Page 68 of Secret

"No, he doesn't. I love him," I say,wanting her to know how I feel. I trust her.

"I know. I never liked him being friends with your brothers because I knew they were fighting. The town is small and people talk, if you’re wondering how I knew. My son is a good man and stood by them as a friend when they needed it."She smiles at me, looking distant again.

"He is a good man, the best,"I agree.

"I will speak to Blake tonight and tell him what I know."She lets go of my hand to stand.

"Can you tell me about my mother when she was younger."I stop her from leaving with my words.

"Yes, I would love to, and I'm so sorry about her passing. She was such a kind person, and she didn’t deserve that ending."She exhales with a small tear leaving her eye. She must have cared about my mum more than I realised.

"I believe she always loved my father. Mum never dated anyone else, and she gave me a necklace. Mum told me the only man she ever loved gave it to her." I sit up on the bed a little as I talk.

"Was it a blue sapphire?"Her eyes widen in recognition.

"Yes," I whisper, with tears in my eyes as she confirms my thoughts.

"Your dad gave it to her for her sixteenth birthday, he told her it was his mother’s. Lisa told me all about it, she must have loved him very much,"she says sadly.

I start to cry then, and she pulls me into a side hug, gently rubbing my back.

"What's going on?” a dark voice says, and I look up to see Elliot in the doorway. I wipe my tears as he looks at us, worried as hell.

"I'm good, just a little emotional, but nothing to worry about." I smile at his relieved face. I think he was panicked he would have to comfort me.My all black-leather wearing, motorcycle driving, bulk of muscle brother is scared of girls’ tears. The thought makes me chuckle in my head.

"Right, I’ll leave you with your brother. I look forward to chatting with you soon, so get well, honey." She kisses the top of my head and walks out.

Elliot takes the seat she emptied and looks at me as he sets his motorcycle helmet on the floor under the chair. "I'm sorry this happened to you. We should have protected you more," he says eventually, sounding a lot like Luke, but he looks at the floor as he says it.

"It's not anyone's fault but Arthur's. I'm really okay," I say and take his hand. Elliot tenses before relaxing a little at my touch.

"Are you sure? I still want to go kill the fucker," he says and looks at me.

I can see the caring look in his eyes, and I start to cry again. "Fuck, don't cry," he says, and it makes me laugh a little at how nervous he looks.

"It’s just, I wasn't aware how much you cared about me." I laugh, still calming down as he smiles at me. It’s a weird smile because I’ve only seen him smile a handful of times, and they’ve always been because of a joke made by my brothers.

"Then I should be sorry. You’re my sister. It's just that I have a hard time dealing with shit. That's nothing to do with how much I care about you, sis." He bites out the nickname that Luke and Sebastian use. It makes me laugh out loud, and he smirks at me. "I just came to check on you. Do you want anything?” he asks.

"I would love some good sandwiches, or anything other than hospital food," I say honestly, as the food is terrible, and I’ve even tried to eat it because I don't want to seem like a spoiled person. But when they gave me liver and lumpy mash last night, I just couldn't eat it.

“I can do that. I’ll be back soon," he says and walks out.

My phone buzzes.

Sexiest man alive: I miss you. My mum’s car broke down so I'm waiting for the garage to pick it up before I can come to see you. I miss you, did I say that ;). Xx

Me: I miss you too, and I know, your mum came to see me. We had a long chat. She is going to tell you all about it. I love you, Blake xx

Him: the chat was good, right? I love you more. Xx

Me: yes, see you soon xx

My door bursts open as I put my phone down and bangs against the wall, making me flinch.

"How is my bestie?" Allie says as she bounces in and sits on the end of the bed. Allie found out about the supposed car crash the next morning and didn't leave my side all the next day. I was impressed, she even said ‘no’ to Blake begging her to go so he could spend time with me.

"I’m feeling good. Just want to go home,"I reply.

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