Damaged (Boys of Winter #2) - Sheridan Anne Page 0,152
against his chest as he lays awake, staring up at the dark ceiling. I finally got him into bed at five this morning, but we’ve both just laid here, neither of us saying a word as we soak in one another’s comfort.
I’ve drifted in and out of sleep over the past few hours, but I don’t think King has even closed his eyes to blink, he’s just stared up at the ceiling with his hand propped behind his head.
“Are you alright?” I murmur into the quiet room, placing my hand on top of his and lacing our fingers, holding him as tight as I possibly can. I can’t even begin to imagine what he must be feeling, watching his father fall like that … fuck, it broke him. I’ve never seen devastation like that before.
“No,” he grumbles as a sliver of morning sunlight begins to shine through my bedroom window. “But that doesn’t matter. I’ll figure it out and learn how to cope, but my little brother and sister … I just … Mom’s going to have to tell them this morning and I can’t stop thinking about how this is going to destroy them. Dad always treated me as an heir. Our relationship was strained, but with the twins … they got to have the relationship that I always dreamed about. They were just his kids, not his protégé, and they fucking loved him. They’re never going to be the same.”
I roll over, curling into his side and raising my head to meet his broken stare. “I haven’t met your little brother, but from what I saw of Caitlin last night, it’s clear that she’s strong just like you. She’s a survivor. She’s going to be alright because she has you watching out for her, and honestly, I couldn’t think of anything better.”
King’s arms just tighten around me, holding me as though I’m his only lifeline. “I don’t know about that,” he whispers into the quiet room before dropping the softest kiss to my temple. “I couldn’t think of anything worse for them.”
“You’re wrong,” I murmur. “They’re going to lean on you. They’re going to need you more than ever before, and you’re going to be everything they need. They know you’re hurting because they feel it too. They don’t need you to replace your father, all they need is for you to tell them that everything is going to be alright, wrap your arms around them, and tell them that you’re never going to leave them.”
“What if I let them down?”
I shake my head. “That’s not possible.”
King lets out a sigh and buries his face into my hair. He’s so fucking broken that it kills me, and seeing him like that last night just proved to me that I’d do absolutely anything to make sure that he never has to feel like that again.
Taking his hand, I scoot to the edge of the bed and pull him up beside me. “Come on,” I tell him, getting to my feet and turning around to look at him sitting on the edge of my bed, looking exhausted as shit, while also knowing that he’ll refuse to sleep until he physically can’t stay awake anymore. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“The hospital.” His brows furrow as I cross my room and grab a pair of pants and a tank. I quickly pull them on before looking back at him and explaining myself. “You said that your mom is going to have to tell them this morning, so now is your last chance to see them before their worlds change for the worse. Put on a smile and go tell Caitlin how fucking strong she is and how proud you are of how she handled herself last night. Soak up her light and laugh with her because for a little while, you might not get a chance to hear it again.”
King just nods and offers me his hand. I take it and give a light tug and he gets up beside me, dropping another kiss to my forehead. His hand falls away from mine as he crosses the room and grabs the sweatpants and shirt that he left here last week.
Within seconds, he’s walking out the door and I follow him out, knowing that while we have every intention of going to the hospital to make his little sister laugh, it might just be one of the hardest things he’ll ever have to do.
With his car still parked in his garage at home, King goes straight