Page 140 of Lush

The sharp beeps of monitors cut through the muffled murmurs of doctors and nurses, loved ones huddled around beds, the news playing on the waiting room TV. Everything felt too loud and too quiet at the same time, the sounds crashing together like a tide I couldn’t escape.

Nothing had changed in this place since that day.

Every face I passed felt like one I had seen before—blank,unfeeling eyes that had judged me when I came in with Conrad’s body beside me on the gurney. I still remember that awful feeling—the sharp sting of loss, the total helplessness.

“Erik,” I said, my voice strained. “I need to know what’s happening.”

I could still see Conrad lying there in my mind, motionless, a shell of the brother I’d known.Please don’t let Laurene look like that.

“It was a car crash,” Erik said. “The police are investigating.”

My tires were slashed, and now a car crash.

“Laurie… What if Jennie—” I couldn’t finish the sentence, couldn’t let the reality of it settle in. The fear of losing her when I had just gotten her back.And I hadn’t spoken to my sister since the wedding.

I felt so fucking stupid now for not speaking to Jennie over that damn dress.

“No.” Erik placed a hand on my chest, staring me down. “Jennie’s alive. My sister’s alive. That’s all that matters.”

I exhaled only for a moment as we reached the doors of the hospital room, and Erik stopped. His hand rested briefly on my shoulder. “Lu’s in here. Come down the hall to the left. I’ll be there with Jennie. And your mom and Nina.”

I glanced at him, my pulse quickening. “Harold isn’t here?”

Erik’s jaw clenched and he shook his head.

A cold knot formed in my stomach. Harold wasn’t here—just like he hadn’t been there when Conrad died.

Erik pushed the door open to reveal Laurene in the bed, her form small and fragile under the white sheets. Her arm was wrapped in a thick bandage, and bruises marred the side of her face. Her breathing was slow but steady, the rise and fall of her chest the only thing that kept me from losing it completely.

In the corner, Gigi was curled up, her shoulders shaking as she cradled Walter. The small dog trembled in her arms, his soft whines muffled by the sound of Gigi’s sobs.

What surprised me most was Vincent and Yvonne standingnearby. Vincent was stoic, his hands gripping the back of a chair so tightly that his knuckles were bone white. But it was Yvonne who truly shocked me.

Her face was…emotional.

The same face that usually was so cold now showed something raw and unfiltered. Her lips quivered, her eyes rimmed with red, as if she were holding back tears.

I turned to look at my wife. My chest constricted, twisting with an ache so deep it felt like something was tearing apart inside me.

My knees buckled, a wave of dizziness washing over me as I sank to the edge of the bed, my fingers trembling as they reached out. I brushed a strand of matted hair from her forehead, careful, afraid I might break her even more.

Tears burned the backs of my eyes, blurring the sight of her battered face, but I couldn’t look away.

“I’m so sorry,” I choked out, fear and guilt overwhelming me.

She stirred, groaning softly as her eyelids fluttered, and slowly she opened her eyes. They were fuzzy, unfocused at first, but locked on to mine, the relief in her gaze enough to make me choke back a sob.

“Reese…” Her voice was hoarse, but it was the most beautiful sound I’d heard all day.

“I’m here,” I said, cradling her face. “I’m right here.”

She closed her eyes. “I’m fine. Go see Jennie.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t leave her yet.

“I’m not going anywhere until I know you’re okay.”

“I’m fine.” She tried to sit up but winced, sinking back into the pillows with a pained sigh, and everyone in the room sat up straighter.

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