My family.
River and Orla had joined us.
My kid brother—mybloodbrother—met me at the door, hustling me out before I’d set one foot inside. “You need to eat.”
“What?”
“Food. You’re gonna keel over.”
Not from hunger. “I’m fine.”
“Fuck off.”
He pulled a Twix bar from his pocket, the only chocolate Saint ever ate.Why, God. Why?
Fucking hell.
I took the chocolate and robotically shoved it in my mouth, swallowing it dry before River forced a can of pop on me.
That went down the hatch too and my stomach rebelled, nausea surging.
Fuck.I leant against the wall, breathing through my nose.
River rubbed my arm. “It’s gonna be okay, bro. Saint’s a fucking unicorn. He ain’t gonna die.”
“You don’t know that,” I said absently.
“Butyoudo.”
I closed my eyes. “If you’ve come here to wind me up, you’re too late. I’m already as high as I can get without falling off the fucking planet.”
“I know.” River took the Coke can from me. “I came to keep you with us. I know how much you love Saint. Even if you weren’t together, this would fucking kill you.”
“It is killing me.”
Footsteps sounded somewhere beyond the brother I’d shared a childhood with.
A home.
A family.
Skylar Buchanan appeared in my eyeline, expression so grave I gripped River’s wrist so tight he cringed and retracted his arm.
“Hey.” Skylar stopped in front of me. He was wearing the same blue scrubs as every other time I’d been here.
With Nash when he’d lost his appendix three years ago.
With Rubi.
My mum after she’d swallowed a bottle of Valium.
His expression never changed.
Or maybe it was how I looked at him.
Either way, I hated that his presence signified the lowest points of my life.
I loved this kid.