No Broken Promises (Birch Harbor: Coming Home) by Rue Lennox

Author:Rue Lennox [Lennox, Rue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heroes in Villains Press
Published: 2024-03-13T18:30:00+00:00

17

REMY

Nox holds my hand tightly when they wheel Parker away on a stretcher, squeezing my fingers with all of his strength, his fingernails cutting into the skin on my hand.

“She’s going to be alright,” I tell him numbly as we stand under the bright fluorescent lights of the hospital’s emergency room waiting area. “She’s going to be just fine.”

Repeating those words over and over in my head is the only reason I make it through the next hour while we sit and wait for any word on Parker’s condition. Nox doesn’t say a word. Even when his grandparents, aunt, and uncles arrive shortly after we did, he never leaves my side nor lets go of my hand.

The one time I tried to let go of his hand, he turned his head with exorcist-level precision and glared at me until I picked his hand back up. Then he gave his attention back to the door they’d taken Parker through.

Rose and Robert Hayes sit with Linc and Emma, all four of them watching Nox like he is about to shatter into a thousand pieces. Nox, however, doesn’t look away from the door.

“She’s not going to die,” he whispers suddenly. “She can’t.”

I cough, trying to clear my throat, but the emotion clogging it makes it ridiculously hard to concentrate on the task at hand.

“She’s not going to die,” I croak, agreeing with him. “She’s just dealing with some head stuff.”

Nox surprises me by turning his head and lifting his eyes to meet mine. “Good. She’s all I have left.”

One more glance and he dismisses me completely. The doors open and Dr. Susan Lawrence, the doctor taking care of Parker, comes out. I am on my feet in a second. She is wearing a pair of bright-purple scrubs, with a matching surgical mask covering her mouth, which she lowers when she sees me approaching.

With zero fucks given for the fact that the Hayes are there, I take Nox by the hand and wait for her to come to us. We are clinging to each other, using only our hands, and the tension hanging in the room is palpable.

“Hey, Remy. I’m sorry we have to see each other again like this.” Susan and I actually saw one another pretty frequently, because she is the on-call physician for the police department, and she’d been married to a cop for forty years before he finally retired. “The first thing you need to know is that Parker is going to be okay. She’s asking for Nox.” She gives a soft smile to the child clutching my hand like it is a lifeline. “Why don’t you two come with me.”

Without waiting for a response, Susan turns and walks back toward the door. Nox immediately moves to follow her, yanking on my arm so I’ll pick up my already quick pace.

Walking quickly through the bare white hall, with Nox holding on to my hand tighter than before, everything in my chest starts to ache. Even hearing the fact that Parker will be okay does nothing to ease the tension building in my bones.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.