Page 63 of Avalanche
But somehow, I know the answer before he even says it. Somehow, I know.
“Tom.” Seth’s throat bobs beneath the neck brace, his tongue darting out to wet dry, cracked lips. “Fucking Tom.”
Chapter 19
Lily
Liam: He’s awake.
I stare at the phone in my lap, breath lodged in my throat. Antoine is still beneath me, but I can feel his heart hammering as he peers over my shoulder to read Liam’s message.
Liam: He’s going to be okay. Doc will tell you when you can come through. Just need to do a few things first.
“Dieu merci,” Antoine breathes. I nod in agreement.
He’s going to be okay.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful text message in my entire life.
“When do you think Eddie and Matty will be here?” I ask, suddenly anxious to have all of us together. “They shouldn’t be too far away, right?”
Footsteps sound down the hallway as if in answer and I turn in Antoine’s lap, a hopeful smile spreading across my face. Everything is going to be alright.
My smile falters when two police officers come into view. They give me and Antoine a cursory glance before making their way to the nurses station.
“We’re here to see a Mr Seth Baker,” I hear one of them tell a nurse from down the corridor.
The nurse says something in reply, the words too distant and far to be intelligible from the waiting room. Footsteps recede down the hall, out of sight. A door swings shut.
Antoine draws in a sharp breath.
I rise to my feet, staring down the hallway in panic, my phone clutched in my hand as I type out a reply to Liam’s message.
Me: We just saw some police officers arrive. They want to talk to Seth. What’s going on?
Three ellipses appear and disappear next to Liam’s name.
“They’re probably just here to interview him about the hit and run,” Antoine whispers, but his voice rises at the end as if he’s asking a question.
“Before he’s even able to see us?” I ask, craning my neck to peer down the hallway. As if somehow I can make the answer to the questions racing through my head appear from out of one of the doorways. “When he’s only just woken up?”
Those ellipses appear again, then disappear. I frown at my phone.
“What’s happened?”
I turn in relief at the sound of Eddie’s voice, at the sight of Eddie and Matty striding into the waiting room, bags of takeout clutched in their arms.
“The police are here?” Eddie deposits the paper bags on the seat beside Antoine, then shoots the pair of us a sharp look. “Why?”
“I think they’re questioning Seth,” Antoine starts to explain, but then Eddie’s phone rings.
Eddie pulls it free of his pocket, then widens his eyes in surprise. “It’s Liam.” He swipes to answer, then brings it to his ear. “Mate. What the hell is going on? Are the po-”
Liam’s voice sounds at the other end of the line. Eddie goes still.
“They want to talk to me? I wasn’t even there. How the fuck would-” Eddie’s words falter, his lips parting soundlessly as he listens to whatever Liam’s saying.
“Of course I’ve got that. No, why the fuck would I delete it? I mean, yeah, in theory.” Eddie scrubs at his face as he shoots me an unreadable look. “Don’t you think we should talk to Lily first, though? Or like, at least ask her? No, I get that. Yeah, obviously I don’t want to fucking protect that scumbag. I’m just saying…” Eddie frowns at his feet as he clutches the phone to his ear, then lets out a resigned sigh. “Yeah. Tell them I’ll come through.”
