Page 17 of Shattered Mind

When I got to Hunters house and found her sitting on his porch steps with blood trickling down her face, I feltmurderous.The thought of that prick putting his hands on her lit a fire inside of me like nothing I’d ever felt before.

Ryan got off easy. If I’d found him, I wouldn’t have thought twice about killing him.

I grit my teeth and clench my fists to keep the anger at bay, but I don’t miss the way her weary eyes take in the movement. She offers me a hesitant smile.

“Your mum wanted me to let you know that Hunter is out of surgery. They’re taking him to recovery,” she says softly, her gaze flitting between Killian and me.

My breath leaves me in a rush, my shoulders slumping with relief and we follow her back inside the sterile building, this time taking a differentroute towards the ICU.

CHAPTER 8

OLIVIA

Ifucking hate hospitals.

I hate the sterile smell, the stark walls, the beeping of machines and the fact that although it’s always sweltering hot, it’s still somehow cold.

I spent a lot of time in the hospital as a teenager. Because my parents went out one Friday night to collect their daughter from a party and never made it home. I spent three days in a coma and when I woke up, I woke to a world where my mother no longer existed. She had died on impact, and my father spent a further six weeks in a coma before he finally succumbed to his injuries.

I sat by my dad’s bed side every day for six weeks, praying to a God I no longer believed in, begging him to return my dad back to me, not to leave me alone in the world at just fifteen years of age.

He took him anyway.

And for the first time in ten years, I’m tempted to pray to Him again as I sit beside my best friend in the waiting room of the ICU while her boyfriend is wheeled out of surgery.

Reign sits curled against Savannahs chest, clutching to her mum for dear life. Amelia and Roman – Hunter’s parents – talk softly to each other in the corner, while Noah, Grayson and Killian sit in loaded silence, the three of them worried about their brother and friend.

After what feels like hours, an older man with black hair, greying around the edges, enters the waiting room dressed in dark blue scrubs and the entire family rise from their seats.

“Hunter Calloways family?” The man says, and Roman steps forward, his wife white knuckling his hand.

“Yes.”

“I’m Doctor Jackson,” he says, offering his hand to Hunters dad.

“How is he?” Roman says, shaking the doctors outstretched hand.

“He’s stable. Surgery went well, although he did have some internal bleeding and a punctured lung, but we expect him to make a full recovery.”

There’s a collective sigh of relief echoed around the room, and I look at Savannah. Silent tears stream from her eyes as she holds her daughter close, placing a kiss on her head.

“Can we see him?” Amelia asks, her own tears streaming.

The surgeon gives her a soft smile. “He’s still heavily sedated right now, but two of you are able to go back and see him.”

Roman turns to look at Savannah, his eyes softening. “Savannah, honey, you should go in with Amelia.”

“I can take you through,” Doctor Jackson says, and I reach over, taking Reign from Sav’s arms. She turns to me, her eyes full of worry and questions.

“Go. I’ve got her,” I encourage, and she gives me a small nod before following them through the sliding glass doors.

It makes sense that she’s weary leaving her daughter behind after everything they’ve just experienced. For the briefest of moments, she thought she’d lost her daughter to the monster she’s spent the last four years protecting her from. I don’t know the ins and outs of what went on in the time Ryan had the girls in the staff cabin, but it doesn’t take a genius to know it wasn’t pleasant.

I cradle my niece against my chest, wrapping my arms around her tightly as I lay my head back against the wall and close my heavy eyes.

***

I’m awoken by a gentle hand landing on my arm, and I blink against the harsh lights, my eyes landing on Grayson where he stands above me. He gives me a tight-lipped smile. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride to Hunters.”

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