Page 173 of The Persistence of Thornes
“Just sit tight and?—”
There’s a commotion behind us, then a familiar voice pierces the air.
“My son,” a woman says breathlessly. “My son was shot and brought in and?—”
I turn, finding the receptionist pointing in our direction.
Caleb’s parents jog over to us, and his mom stops in front of the doctor. “Oh, God. Please tell me my boy is okay.”
The doctor repeats what he’s already told us, and the older woman sinks to her knees. Her husband follows, though a little more gracefully, and cradles her.
I don’t have much respect for the woman, but sympathy for her overtakes me anyway. If I wasn’t still reeling, I might feel a little bad that it didn’t even cross my mind to call them.
Salem, Thayer, and Laith lead me away, and I’mgrateful for it. Something tells me his mom would love nothing more than to spew more hateful shit my way, and I’m so emotionally strung out I’m not sure how I would react.
With each passing minute, the need to get out of this waiting room increases.
“I’m going to find a vending machine,” I announce, standing.
Laith practically jumps up too. “I’ll go with you.”
We’re quiet as we head down the long, empty hall away from the ER’s waiting room.
“I hate hospitals,” he says once the noise has faded. His voice is barely a whisper, but it still manages to echo off the walls.
“I don’t have too much experience with them,” I admit.
“Good. That’s good,” he mumbles, looking around.
At the end of the hall, I survey the contents of the vending machine. I’m not even thirsty or hungry, but I needsomethingto keep me distracted.
Laith pulls out a wad of bills from his pocket and feeds one into the machine. “Pick your poison.”
I choose a Dr Pepper. I can’t remember the last time I drank one, but out of the options in front of me, it seems like the best choice.
The next machine has chips and candy. I point silently to the M&M’s. Laith’s lips twitch with amusement, but he obliges and hands me the chocolate.
“I’m not ready to go back,” I confess.
“That’s okay.” With a sigh, he rests a booted foot against the wall. “We can hang here.”
I sit on a bench a few feet away, and eventually, Laith joins me.
“Do you ever feel like you’re being punished over and over for something you didn’t even know you did?”
He blows out a breath, crossing his arms over his chest. “All the time. But sometimes we’re just dealt shitty cards. Take my brother, for instance. I’d hate to think he lost his son because the universe decided he needed to pay for something.”
I twist the soda cap off the bottle, then tighten it again. “You have a good point.”
“You’ve made a lot of progress since you moved here. I’d hate to see you regress.”
I drop my head at his words. “I think I needed this place. And I definitely needed him.”
“The right place, the right people, make all the difference.” He leans back against the wall, stretching his legs out in front of him. “You were so closed off when we met,” he goes on. “You’ve changed a lot. Sure, Caleb has helped, but you wouldn’t have made this much progress if you didn’t want to.”
“I didn’t want to fall in love with him,” I confess, head bowed. “But he’s pretty impossible to resist.”
Laith huffs out a small laugh. “If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that we have no choice when it comes to who we fall in love with.”
