But not for the same reasons as Dee believed. She was upset that I hadn’t gotten to Kat in time, but the truth was, if I’d listened to my own advice and stayed away from her, I never would’ve traced her in the first place.
They started talking among themselves, and I let my eyes drift closed. Tonight had been… There really weren’t any words when it came to the amount of FUBAR that had gone down, and fighting that Arum had drained me. I heard Dee talking about taking Kat home if her mom couldn’t, which probably meant I would be the one taking them home.
Ms. Swartz returned, and although Kat was released, there was a huge accident out on one of the highways. Being the nurse on call that night, her mom couldn’t leave, but Dee convinced her that we would not only take her home but watch out for signs of a concussion.
Thanks, Dee.
To be honest, I was…okay with that. I really didn’t want either of them out there alone right now. Not until that trace was gone. My jaw tightened.
Because if there was one Arum, there were always three more. Luxen were always born in sets of three, so Arum always hunted in fours.
Dee left the ER room to grab a snack, and when I opened my eyes, Kat’s stare was fixed on me, but something was off about it. Her eyes were glassy. Pain meds must be kicking in.
I pushed off the wall, making my way toward her. She closed her eyes. “Are you going to insult me again? Because I’m not up to…pear for that.”
My lips twitched. “I think you mean par.”
“Pear. Par. Whatever.” Those heavy lashes lifted.
The bruises and red marks kept drawing my attention. “Are you really okay?”
“I’m great.” She yawned. “Your sister acts as if this is her fault.”
“She doesn’t like it when people get hurt,” I said quietly, and then as an afterthought, “and people tend to get hurt around us.”
Her unsteady gaze met mine. “What does that mean?”
Dee returned at that moment, grinning. “We’re good to go, with the doctor’s orders and all.”
Thank God.
I moved to Kat’s bed, gingerly getting an arm behind her shoulders, helping her stand. The look she sent me, one of dazed bewilderment, was kind of cute. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
She shuffled two steps and then swayed unsteadily. “Whoa, I feel buzzed.”
I glanced at Dee, who raised her brows and said, “I think the pills are starting to work.”
“Am I…slurring yet?” Kat asked.
“Not at all.” Dee laughed.
Kat hobbled a couple more steps, and I saw this going nowhere fast. Sighing, I scooped her up and then deposited her gently in a wheelchair just outside the ER room. “Hospital rules.”
She just stared at me.
We stopped long enough to fill out some paperwork, but Kat wasn’t much of a help by that point. The nurses thankfully put most of it aside for her mom to fill out later. Once we got to Dee’s car, I picked Kat up and placed her in the backseat.
“I can walk, you know.”
I carefully buckled her in, making sure I didn’t jar the arm that was in the cast. “I know.” Closing the door, I sent Dee a look as I walked around to the other side of the backseat and climbed in. By the time Dee had turned the engine, Kat’s head was on my shoulder.
Stiffening, I glanced down at her and then up. Dee wasn’t looking at me as she was pulling out of the parking spot. Then I glanced back at Kat. This couldn’t be entirely comfortable. It sure as hell wasn’t for me. Taking a deep breath, I lifted my arm and placed it around her shoulders. She immediately snuggled up, like a little kitten, with the good side of her face.
This was weird.
There were more moments of us being total asshats to each other than there were of us being actually decent, but the fact she’d do this and that I’d let her, actually aid in the process, was very…yeah, weird.
Her breathing deepened, and one of her hands fell to my thigh, the fingers slowly uncurling. “Kat?” I whispered.
No response.
“Is she awake?” Dee asked from the front.
“Out cold.”
Dee let out a shaky breath. “She’s going to be okay, right?”
I stared down at Kat, and even in the dark of the car, I could see her scratched-up cheek. “Yeah, she’ll be fine.”
“She said she was going to stay at home… I could still see it,” she said.
“I know.” We’d both known the trace was still there, and no one was kicking their own ass more than me. I paused. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let anything happen this time. I swear.”
“It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have said that in the ER. You didn’t know this was going to happen.”
I didn’t know exactly, but it hadn’t come out of left field either. We all knew there was a chance. It was why Dee had tried to convince her to stay home tonight.
“You did something, didn’t you?” Dee asked quietly. “It’s stronger now.”
“I didn’t…mean to.” A few strands of Kat’s hair fell across her cheek. I brushed them back. “It just happened. Shit.”