He shrugs. “I needed to see it.”
“Any word from the police?”
Shaking his head, he says, “Miguel says they’re still looking for them.”
“They’ll find them.”
“I hope so.”
“How’s Sofia?”
“Terrible. She feels responsible.”
“I feel so badly for her. Of course she’s not responsible.”
“Try telling her that.” He glances at our parents in their side-by-side recliners. “How’re they doing?”
“Hanging in there. They’re very anxious to see him.”
“All I want to hear is that he’s going to fully recover. I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t.”
“He’s young and strong, and we have to hope and pray for the best. That’s all we can do.”
My dad’s cell phone rings, and we all freeze as a combination of dread and hope fills the room.
“It’s Jason.” Dad takes the call and puts it on speaker. “Hi, Jason. Everyone is here.”
“Great. I wanted to tell you that Milo is awake and alert and responding to pain stimuli in all his extremities.”
“Oh, thank you, Jesus,” Dad says as he breaks down into sobs. “And thank you, Jason.”
“We still have a very long way to go, but this is very good news.”
“It’s the best news we’ve ever gotten. Thank you so much, Jason. From the bottom of my heart… I’ll never have the words.”
“I’m glad I was there when he needed me. If you want to come in around four, he should be settled in the ICU by then, but let’s keep it only to immediate family for now. We don’t want to overwhelm him.”
“I understand. We’ll see you then.” After he ends the call, he looks over at my mom. “Our prayers have been answered.”
“I, uh, I have to go,” Nico says, leaving the room before anyone can stop him.
As I watch him go, I’m almost as worried about him as I am about Milo.