Page 58 of Burn It Down

“He’s alive,” I say, putting my hand on Will’s shoulder. “That’s what matters. Bowen is stubborn.” I smile briefly, looking at Spencer, who nods his head in encouragement. “He’ll get through this.”

“He has to,” Will says, his fear right there on the surface. He’s downright terrified of losing my brother.

I drop my hand and look over at my mother, who’s sitting by the bed. She looks good—better than the last time I saw her, but she seems hesitant to say anything to me. The grief and worry she has for Bowen is apparent though. “Mom.”

“Hi, sweetie,” she says softly. “You look good.”

“You too,” I answer honestly. Admittedly, I’d thought the years of alcoholism would have taken their toll on my mom. She was always a beautiful woman, but drinking like she did for years and years usually takes a toll. Her skin is clear though, not a wrinkle in sight, and she has a healthy glow to her.

Her eyes roam to Elijah, but she doesn’t say anything, though I think she wants to. I place my hand on his small shoulder. “Elijah, you remember your grandmother?”

“No,” he says cautiously, and I notice he’s still clinging to Spencer.

I smile and kneel down to look into his eyes. “Do you want to meet her?”

He nods his head slowly, and I stand up, walking him over to my mom. “Mom, you remember Elijah?”

She smiles brightly, although cautiously, and remains seated so she’s eye level with my son. “I do. Hi, Elijah.”

“Hi,” my son says quietly.

“Elijah, this is your Grandma Pam.”

“Can I hug you?” she asks him, and he looks up at me. I give him what I hope is a reassuring smile, but ultimately, it’s up to him.

He nods his head, and I watch as my mother embraces him. He hugs her back, though he’s hesitant. She releases him, but I see the tears in her eyes. I look over at Bowen—briefly thinking he did this shit on purpose, just to get my mom and me in the same room.

Knowing of course he didn’t, it still makes me grin as we all settle into the room, just waiting for some good news. The doctors are confident he’ll wake up—all the scans are clear. It’s just taking a bit of time to recover, they say.

A couple of hours pass, then my Aunt Kiersten arrives and brings us food. And Spencer stays through it all. Tori arrives about an hour after Aunt Kiersten, and Elijah immediately runs to her, wrapping his little arms around her neck.

“God, I’ve missed you, kid,” she says, holding onto him.

She finally releases him but just long enough to hug me. “What am I going to do with you two? Will called me, so I assumed Bowen was hurt, but I also knew that it could be you or both of you. You trying to kill me?”

She’s pissed, but she’s also smiling. “Hey, it wasn’t me this time,” I say, holding up my hands in front of me. She swats them down and then picks up Elijah and takes a seat with him on her lap.

She looks over at our mother and aunt, nodding to them but not saying much. Tori was never really close to either of them, too busy taking care of us, but she’s polite. But then she notices Spencer, and her big sister senses must rise. “Who is this?”

“Um...” Spencer looks like he’s trying to make himself smaller, but there’s absolutely no point in that. Tori has zoned-in. “Spencer Bell. I think we went to school together.”

Tori’s face lights up, and then she looks at me. “The teacher?”

I sigh heavily and fight rolling my eyes. No doubt she’ll pick up on anything if I give even a hint about how I feel about Spencer. But calling him a friend when I’m talking to Tori just feels icky. It’s somehow different from when I’m talking to Elijah.

“They’re friends now,” Elijah pipes up.

Tori looks at him, delight in her eyes. “Is that so?”

“Yup,” my son says. “They even have sleepovers.”

My eyes go wide, and I’m pretty sure Spencer is looking for a hole in the floor to disappear into, but I don’t know. I’m kind of relieved when I see the happy grin on my sister’s face as she eyes both of us. She knows. For sure. She knows, but she just snuggles Elijah tighter to herself. “Well, that sounds nice.”

If my mom and aunt are surprised, they don’t show it at all. Will, however, does look a little perplexed—not freaked-out—but curious. It doesn’t matter though, I realize. I don’t really care what anyone else thinks, other than Elijah and Spencer.

Elijah has already moved on to tell Tori about school, but I force myself to look at Spencer, who gives me a quick smile. Not too obvious, but I’m pretty sure he’s just fine with what everyone is rightfully assuming right now.

It’s another hour before Bowen finally wakes up. The doctors check on him and of course will need to run more tests but seem fairly satisfied with his progress. It’s almost humorous when Bowen’s eyes go around the room, and he takes in everyone just waiting around for him.

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