Page 58 of Avalanche
Cold snakes over me at his words, making my skin prickle, the fine hairs on the backs of my arms rising inside my sweater.
“What are you saying?” I ask, pulling back to stare down at him alarm. “Are you saying…”
“That it was intentional?” His words are whisper soft, but they shake the stillness of the waiting room. His green eyes flick between mine, searching. “Maybe?” His brow creases, full lips pulling into a frown at his own response. “I mean, if it was an accident, why did they drive away? Why didn’t they stay to help?”
“Because they didn’t want to get in trouble? Because they were drunk?”
“Maybe,” Antoine agrees, but he doesn’t sound convinced. “The police took photos, right?”
I nod, and that icy sense of dread sinks deeper, scraping against my bones like a knife.
“Matty said the police showed up when the ambulance did. They took photos of all the tire tracks in the snow and said something about pulling footage from the traffic cameras before they left. They got Matty’s phone number.”
“Good.” Antoine gives a satisfied nod.
“You really think someone did this on purpose?” I ask. I feel sick at the thought, at the idea that anyone could look at Seth—wonderful, sweet, caring Seth—and do something like that.
“I don’t know. I hope not.” He tightens his arms around me, pulling me back against him. His warmth seeps into me, but it isn’t enough to dispel the lingering coldness left from his words. “I really hope not.”
We’re both silent for a long time after that, the pair of us wrapped up together, occasionally turning to look hopefully towards the corridor where Seth’s room is. At one stage, the tired nurse from earlier comes out, his bloodshot eyes glancing over us with a look that says he’s probably seen worse than a girl sitting on a guy’s lap in a waiting room, and informs us its the end of his shift.
“They know you’re waiting,” he tells us as he buttons up his winter coat over his scrubs. “I’ve told them to tell you once they have any news.”
“So he’s still asleep?” Antoine asks, straightening in his seat beneath me. “He still hasn’t woken up?”
The nurse gives him a pitying look. “He’s in surgery. He won’t be waking up for hours. You should get some food. They’ll update you as soon as they can.”
“What about Liam?” Antoine presses.
“The brother?” The nurse lifts his hands, making finger quotes in the air around the word ‘brother’. “He said - and I quote - ‘you’ll have to sedate me if you want me to leave his side.’ Though of course in a New Zealand accent, which is interesting considering Seth’s ID says he’s Canadian.” The nurse’s lips curve into a bemused look that hints at a knowing smile. “So I suspect he’ll be in there for a while.”
“Have you heard from Liam?” I ask Antoine once the nurse has left. “Has he text you or anything.”
Antoine shakes his head. “I think his phone is off.”
I unlock my own phone to flick through the messages, but there’s nothing. Nothing from Liam. Nothing from the other guys either.
“Lily, I was thinking…” Antoine pulls back, angling his head so he can look at me. “Maybe this getting married thing is a stupid idea.”
I open my mouth to argue, but he makes a tsking sound, then lifts one finger to my lips to silence me.
“No. Listen. In order for the marriage certificate to get translated and apostilled and sent to France in time, we have to get married tomorrow. Before noon at the very latest.”
His hand falls away, dropping to settle in my lap but his eyes remain fixed on my face, sharp and serious and full of feeling.
“We don’t know how Seth will be doing by then. He could still be unconscious. He could be… well, he might not be out of danger. How can I ask you to leave him and go get married when he’s like that? Just so I can claim my inheritance? And what if it doesn’t even work? It could be all for nothing, you know. My father might contest it…”
“Antoine.” I gather up the hand he’s placed in my lap and hold it to my chest. I wonder if he can feel the fluttering behind my ribs, the frantic thundering of my heart. “You’re going to marry me.”
My gaze drops to my knees, my cheeks blazing with embarrassment as I gather up my thoughts, think of how to explain this to him. It’s been simmering away in the background for days now, ever since that middle of the night talk with Seth, maybe even before that.
I want to be with these guys. All of them. Forever.
Which means what Antoine and I are doing, it isn’t just for a piece of paper. It isn’t just so he can claim his inheritance. Sure, the timing isn’t great. In a perfect world, it would be different.
In a perfect world, I’d wait until Seth was out of hospital, and I’d marry all five of them at once. My family and friends would come and smile and clap as we read our vows and exchanged rings and cut the cake. The six of us would take turns dancing beneath strings of twinkling lights. I’d have flowers in my hair and a white dress twirling around my ankles. The guys would whisper that they loved me, as if it was a secret even though everyone watching could tell just by the way they looked at me.
But this isn’t a perfect world. Seth is in hospital. Antoine has an ultimatum hanging over his head. And I don’t even know if the guys all want what I want.
