Page 76 of Ashes

Stitches. His laughter. The way he smirked when he was teasing and happy.

My family.

The ones I fought for now.

I stayed lost in the positive thoughts for a long time, desperate to make them a reality again.

When I’d gotten a decent fix, I turned to my friends.

Sin and Church were leaning against the front of the Bronco, watching me like they always did.

But there was no Stitches.

He needed to be here.

I turned back to my fire and closed my eyes.

I need both Stitches and Sirena.

* * *

“We need to talk,”I said the following morning when I came into the living room.

Surprisingly, Sin was sitting with Church. They’d grown quiet when I’d come into the room, so I knew they’d been discussing my near-breakdown last night.

“I’m feeling a lot better now,” I said, dropping onto the leather wraparound. “So you guys don’t need to be out here discussing my mental health. It’s shit, but yours all are too, so let’s move past that, OK?”

Church nodded solemnly at me while Sin remained wordless.

“I want Stitches home.” I looked from Church to Sin.

He crinkled his brows at me but nodded.

I focused back on Church. “Let’s go get him.”

Church sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I want him home too. But I don’t necessarily know if he’s ready to come home. I don’t want to get him here and him try to hang himself again. I-I don’t want to lose him.”

“Then we need to see him. Get an idea of how his mental health is. See where he’s really at. If he seems good, we break him out if they won’t release him. I know a way to smoke them out if I have to.”

Church’s lips quirked up at that. “Let’s do it.”

I glanced at Sin, who sat forward, his gray eyes locked on me. I didn’t think he’d agree. He’d been all over the place lately with his actions, but he nodded.

“Yeah. I’m in.”

I grinned. Maybe if we were lucky, we’d get to see Sirena too. Two birds with one stone wasn’t a bad plan.

We needed this.

For the love of our sanity, we needed it.

CHURCH

Imarched into the hospital and straight to the nurses station. The same nurse from last time was on duty. Immediately, her eyes widened.

“I’m looking for Stitches,” I said evenly. “You’re going to step aside and not call anyone to come interfere, right?” I tipped my head toward the phone. “We both know that phone cord makes a really beautiful necklace on you.”

Her lips parted, and she nodded.

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