“I’m staying here until he wakes up.” She stands by my side, facing our friends and family. “You can go or stay; it’s up to you. I understand everyone has their lives, and that’s okay. I appreciate you coming here. I’m sure Stephan would appreciate it too.”
Fuck this shit.Stephan.Why does she keep calling him Stephan?
Then it dawns on me. I haven’t even done a background check on him. He’s been with my sister—dare I say her boyfriend—and I haven’t even checked him out. I’m getting sloppy and too trusting.
“But,” Leila continues, “if you’re going to be sitting around here with sad faces, burying him before he’s even gone, please, leave. I can’t handle it right now. All we need,” she said ‘we,’ “is your support and positivity, not Debby Downers.”
Our father chuckles, “That’s my girl.”
“Jake,” she addresses him, voice firm; everyone’s breath hitches, “you saved his life, and I will be forever grateful. Thank you.”
He nods shyly and rolls his lips, not knowing what to do with all the attention he’s getting. Positive attention, for once. The old Jake would bask in this, but this Jake is on the shyer side. Maybe therapy really did him good.
I glance around the room—everyone’s looking between Jake and Leila, understanding that she just publicly accepted him, and they better not have any problems with that. The only hot, angry stare comes from Justin, and I feel a pang of surprise. I’d think it would be Kayla, since she was the one who suffered the most from him, but turns out, Justin hasn’t forgiven his brother for nearly ruining his relationship. Even though he did eighty percent of it on his own, if you ask me.
I move a little to her side, showing that I’ll always back her up, even if I have to smack someone around. There’s more than a decade between us, and when she was born, I always treated her gentler than my friends did their sisters. I’ve always felt closer to her. I still remember sleepless nights when I lulled her to sleep when she was teething and our mom was exhausted, or finding her in my bed when she had a nightmare and came to me; even as kids, she knew I would protect her.
And now I feel calm, knowing that I trust Archie to protect her.
And now he might not make it.
Fuck it, life is so unfair to the best of us.
About twenty minutes later, a nurse comes in and says that she can take one person to his room and the rest can visit once everything’s settled. Of course, it’s Leila. No one even questions her on that. She follows the nurse with a look of determination on her face, dead set on resurrecting him if she needs to.
Once she leaves, everyone collectively lets out a sigh.
Alex walks toward me, glancing at the door she just disappeared through.
“Was it bad?” he asks, his voice tight. I noticed that he looked bad himself, but I was too focused on Leila to offer Alex any support, hoping that he’d be fine on his own. Judging by his ashen face, I’m not so sure anymore.
I nod, unable to talk. I’ve seen those scenes before, but never with my sister and my friend involved. It’s hard.
“Do you think he’ll climb through?” His voice is even tighter.
“I fuckin’ hope so.”
He chews on his lip while watching his shoes. “I never made amends with him.”
I glance at Alex, not knowing if he expects reassurance or for me to somehow take away his guilt, but I can’t give that to him now.
“I was so fuckin’ angry that he’d disappear from my life that I said all that shit I didn’t mean.”
I find his eyes and hold them. “He would disappear without her, not the other way around.”
He gets what I mean. His throat works in a loud swallow as he nods in silent agreement.
“I’ve been there a few times.” His voice is rough. “When I came back, I’d been there.” His eyes dart away—he’s not present here, I don’t think. “It’s a tough place, and I think I missed the signs because I was too focused to go back there.”
I place my hand on his shoulder. “Don’t you dare carry this burden too. He’s good now; he’s got Leila.”
His gaze shifts toward the door where the nurse took Leila, and he flinches. “That’s another fuckin’ thing I’ve missed. If I just pressed the issue when I saw those fuckin’ prints around her house, he wouldn’t have been there.”
“That one is on me.” I squeeze his shoulder harder. “You told me about that, and I fucked it up.”
“You are n—”
“I can take one more person to his room now.” The nurse appears in the doorframe, and I jump into action, happy for the save.
