leaning against the wall as if she’s having a panic attack and her aunt follows.
“What the hell happened here, Julian?” John questions, turning to look at me, a thunderous look on his face. “They’re saying a car, your car—”
No need for the emphasis, the visual is clear and vivid in my head.
“—went up in flames by those dangerous cliffs. Now, rumor has it that there’s an illegal street race thing that happens on that strip of asphalt. Please tell me that’s not how your brother got involved in an accident.”
His faux concern makes me grin.
“Ahh, is that worry I hear in your voice, Dad?” I mock, watching him back. “That little speech almost had me believing that you actually care for your children.”
“Julian, no matter what kind of monster you think I am, I’m still your father and I do care about you and Liam…”
“Like you did for Aiden?” I prompt. “Yeah, sure you do.”
“What happened with Aiden—” John starts, a pained look on his face.
“Fitzgerald family?” A doctor walks into the waiting room. I don’t stay to listen to whatever shit my father has to say. I quickly rush to the doctor.
“Yes. Is my brother alright?” I demand.
“You must be his older brother, Julian.” The doctor smiles, a look of recognition lighting his eyes. I know that look from anywhere. He’s a football lover. He looks to my left and notices Cole too. “You must be Cole Perry. Wow, it’s an honor to meet you both in person.”
“Yes, my brother?” I prompt, more than a little impatient.
“Oh yes.” The man shakes his head, then looks to my father. “You must be the great John Fitzgerald.”
The guy is a bright genius. John nods but doesn’t say anything, a look of irritation on his face.
“Your son, as you know, was involved in an accident that could have killed him. He dove out of the car before the car went up in flames—from what I was told by your cousin.” The doctor looks around. “Where did she go?”
“Cousin?” I start, with a frown on my face.
“Yes, the girl that came in with him,” the doctor says.
Fucking Mia.
“She’s not…” I start but my father effectively steps in.
“Oh yes, she went to get some air, Doctor. Please continue,” the asshole says smoothly.
“Poor young lady was in shock when she got here. Please let her know that we can still give her something for that if she changes her mind.”
What the actual hell?
“My brother, Doc!” I growl. “Is he okay?”
“Oh yes. His left arm’s broken, and he’s got four fractured ribs on his left side. Those were his worst injuries.” He looks serious for a moment, watching all three of us. “When your son dove out of the car, his body landed on a bed of rocks. As it is, one of those rocks was found at the base of his head. Thank God the paramedics moved him, after being warned of this by your cousin. It was so dark, the medics wouldn’t have seen that and would have forgone bracing your son, which would have inevitably led to your son being paralyzed.”
Holy shit, she was right. In my haze of anger and shock, I didn’t even see the rocks.
“Since your son was unconscious when he got here, your cousin told us that Liam is asthmatic, which is important information, since he did not have his inhaler on him when he was brought in.”
“Yes, my son is asthmatic, but he hasn’t needed his pump in a while,” John says and I roll my eyes.
“Actually, he runs out of breath, but only in the morning, otherwise he breathes just fine,” I step in. How the fuck did Mia know that?
“So, he’s alright?” A soft, concerned voice comes from behind me. We all turn around to see Mia and her aunt standing there, both of them looking tense and frigid.
“Yes, young lady. You were very heroic today.” The doctor smiles at her. She looks down as if shy, but I know better. Girls like her crave attention and praise.
Narrowing my eyes at her, I hold her gaze when she looks up. I hate heroes with a passion. Especially when they’re the authors of calamity and chaos.
“All things considered, your brother will be alright. He’s sleeping right now, but before he passed out, he did say your name, Julian.” The doctor says. “I’ll let you see him soon.”
“How long will he need to stay here?” I question.
“I’d say just a few days, maybe a week, to monitor his