His Wife's Sister by Wills A J

Author:Wills, A J
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cherry Tree Publishing
Published: 2020-05-06T16:00:00+00:00

32

Damian slept fitfully, painfully aware of the aching emptiness in the bed as he lay worrying about Dylan and how he'd lost his temper in front of April. And yet when his alarm sounded, he had to force himself to wake up having finally fallen into a dreamless sleep. He rose feeling groggy, his eyes heavy. He checked his phone. No missed messages from Lucia which he took as good news.

April was already dressed by the time he'd showered and shaved. She ran downstairs full of boundless joy, and as they ate breakfast together at the kitchen table, she chatted incessantly about inconsequential nonsense, never once mentioning how she'd caught him with his fist raised to Mara. But then she didn't even ask after Dylan or question why her mother was absent, although since Lucia had returned to work, April had become increasingly accepting that Lucia wasn't always around.

Damian was thankful they made it out of the house without seeing Mara. The thought of bumping into her on the stairs or skirting past each other on the landing left him feeling queasy. He was embarrassed she'd been able to get under his skin so easily, forcing him to overreact, but he shouldn't have threatened her. Would he really have hit her if April hadn't appeared? The thought scared him. He wasn't used to losing control.

When they reached the school, April ran off across the playground towards a group of her friends without saying goodbye.

Damian walked briskly home, jumped straight in the car, drove to the hospital and phoned Lucia from the car park.

'How's the poorly soldier this morning?'

'Much better.' Lucia sounded distant and weary. 'They moved him out of the ICU and onto the children's ward late last night.'

'That's good news.'

'He might even be able to come home later, once the doctor's given him the once over. Where are you?'

'Outside. I'll come and find you.'

Dylan was sitting up in bed, playing a game on Lucia's phone. His face was still puffy, especially around the eyes, but he had some colour in his cheeks.

'Hey, sunshine,' Damian said, ruffling his son's hair. 'How're you feeling?'

'I'm okay,' he said, glancing up at Damian briefly before returning his attention to his game.

'You had us worried there for a minute. Didn't you see there was sesame in your sandwiches?'

Dylan shook his head.

'Don't worry. It's not your fault.' He felt Lucia's eyes boring into the side of his head. 'I should have checked before I packed your bag. But you're okay now, and that's the main thing.'

'Did you speak to Mara?' Lucia asked.

'Let's not talk about this now,' Damian said, pulling up a vinyl-covered chair alongside Dylan's bed. 'We'll discuss it later.'

'I hope you haven't upset her?'

He bit his tongue and smiled at Dylan. 'What are you playing there?'

'It's just a game, Dad.'

A youthful-looking doctor with gelled hair arrived just after ten, accompanied by an older nurse. He had the easy manner of a man used to working with kids, making Dylan laugh with puerile jokes delivered in a thick Northern Irish brogue.

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