“Evan…” I try to intervene. I don’t like the way this conversation is heading.
“We’ll take care of her,” he concludes.
“We?” Martin asks through his teeth.
Ryan steps closer to Evan and places a hand on his shoulder.
“We.”
And my heart latches onto that word with all the strength I can muster, with all the longing that has suddenly become a reality.
* * *
We letourselves in and Evan leads me right over to the sofa.
“Would you rather stay here or go upstairs?”
“I’ll be fine here.”
“How’s your head?”
“Hammering. It’s like having an electric drill in my brain.”
“Dad gave me these. He said you should take them,” he says, handing me two pills from the container.
“Here’s your water,” Ryan says, passing me a bottle.
I swallow the pills and take a few sips, then fall back onto the sofa.
“Are you comfy?” Evan asks again. “Do you need any more cushions?”
“I’m tired. I think I’ll just try closing my eyes for a while,” I say, relaxing now, happy to finally be home. “But first I should call Granny and Granddad.”
“I already called them this morning. They wanted to come to the hospital, but I told them you were being discharged. They should be here any minute.”
“Oh, God.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with them.”
“You’re dealing with too much, you’re only young. I should be the one taking care of you.”
“Well, right now, you need me.”
I smile at him, but I’m already too tired to argue. What the hell did Martin give me? Horse tranquiliser?
I close my eyes, falling into a soft, relaxing sleep, forgetting just for a moment what happened, and what’s going on now.
* * *
“And who are you?”
In the distance, I hear familiar voices, and force my eyes open.
“This is Ryan, Granny.”
“Ryan…?”
“Ryan O’Connor.”
