Page 105 of Tough Love
As much as it pains me to leave Evan, I leap up the stairs to where Briar stands wide-eyed, watching the two uniformed officers struggle to bring Evan back.
“Come inside, honey.” I reach out, only to pull my hand back when I realise it’s covered in Evan’s blood.
“What are they doing?”
“Trying to help,” I choke out. “And we can help too by staying out of the way.”
He allows me to shepherd him inside with my legs, and I steer him toward the living room. I duck into the kitchen and frantically wash my hands, having to stop every so often to wipe the tears from my face with my shoulders. Briar sits perched on the edge of the sofa, aware something’s not right, but unable to grasp the severity of the situation just yet.
“Where’s your lion, mate?”
“In my bed.”
“How about you go put a jumper on, and then grab your cuddly, okay?”
He nods, slipping off the seat to retrieve the things I’ve asked for. My legs buckle beneath me, and I sob as I listen to the sounds of the ambulance officers shouting instructions on the stairwell.
Briar rounds the end of the counter, peering down at me before he wordlessly climbs in my lap.
“He’s dying, isn’t he, Aunty?”
“Yeah, buddy.” I hiccup through my tears. “I think he is.”
“It’s okay, Aunty,” he whispers. “Mum will take care of him.”
THIRTY-FIVE
For the second time is as many months I sit in the waiting room of the hospital, only this time I’m not alone.
I couldn’t be more appreciative of the fact as I am now.
Briar stretches out against me, my legs propped up on the seat opposite to give him a makeshift bed. I refused to ride in the ambulance with Evan in case the ordeal scarred Briar, so we were offered a lift with another officer if we wanted to wait.
As if I was going to wait.
When the attending officers realised I meant business, they helped me push the useless Jeep out of the way as the ambulance pulled out of my complex. I bundled Briar in the back of my graffitied car as they drove Tristan away in theirs, and we sped through the streets like a bat out of hell to get to the hospital as quick as my heavy car would allow.
Unlike the wait with Kath, we’ve barely been here an hour when a doctor wearing scrubs walks through the doors that separate the visitors from the patients. He takes one look at us and stops walking, running a hand over his head.
I swallow hard and hold Briar a little tighter.
“Miss Harris?”
“Yes?”
“I understand you’re the immediate contact until his family can be reached?”
Fuck déjà vu.
Fuck feeling as though I’m riding a sick merry-go-round that’s brought me back to the start of this shit.
Fuck life.
“I am.”
“There were some complications …”
No more.I tune out, wrapping my arms tighter around Briar, who stares at the doctor with a level of understanding I don’t think I’ll ever have.