even know how long, and I—” The word caught inside my throat, and I swallowed against something thick and uncomfortable that was trying to smother the fuck out of me.

I thought it was my broken heart.

"I should'vedonesomething," I whispered through that choking lump. "I should've stopped it before it started."

Dad shook his head, a grumble scraping through his throat. "Revan, listen to me, all right?"

"I know," I said. "I know. Stop feeling guilty. Stop beating myself up. It doesn't help anything. Iknow. But I can't stop. I should've donesomething. I was too slow. I was too … I was tooscared."

"Nothing I say is going to stop you from feeling how you do," Dad said with a sigh. "And you have a right to feel all of it—I'm not gonna take that from you. But I think, for every one of those things you're beating yourself up over, you can add something that youdiddo.Youfound Kate.Youstopped Donny from hurting anyone else.Youdid that, Revan, and that is far more than someone else in that position would've done."

I pursed my lips and fought the fresh bout of tears that threatened to fall. I cleared my throat and opened my mouth to speak when a doctor came into the waiting room.

"Are you the parents of Nathan Manning?"

"He's our son," Mom confirmed without a moment of hesitation, jumping to her feet.

"Is he okay?" I hurried to get in before the doctor could speak.

"My name is Dr. Schuster. I was one of the surgeons who worked to repair Nathan's injuries," he began, rubbing his handsagainst his scrubs nervously, like this type of conversation never got easier.

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