There was no change on Tuesday.
I ended up staying home that day, too keyed up to go to school. Dee was worried, probably because she thought I was going to do something stupid, and I was. In the middle of the night, way past visitation time, I’d made it to the hospital parking lot before common sense took over.
What was I doing?
I could move fast, but even if I timed it right and got through the secured doors, I didn’t know where Kat was. I could find out, but it would be risky. If someone found me in her room, that was going to be hard to explain.
Halfway across the parking lot, I spied a black Ford Expedition rolling into the visitors parking lot. My gut tightened. The vehicle was unmarked. Definitely DOD. Its presence could be a coincidence, but it was a wake-up call. I went home and I stayed there, feeling caged in.
I ghosted through classes Wednesday morning, wondering what the hell I was doing in school. I could give two shits about whatever was being taught. By the time I made it to lunch, I was ready to start tossing people headfirst through windows just for breathing around me.
Bypassing the line, I stalked over to where the Thompsons were sitting. Dee was with the girls, and I couldn’t go over there. Not just because Kat wasn’t there, but because I knew they’d be talking about Kat.
And I…I just couldn’t sit and listen to that. Weak. Yeah, weak as hell.
I dropped down next to Andrew and leaned back, stretching out my legs as I fixed my gaze on the Viking mascot painted on the wall.
“You look like a grizzly bear,” Ash said.
Raising a brow, I folded my arms. “Do I?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “I know it’s November and some guys do that whole no-shave thing, but you should really shave your face.”
I smirked.
Andrew stopped whatever he was saying to the guy next to him and looked over at me, brows raised. He opened his mouth and then wisely closed it.
“Okay,” Ash muttered. “Nice to have you here, you know, warming up the table with your sparkling personality.”
Matthew was standing near the painted mascot with another teacher, a human, listening to whatever was being said as he kept an eye on our table. Matt had called last night, but I hadn’t been in the mood to deal with him.
Looking away, I watched Adam get up from where Dee was sitting with Carissa and Lesa. He skirted the tables, walking over to ours, a bottle of water in his hand. He sat down next to his sister, and she said something to him too low for me to hear.
Simon the Jackass snagged my attention. He was sitting two tables behind us, laughing loudly. My hand ached, wanting to connect with his face again. I stared at him until he must’ve sensed it, because the smile faded from his face and he looked between the shoulders of two meatheads, right at me.
Simon blanched.
I smiled at him and it wasn’t a nice smile.
He quickly looked away, his throat working on a visible swallow. God, I hated that guy. What he tried to do to Kat wasn’t something I’d ever forget.
Adam tapped his fingers on the table. “Katy’s mom texted Dee a few moments ago. She’s waiting for her to text back.”
I stilled, a shiver of dread curling down my spine. I told myself that it had to be good news or no news, because I doubted Kat’s mom would text Dee if something bad had happened.
“What’s going on with her anyway?” Ash’s lips curled as if she had something sour in her mouth.
Adam sighed as he glanced at his sister. “I told you. She has some kind of virus or something. She’s been in the hospital.”
My jaw clenched.
“Whatever,” Ash muttered, turning her attention to her plate of what I thought might be a burrito.
“She’s been out of it for days,” Adam added.
Ash poked the burrito with her fork. “Like in a coma?”
“She’s asleep,” I corrected, ignoring the tightening in my chest.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky,” Andrew replied, low enough for only us to hear. “And she won’t wake up.”
I reacted without even thinking.
Springing out of my seat, I grabbed a fistful of Andrew’s shirt and hauled him out of his seat. He didn’t get a chance to blink before I introduced his face to the shiny surface of the table. The thump was nice and fleshy and wholly satisfying. Andrew popped up and whirled around, facing me.
Ash gasped as she pushed back from the table. “Daemon!”
In a damn heartbeat, Matthew was by my side, grabbing my arm. He tried to shove me back, but I wasn’t going anywhere. “Go,” he said.
I ignored him as I got all up in Andrew’s face and warned, “You better hope she does.”
Matthew grabbed my arm, this time using the strength he had, and hauled me back a good inch. He shoved again. “Go.”
Eyeing Andrew for a few more moments, I pivoted around. A lot of eyeballs were on me. I didn’t care. As I walked out of the cafeteria, Matthew was right behind me, waiting until I got out in the hallway before he jumped my ass.