"Kayden isn't really my friend," I said, but it was too late, the truth was out there for anyone else to put things together.
"So why…" Micah began, but Jace interrupted.
"You were here before them?” he asked in surprise.
I stared Moira dead in the eyes. “Ask me again if I want children of my own, please."
Her eyes slid between Jace and me, and though I didn't see what his expression was, her annoyance disappeared. I didn't know how well she could read Jace, but there was no question that she could read me completely from the inside out. Exactly what she plucked from my head wasn't known, but I watched her reach out and draw Micah closer. She gave me a meaningful look before speaking. “C'mon, Micah, let's go see if we can meet Kayden's parents."
Micah frowned as he was gently pulled away. “I said something again, didn't I?"
"You did," Moira chuckled.
"Was it bad?"
"No, I'd say it was just enough. Let's let them talk, alright?"
"I never understand what's happening."
"If it makes you feel any better, none of us do."
"It doesn't."
"Right," I muttered, wondering if maybe I’d be better off if I’d spent more time in Portland. My time would probably have been better spent, or at least less stressful.
Still not looking at Jace despite feeling the intensity of his stare, I decided to keep walking. There was no way I would get back to my apartment in the sleep-deprived state I was in, but I could get a ride to the hotel and crash there. Moira already had the car keys, so it wasn't like I'd be stranding her or forcing her to find a ride of her own.
"Mason," Jace called as I strode down the hallway, and I fell back with a sigh.
"Yes?" Because, of course, I wasn't going to get away without more drama being thrown into the mix.
"Were you really here before you got Moira and Micah?” he asked, coming up beside me.
"I…" What else was I supposed to do? I kept walking, but Jace kept pace with me. "Alright, fine, yes. I showed up last night. I confirmed the two of you were here, hung around for a bit, and then remembered that it was my sister's boyfriend. I woke her up to tell her. Then I went and got her, brought her and Micah here, and then hung around in case they wanted to leave before it was too late."
"Right, you hung around for hours even though you knew they were going to stick around for a while."
"That's what I said."
"And you took all night to call her?"
"Yes."
"Right."
"Yeah."
"You're an ass."
My temper flared, and I turned, bumping into him with my chest by accident but rolling with it as he took a mildly alarmed step away from me. "What? Did you want me to say I barely slept after you left the other night because I knew something was wrong, but you weren't going to tell me? Or that I figured it had to do with Kayden, since my sister and nephew were okay? And even when I didn't hear from her about it, I figured it was still Kayden because you'd be the sort of person who’d keep that shit to himself because he'd forget all about everyone else?"
Hurt and guilt flashed over his face. “Because that's exactly what I did?"
The self-awareness dialed some of my anger back, but it didn't slow me down. “Or that I had to call around to figure out if he was a patient in the numerous hospitals in Cresson Point? Do you know how many there are? It took hours until I found this one. Had to lie and pretend to be his stepbrother so they'd confirm he was here. And yeah, I found that you were here, and I saw the bad shape he was in and saw you keeping vigil. And so, yeah, I stuck around just in case something went wrong after surgery. Once I was sure he was probably going to be okay and wouldn't die while I was gone, I went and got Moira and Micah. And I stuck around to make sure everyone was doing okay, but I was getting ready to leave in another hour or so when you came stomping into the lounge. So there, does that make you happy? Are you thrilled? Excited?"
"I didn't stomp," he muttered sullenly.
Mentally, I threw up my hands. “Fine, whatever. There, now you know. Go see your best friend, I'm glad he's alive and will be up to annoy you soon."
