Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Gabriella sighs, and shakes her head, then a tear rolls down her cheek.
Fuck. As quickly as I can move, I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, kissing her forehead as she sobs. “I just…I thought I could trust her, and now it feels like there’s no one in my life I can trust.” Her words cut more than they should.
“What about us, Gab? You can trust us.”
“Can I? You’re happy lying as much as my mom.”
“As much as you…” I remind her. “I would never lie to you, Gab. But I’d lie to protect you. I’d lie to keep you safe. I’d lie to keep you in my life. We’d all do anything for you, Gab. Don’t you know that?”
She tips her face to mine, her forest green eyes searching. I don’t know what she’s looking for in my gaze. I don’t know if she’ll find it either. “Blake,” she whispers as she sags exhausted against me.
I bend to kiss her sweet mouth, wanting her to feel how much I care for her. Wanting to let all my love for this woman linger on her lips and rest on the tip of her tongue. And she kisses me back, her tears making our sweet kisses salty. I don’t know if she’s accepting my affection as a balm to soothe her or just as a distraction, but for now, with everything shifting beneath our feet, it will have to be enough.
Until someone clears their throat behind us.
Gabriella stiffens, pulling away from me so quickly I unbalance and jerk forward in her wake. We both turn at the same time, finding Travis standing a few feet away from us, his eyes dark, his expression blank. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and in that time he’s cropped his blond hair short, and grown a light brown beard that’s hardened his jaw. He’s filled out too, like the environment in Germany suits him.
“Travis.” I stand as my guilty heart skitters in my chest, crossing the short space between us as I would have done if he hadn’t just witnessed me kissing his sister.
“Blake,” he says. His voice is clipped, and his nostrils flare as he inhales a deep breath. I expect him to punch me in the face or shout obscenities about touching his sister, but he doesn’t. He pulls me into a fierce embrace, banging me on the back with the flat of his hand, and I’m so stunned, I almost lose my balance against him.
“Fuck, Travis. You got here so quickly.”
“I jumped on the first plane,” he says. “Fuck.”
I draw back and turn to face Kain, seeing what Travis is seeing. My brother, skin pallid, his chest moving in a jerky rhythmic cycle that makes him seem more machine than human.
Gab is frozen, standing with the backs of her legs against her chair, staring at her brother. She watches as Travis rests his hand on Kain’s blanket-covered foot.
“Kain,” he rasps. “It’s me, Travis. What the fuck have you gone and done now?”
I snort, shaking my head. “Fucked himself up, that’s what.” My voice feels overloud, inflated by nerves.
“You’ve got to wake up, Kain,” Travis says. “Seeing you this way is killing us. You’ve got so much to live for, bro. And I’ve just spent a fucking fortune on coming to visit, so it would be nice if you were actually awake.”
We all start to laugh then, like the slightly unhinged laughter of people who are all on the brink of crying.
I tell Travis to sit where Gab was sitting, and as he makes his way around the bed, he hugs his sister. When he sits, taking Kain’s hand in his own, Gabriella rests her hand on his shoulder. She’s still wearing Ellie’s engagement ring, but Travis doesn’t notice. He accepts her comfort as he talks to Kain, searching for words that might reach him through the darkness.
And Gabriella and I stand by with fear in our hearts that when Kain wakes up, Travis won’t be so forgiving and everything will shatter, driving a wedge between our families for good.
25
GABRIELLA
By the time morning comes, Kain is still sedated and me, Travis, and Blake are wrung out from no sleep and the stress of taking turns to watch Kain’s heartbeat monitor, willing the next beat to come.
Dalton and Lukas return, and we swap our watch shifts, exchanging exhausted hugs and passing on the news of no change. Dalton’s navy eyes are heavy with worry, the burden of being the oldest brother responsible for consoling their father resting firmly on his shoulders. Lukas doesn’t appear as though he slept a wink, the shadows under his eyes cave-like in their hollowness. I need Blake to hold my hand as we leave the hospital, but he can’t. Not with Travis walking slowly beside us.