Page 160 of Luxe

“Good. You’re safe now, angel.”

And that’s the last thing before he collapses against me, his back drenched with blood.

“Kylian! Oh, my god. Kylian! Say something!”

But sometimes, it’s too late.

And there’s nothing left to say.

**

It should go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway, I hate hospitals.

The beeping, the fluorescent lights, the sterilized stench.

But the worst thing is the not knowing. The limbo, the half-held breath.

The total lack of control.

The knowing that the lives of your loved ones are in the hands of someone you can’t even see.

But I pray anyway.

To anyone who’s listening.

To anyone who might have council with whoever is watching over Kylian’s life.

“Kiara!”

I don't even look up. The person I want to call my name is lying in an operating theatre. So, what’s the point?

“Kiara…”

“What are you going here, Nathan?”

“What do you mean, what are you doing here? Kylian has been shot. Where else would I be?”

Based on the last two months, literally anywhere else.

“Can I get you something?”

“I don’t know what you’re doing here but if you’re going to stay, please just let me sit in silence.”

He doesn’t move but he also doesn’t say anything.

The hours drip by like a Dali painting, having no meaning. At some point, I hear my name again. But Nathan is still sitting next to me, so it can’t be him. Out of sheer curiosity, I look up.

It’s My-Linh, Damien, and another man who looks like he could be Kylian’s twin.

“Damien. Matthias. Hi, My-Linh,” Nathan says standing up to greet them.

When I don’t say anything, My-Linh sits down next to me. She doesn’t say anything, just takes my hand and squeezes it. I squeeze it back and sit there in silence. A sisterhood of women who love a Baxter man.

I must doze off at some point, because My-Linh is gently shaking me.

“Kiara, honey, the doctor’s coming.”

I jump up.

---