Fallon watched as Tate leaned against Audrey’s bed, his eyes closed, his body limp as he slept. He hadn’t moved an inch from her bedside. An hour didn’t pass without Fallon sneaking down the hall for just for a peek of Audrey. She could tell Tate was a mess, but she didn’t know how to help him. The only person who could help was Audrey. She was the one who could help everyone. Fallon was pretty sure that everyone was losing their mind as each second passed with no good news. The only good news they had gotten was that the baby was still alive, its little heart beating away.
Now all they had to do was worry about its mama.
She glanced at the clock and saw that visiting hours were approaching. She knew that Elli and Shea would be coming to the hospital soon, and Piper. She had talked to them earlier that morning and they said they would be there as soon as visiting hours started. She would be glad to see them, but what she wanted more was to see her sister’s happy face. She moved closer, leaning against the door, but when she did, she kicked the metal trash can, waking Tate. He sat up quickly, reaching for Audrey as he looked around the room. When his eyes met Fallon’s, she sent him an apologetic smile.
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay, come in, sit down,” he said, standing up as he rubbed his eyes.
She came in, sat in the chair he had occupied all night and took Audrey’s hand in hers. She looked at her sister’s beaten face and wished Levi Moss to the fiery depths of hell. The swelling along Audrey’s right eye had gone down, but along her nose and left eye it hadn’t. When Tate’s hand rested on Fallon’s shoulder, she smiled up at him.
“I’ll stay with her if you wanna go take a nap,” she said softly, but he shook his head, like she’d known he would.
“No, I don’t want to leave her.”
“Tate, you need to sleep for more than five minutes.”
“I’m not leaving her, Fallon.”
She eyed him for a second before saying, “You know this isn’t your fault.”
Tate looked away, taking a deep breath. “It isn’t yours either.”
How did he know she had stayed up and blamed herself all night? She should have kept Audrey at her house until the guys came home, or, when she found out about Levi’s craziness, she should have gone and gotten Audrey. Then she would have found Levi there and could have called the cops immediately. But she didn’t, she just called and called, not knowing that her suspicions were true. It killed her inside to know that she could have put a stop to everything but stayed home, not doing anything.
“It’s hard to believe with all the shoulda, coulda, wouldas, swarming in my head,” she said softly. His hand squeezed her shoulder as he nodded.
“I know. They are working overtime in mine.” Fallon nodded too as she stroked Audrey’s hand softly.
The room was silent except for the noise coming from the ventilator and Audrey’s heart monitor, which informed them her heart was beating strong and steady.
It was quiet, and Fallon actually felt calm when Tate asked, “Do you feel that she’ll pull through?”
She nodded quickly. “Yes.”
“How do you know? How are you not scared?”
“Because Lucas said she would,” she said, looking up at him. “If I didn’t have him, I would be a mess, and I gotta believe in something. I like knowing that she is going to pull through.”
Looking up at him through flooded eyes, she saw that his eyes were pooling with tears too. “I hope that you are right, Fallon, because I need her so much, and I want all of that. I don’t want to be alone.”
“No matter what, you won’t be, Tate. We love you, and always will.”
“Thank you, Fallon, that means a lot to me.”
“You mean the world to us, and you know what would make me even a little happier?”