“What?”Henry squawked before I heard a flurry of activity on his side. “Thomas? Where’s my boss when I need him—”
“Henry, stop. I’m fine, I swear.”
“Then why are you in the hospital? What the fuck happened?” I could hear his voice changing with his location as he presumably went looking for his boss.
I tucked the phone between my shoulder and my ear so I could rub my temples. “There was a twister, Hen. It flattened the house. Everything’s gone.”
“Jesus, Daniel. But you said you’re fine, right?” There was a muffled noise before I heard Henry say, “Thomas, I gotta go. My brother’s in the hospital.”
“Henry, relax. You don’t need to come here. Be serious.”
“I am being serious, Dan. You’ll need help.”
Sighing, I gave up on holding the phone with my shoulder and dumped it on Marshall’s bed and switched it over to speaker.
“He said the house is gone. I don’t know. That’s why I need to leave.”
I bit my lip at the determination in my brother’s voice. It had been a long time since I’d heard him so obstinate about something. The recent arrival of his boyfriend, Blue, had obviously been good for him.
Someone spoke in the background, but not close enough to Henry’s phone that I could hear what was being said.
“I’ll let you know. It could be a few days.”
Jesus. He needed to settle down. “Henry—”
“No, Daniel. I’m coming. So will Blue once I tell him.”
I pressed my fingers into my temple again. “He doesn’t need to, Hen. Seriously. We’ll be fine.”
His voice wavered, letting me know he was on the move again. “Nope. The only reason I haven’t hung up on you to call Mom is because you still need to tell me why you’re in hospital.”
I sighed and looked at Marshall, squeezing his hand, wishing once more that he’d feel the worry through my grip and it would make him wake up. My bottom lip quivered when the love I felt for Marshall made itself known in my heart.
And itwaslove. I was sure of it now. I’d felt a fraction of this visceral need for Marshall only once before in my life—the day I married Jackson.
What I felt for Marshall, however, was violent. Vital to my continued existence.
I needed him more than my next breath.
And I would tell him exactly that and continue to tell him that every day for the rest of our lives as soon as he woke up.
Please wake up, baby.
“I understand now, Hen,” I said softly.
“What?”
“How you fell so quickly for Blue.”
A long pause. Even the background noise fell away as Henry stopped to absorb my words. “What do you mean, Dan?”
I swallowed hard, choking back a sob when I felt tears well in my eyes. “I met someone, Hen.”
Another pause, but the background noise picked back up again, this time with a heavy door opening and closing before the heavy echo of footsteps on concrete. “You have?”
“His name’s Marshall.” I leaned far enough forward to reach Marshall’s cheek with my free hand, ever so gently caressing his soft skin. “And I love him, Hen.” A violent sob ripped out of me. “He’s the one in hospital because hewon’t wake up. He won’t wake up, Henry.Why won’t he wake up?”
The tears flowed freely now, tracking down my cheeks as I picked up Marshall’s hand and pressed his palm to my lips.“Why won’t you wake up, baby? Please wake up….”
