Page 100 of This Feeling

Someone’s phone rang, and I barely heard Aurora speaking. I could only focus on those front doors, waiting to see Declan walk out.

“How long have they been in there?” I asked my father.

“I’m not sure, sweetheart.”

I started to chew on my thumbnail. With each passing minute, I felt more terrified. My legs grew shaky, my eyes stung, and my stomach felt like someone had dumped lead into it.

“He should be out. Why isn’t he coming out?!”

A loud explosion caused me to scream and jump back. Stumbling over something, I fell to the ground.

“Harper!” my father yelled, reaching down to help me.

“What was that?” Cadie asked. She was on her ass, as well, and Aurora was helping her up.

Suddenly, I saw a flurry of activity by the front door. Firefighters were carrying people out.

“Are those kids?” Aurora asked, moving farther up near the barricade holding us back.

My hand covered my mouth when I finally saw Declan. Two firefighters were carrying him out. Next to them was James, holding a small child in his arms.

“Where’s Gavin?” Aurora shouted. “I don’t see Gavin!”

“I need to get to him!” I said, as I tried to get over the barricade, only to have someone pull me back.

“Harper, you can’t go over there! You have to let the paramedics do their job.”

It was my father speaking. Turning to him, I pleaded, “Dad, he needs me! Please let me go!”

He glanced over my shoulder, then a look passed over his face. One I’d never seen before…and it scared me.

“Daddy?”

He slowly shook his head. “I can’t let you go, Pumpkin. I’m sorry. I can’t.”

When I turned again, my eyes widened at the sight before me.

James, on his knees, with Declan lying on the ground. So many people were blocking my view I couldn’t see anything.

I opened my mouth to scream but nothing would come out. My legs grew weak, and a strange darkness started in my peripheral vision and swept over my eyes until I saw nothing. Everything went black.

“I brought you some coffee.”

Looking up, I attempted a smile for Brystol as I reached for the cup. “Thank you, Bry.”

She sat down next to me and slowly let out a breath. “Why is it taking so long to hear something?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

We’d been at the hospital just under two hours, but it felt like an eternity. Declan and Gavin had both been brought in by ambulances, and we hadn’t seen James.

“I’m sure they’re both okay. Don’t you think?” she asked tentatively.

“I hope so.”

She jumped up and started to pace. She’d always done that when she was nervous. I watched her walk from one end of the waiting room to the other. She wrung her hands while she marched back and forth, and a part of me wanted to scream for her to just sit the hell down, but I knew this was how she dealt with anxiety.

Pulling my gaze off Brystol, I glanced toward the nurses’ station. We hadn’t been given an update since we got here, and I wondered if they had anything new to share, even the tiniest bit of information. I was about to get up and walk over there when I heard the elevator door ding.

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