Page 35 of East (The Moral Compass 3)

We pass a crying family holding each other in the corridor as I enter East’s room. The machines are bleeping, and there is the dull drone of a machine in the background.

“You can sit here, Mr. O’Brien, but if anything happens or the nurses need to intervene, you must leave immediately, and if you need to make any phone calls, they must be made outside of this room. Is that clear?”

I nod. My ability to speak is gone. The girl in the bed is grey, her golden hair that is always so pristine is matted and knotted. There are oxygen tubes up her nose. I can see where the intubation tube has been. Her lips are bruised, and she has tape marks on her face.

I can’t remember the last time I cried, but my eyes are stinging. This is all my fault. If I’d been more careful and not upset her, she wouldn’t have been so mad and fallen. How the hell am I going to explain this?

I need to speak to North. I need to tell West and South and, oh hell, her mum, Liz. They all need to know.

I must have fallen asleep holding East’s hand. I wake up as the nurse taps me on the shoulder.

“There is a North McGarry out in reception insisting on seeing East. I’ve told him that it is strictly one visitor per patient, but he’s not very happy.”

“It’s okay, he can come through. I’ll wait outside. He’s East’s brother, and he deserves to be here more than I do.” I kiss East’s knuckles and exit the room.

“You better fucking hope that my sister pulls through, or I swear to God, Zed, you will be running for the rest of your very short life. Does West even know what is going on?” He growls.

I shake my bowed head. I can’t even look him in the eye. I know he has every right to be angry.I’mangry. Angry at myself. Why was I such a fucking prick?

“Well then, you have a phone call to make. I am not telling him, and neither is Kara. Good luck.” He strides off into East’s private room. As he gets to the door, he looks at East and then glances back at me. If looks could kill, I would be dead and buried on the spot.

“Zed,” Kara whispers as she puts her hand on my shoulder. “Zed, you need to tell me what happened. North will not listen to you right now, but he will listen to me. Talk me through it step by step, and don’t leave anything out. You know North, he’ll know if you do.”

Shit! How the hell do I even start to explain this?

“She was in bed. I said something that pissed her off. I can’t even remember what. She jumped out of bed, and she fell over the sheets. She banged her arm on the cabinet, and I ran back in to help her up. That’s it. That’s all there is to it,” I lie.

“What were you doing in her room?” Kara asks.

“We have adjoining rooms. I knew the lads wouldn’t be happy with her staying in Vegas alone in a hotel room, so I had us put in adjoining rooms. That way, I could keep an eye on her while we worked.”

“What do you mean ‘work’? She was supposed to be in New York.”

I take a deep breath and start to tell her how East has been helping to find out who is issuing the death threats and why we are both still here in Vegas. I don’t tell her about the wedding or the extramarital relations. I’ve fucked things up enough.

“Please tell me she hasn’t hooked up with Drake again?”

“Again?” I look up at Kara, anger filling my brain. Then, I remember. “Oh, you mean the night she spent on his bathroom floor puking her guts up? No, she’s not hooked up with him. That ship has well and truly sailed. She’s seen what a selfish dick he is, and I am fairly sure she’s no longer interested.”

“So, Drake had nothing to do with this, then?”

“God no. I don’t even think he knows anything has happened. It all happened so fast, and then when the surgery went wrong, it all seemed to go in slow motion.” I start to walk around the room. “What the fuck have I done, Kara? What the hell will I do if anything happens to her? This is all my fault!”

“What do you mean ‘all your fault,’ Zed? You just told me that it wasn’t,” she snaps.

“No, Kara, I told you what happened, but if I hadn’t been a dick, she wouldn’t have rushed out of the bed and broke her arm. I didn’t need to be such an arrogant prick. Maybe I’m more like my brother than I care to think.”

“Zed, listen to me, and can you please stand still for a minute? You’re making me want to throw up. If what you have said is the truth, then you’re not to blame. Have you never noticed that East could fall over fresh air? Even in bare feet, she needs a flaming Zimmer frame. It was only a matter of time before she fell over and hurt herself. And as for the surgery going wrong, well, I’m fairly sure the boys will get to the bottom of what exactly happened. You were not in that theatre, so you are not to blame.”

“I need to ring West.” I pull my phone out of my pocket, switch it on, and the text messages start to flood through.

West: North has told me. You better ring me. Now.

West: Ring. Me. Now.

West: Zed, what the fuck is going on?

A text won’t cut this, so I click call.

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