Until Harry - L.A. Casey Page 0,90
became aware of everything.
My heartbeat.
The churning in my stomach.
The sweat gathering in the palms of my hands.
“Laney Baby,” he murmured, and lifted his hand to my face. “I’m so sorry.”
Shut up, my mind screamed.
I shook my head. “It’s not true.”
“She died, kid,” he whispered. “Her injuries were too much for her to overcome.”
I gripped onto my stomach when it lurched. “I’m going to be sick,” I muttered.
I felt his arms come around me. One second I was in the sitting room with my family, and the next I was running up the stairs with Kale right on my heels. I made it into the bathroom just in time to vomit into the toilet. Kale was holding my hair back for me with one hand and rubbing my back with the other.
When I was finished, I sat back on my heels and took the tissue Kale offered me. I wiped my mouth, threw the tissue in the toilet and flushed it. I went still then and just repeated what Kale had said about Lavender over and over in my mind.
She died, kid.
“I have to go to the hospital,” I said to Kale without looking at him. “I have to see Lavender.”
Kale helped me to my feet and held onto my arm tightly as we descended the stairs. I walked straight to the front door and opened it, causing a stir behind me.
“Where is she going?” my mother asked, her voice rising an octave.
Kale sighed. “She wants to go to the hospital.”
My mother began to cry again, and I didn’t know why, but it was annoying me, so I walked out of the house and waited by my brother’s car. Lochlan came outside and unlocked the doors, so I got inside and sat in the back seat, buckling my seatbelt.
Both my brother and Kale got into the car, and neither of them spoke to each other, or to me, as Lochlan backed out of the garden and drove to the hospital. It was the longest car journey of my life, but in reality it was only a few minutes. When we got there, Kale came into the hospital with me and did the talking at reception when I just stared at the lady who was asking me stupid questions.
He got permission for us to go to the family room at the back of the hospital near the morgue, and we walked together in silence.
“Say something, Lane,” he pleaded.
I swallowed. “I have to see Lavender.”
We came to a door with “Family Room” printed very clearly on it, and Kale lightly knocked. A few seconds later, a man opened the door, a man with bloodshot, swollen eyes, a man who was Lavender’s father.
“Mr Grey,” I whispered when I walked into the family room.
Mrs Grey, who was sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by some other women, looked up when I entered the room, and when she saw me, she burst into tears and got to her feet. I instantly walked to her and encased her in my arms, holding her body to mine.
“She’s gone, Lane,” she cried into my chest.
My heart squeezed with pain, but for some reason, no tears came.
Not even one.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, and gently swayed her from side to side.
I sat down next to Mrs Grey and her other family members while Kale hovered by the doorway, watching me with a sad expression. I turned my focus from him to Lavender’s family, and I listened as they spoke about what happened to her.
She was driving home from her shift at work, and a drunk driver ran a red light and slammed into the driver’s side of her car, causing a blow to her temple that killed her instantly. My stomach threatened to revolt as I listened to the details that the police passed on to Lavender’s family, so I tried to block them out.
“Mrs Grey,” I said.
She looked at me.
“May I see her?” I asked, praying she wouldn’t deny me.
Her lower lip wobbled as she nodded. “We’ve seen her already, she doesn’t look injured at all.”
I stood up and asked, “Where do I go?”
Kale cleared his throat. “I’ll bring you. I saw a sign pointing to the morgue.”
I hugged Lavender’s parents, said goodbye to her family, then left the room with Kale. We followed signs to the morgue, and when we reached it, I told the man outside the double doors that I had permission to see Lavender.
I gave him her full name, and he passed the