Page 56 of Chasing Blue
I openmy eyes with a jolt, and they instantly land on my son leaning against the wall at the end of my bed. He’s standing in the exact same spot, in the exact same pose my brother was last night, this morning, or whenever the fuck it was he was last here.
Sensing movement next to me, my eyes slide to the side to find my sister sitting in a chair next to my bed. Shannon’s standing behind her, leaning into his elbows on the back of the chair.
My brain is hit with a million different reasons why they would all be here, and my hands move to my chest. I pat and feel it and at the same time, I wiggle my fingers and toes.
“What?” I ask as my gaze slices to each of them. “What’s wrong? Why you all here?”
Shannon smiles and winks at me as Amelia starts to laugh. “Did you catch her?” she asks.
“What, who? What time is it? Can I go home yet?” I question.
“You were talking in your sleep. You said you had to chase her, something about blue, and then right before you woke up, you said, you’re always chasing blue.”
I look from Milly to Shann, then to my kid as I shake my head. “No idea,” I lie as Shannon makes a choking sound before turning it into a cough, during which I swear I hear the word ‘bullshit’ hidden.
I ignore that because my kid has moved closer to the bed. “You okay?” he asks, and I don’t miss the fact his lips tremble as he speaks. I lift my arm and beckon him forward with a chin lift.
He’s almost eighteen, so I don’t get too many cuddles or much emotion from him these days, but we’re tight, and I’ve raised him to know it’s okay for a man to cry.
“I’m fine, mate. Honestly, I’m good,” I assure him as he leans in, and I wrap my arms around him as best I can from my bed.
I let him stay there for as long as he needs, and when he eventually pulls always, his brows are no longer pulled down and together over his eyes.
“Time to hang up your gloves, old man,” he says as he takes my chin in his hand and tilts my head to the side as he shakes his.
“Don’t you start. I didn’t even know the bloke was there, practically walked into his fist as I pushed Blue behind . . .”
“Oh, so Blue’s a person. Interesting,” my sister doesn’t miss a beat, and I narrow my eyes on her.
“Tell me why you’re here again?” I ask.
“Brought you clothes.” She holds up my gym bag. “And we came to take you home, but you were out cold when we got here . . .”
“Thought someone had punched you again,” Shannon interjects.
“Oh, you’re fucking funny. Maybe you should add comedian to your repertoire, see if Netflix will give you a show doing stand-up.”
He blows me a kiss as I flip him my middle finger.
“So, I’m allowed home?” I question as I sit up straighter. “What time is it?”
“Just after four. We’ve been here about an hour waiting for you to wake up,” Finn tells me.
“Shit, four?” I shake my head. “I slept a long time.” I reach for my phone sitting on the cupboard thing next to my bed, wondering if Scarlett’s been in touch because I’m pretty sure we made plans to meet up this morning. My stomach pitches when I realise it’s dead.
“Anyone got a charger with them?” I ask, holding up my phone. “I think the nurse was gonna find me one, but I obviously crashed out before that happened.”
My brother holds his phone up in response.
“I gave her my number, and I have hers. Messaged her earlier to let her know what’s happening. She said she’ll call you later.”
I give him a chin lift but don’t say anything. I haven’t spoken to Finn yet about Scarlett, mostly because until last night, there was nothing to say. I don’t really know what there is to say today.
We’d both been drinking last night, and I don’t remember much of what was said—that could also have something to do with the blow to the head I received thanks to her prick of an ex—but I do remember we were going to talk today, and hopefully put the past behind us.
The only piece of machinery I’m still hooked up to is the blood pressure monitor, and the cuff tightens around my bicep as all of this runs through my head.
“Scarlett’s the interior design bird, right? The redhead with the arse and . . .”
