soon as he’s ready, two of you can go in.”
“His parents.” I nodded to Cole. “I’ll wait. They really need to see their son.”
He reached out and gave my arm an understanding squeeze before he tuned in to Mark.
Sue went off to visit Daniel in recovery, reassuring Cole he would be next. She returned in happy tears and hugged Cole briefly before he left to pay Daniel his own visit. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall in that room, as I’d heard about how Daniel switched places with Mike before it all happened. I imagined Cole would have a few things to say on the subject.
“I’m sure you’ll get to see John soon.” Mike leaned into me. “We all knew he was too tough to lose that easily.” He shifted before he said what I suspected he really wanted to say. “Ah, I just wanted to say how well you fit in at Blackstone. You can keep confidences, and I respect that.”
“Thanks.” I tried to sound thankful for the compliment, but my head was still stuck in a panic loop. I wasn’t prepared for all this to happen. Daniel, John, Ellie’s meltdown, and now Mike knew a secret John wouldn’t be all right with.
“Sloane?” Sue’s warm touch pulled me from my internal chaos. “I think John would really like to see you now.”
“Really? Thank you.” I forced a smile and swiped my shaky hands down my shirt. I headed out the door and down the long hallway then stood outside of room 506. My hands were cold, so I tried to warm them against my legs before I pushed the heavy door open and stopped short.
I wasn’t naïve. I knew he would look pale and tired, but I wasn’t prepared to see him hooked up to a machine, with an IV stuck in his arm and bandages wrapped around his midsection. His gown was hiked up like he had just been examined. It was a shock to see him this way. I was terrified to approach the bed but forced myself to move.
His eyes fluttered open, and he squinted to see who his third visitor was.
“Hi,” I barely whispered and fought the need to cry. Today had been an emotional roller coaster, and the fact that I knew he’d eventually return to that hell didn’t help.
He shifted and pressed his finger against the button to raise his bed. Once he got comfortable, he motioned for me to come closer. My feet betrayed me, and I couldn’t get them to move.
“Sloane,” he cleared his throat but sounded extremely groggy, “come here.”
My traitorous feet finally gave in, and I went to his side. He tried to motion for me to lie next to him, but instead I held on to his hand and pulled the chair next to him. We stayed like that for a while, and then he drifted off to sleep, and I was left with the horrible beeping sound of the heart monitor.
Chapter Thirteen
John
As the heart monitor faded from my consciousness, I slipped into a more pleasant memory from my childhood.
“John!” Ellie popped up from behind a rock covered in mud with a shit-eating grin. “Whatcha looking at?”
I rolled my eyes and jabbed her in the ribs as I moved to join her behind the rock. “Just scopin’ the Maverick boys, waiting for the perfect moment to attack them.” I showed her the homemade mud balls I’d made earlier.
“Maverick boys,” she narrowed her gaze in on me, “or Maverick sister?” She giggled, and I jabbed her side again. She yelped but continued to laugh.
“Shhh,” I warned and waited for the little shits to move closer. Tyler, Elliot, and Josh were the new kids on the block and thought they owned the woods around our property. It was time to set things straight.
“Look, there’s Bethany,” my sister whispered over my shoulder. “You have a mud ball for her too, right?”
“Yup,” I lied and shook her hand off my shoulder. “I’ll get Elliot and Josh, and you take out Tyler.”
“And Bethany?”
“She’s all yours,” I muttered.
“Yes.” She moved into place, and we both waited.
“One,” they came closer, “two,” they stopped like they always did to claim their space, “three.” I stood and biffed the mud ball with all my might at Elliot’s back.
“What the hell?” He whirled around when Ellie stood and nailed Tyler and Bethany square in the face. Both kids fell to the ground with a cry. I nailed Josh in the neck and high