Hayden (A Next Generation Carter Brother #4) - Lisa Helen Gray Page 0,122
kiss my forehead as Mum rushes to the other side of me. “I’ll give these some room and go wait in the waiting area.”
“I’m sorry, Mav,” Dad chokes out, his eyes glassing over.
Maverick stops in front of him. “You were right. I should have told you.”
“No, I, um…” He stares at Mum, gulping. “I overreacted. Kind of. I mean, she’s my daughter. I had a right to get mad.”
Maverick stops Dad, pulling him in for a hug. “Forgive me.”
“Dude, I’m a married man,” Dad yells, forcing a laugh when Maverick turns red at all the eyes watching on.
“Love you too, dickhead.”
“Honey, you need to stop doing these things. It’s not good for my health,” Mum stresses, kissing the good side of my head.
“I’m sorry, Mum.”
“You didn’t say sorry to me,” Dad grumbles.
“Leave her alone, Max. Can’t you see she’s injured?”
“See it? The entire fucking hospital can see it,” he booms.
“Dad,” I groan, wincing at the pounding in my head.
Mum bursts out crying, and I shake my head. “Mum, I’m fine.”
“I can’t keep going through this. I’ll never make it without you. Without any of my kids.”
“What about me?” Dad argues, sitting up.
“Mum?” I call out, smiling.
“I can’t. I can’t lose you. Any of you,” she wails, clutching my hand.
“And me, right?” Dad asks, his voice getting a little louder. He looks utterly dejected.
“I’m fine, Mum. I promise. And it’s not something I plan on ever going through again. Running through rain, in a forest when it’s pitch black, is not as easy as it looks. Movies fucking lie. I have a whole new view on horror movies now. I understand why those fuckers die or get found,” I rant, my sore legs reminding of the hell I went through. “Running! Running gets them fucking killed.”
“Oh, baby,” Mum cries.
“And I’m hungry. Really hungry,” I declare, resting back on my pillow. “I’ve not eaten all night.”
Mum looks out of the room, searching for someone. “Let me go ask a doctor if you can eat.” She gets up, leaning down to kiss me. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Mum.”
Dad rests his elbows on the bed. “She meant me too, right?”
I chuckle at his downcast expression. “Dad, I love you too.”
“I know you do. But, girl, hear me when I say this, don’t do this shit again. You’re small, and you’re mighty, but you’re not invincible. Tonight could have gone seriously wrong, and call me selfish, but I’d rather you die old, in bed, and not over something that isn’t your fight.”
“Dad, you don’t mean that,” I remind him, giving him a pointed look. He always told us to fight for what we believed in, even if it was to save the lives of ants.
“No. Yes. No.” He shakes his head, groaning. “What you did was brave, yes, but, girl, it was dangerous. You could have come to any one of us for help.”
“I know,” I whisper, flashes of images running through my head of the knife JJ held.
“I’m pissed at you for not coming to me, but I understand your need to do this alone. I’m just so fucking glad you’re okay. If anything ever happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
“I’m sorry, Dad.”
“Is this a bad time?” Clayton asks, stepping through the curtain.
“Yes,” Dad answers.
I smile. “No.”
He heads over to the space where Mum was just standing, dropping a drink on the cabinet next to the bed.
Dad leans down, kissing my head. “I’ll go see what’s taking your mum so long.”
“You’re going to get food, aren’t you?”
He grins. “I burnt off my daily calories chasing after you through the woods. What did you expect? I’m a growing man.”
I chuckle. “You don’t count calories.”
“I don’t need to. I just know,” he tells me, turning to leave.
“Wait,” I call out. “I stabbed a guy. Will I be arrested?”
Dad frowns, walking back over to me and grabbing my hand. “No. It was self-defence. And even if it wasn’t, those fuckers have enough on their hands explaining a dirty cop.” Sighing, he gives my hand a squeeze. “And if it were me, I would have stabbed him in the chest. You kind of dropped the ball there.”
“Really?” Clayton mutters dryly.
“Are the police here?”
“They are. They need to ask a few questions, but Beau has got them to come back later in the day for a full statement.”