“Any news?” Haven asks him.
Looking up, he shakes his head, and I feel my chest tighten. I did that to him. Made him a mute. Not very many people know, but I’m the reason he has no voice.
I follow Haven to the door, and she pushes it open for me to enter. His room is large, with a sitting area over by a window that overlooks Vegas. We’re high enough up that we can see the Strip from here. The four towers that say Kingdom across the top stand out. Almost like it’s laughing at me. A reminder that my life is a joke.
It’s not the fact that Dillan is actually pretending to love me. It’s that he’s going to let my father think he’s won. That’s a hard pill to swallow when you’ve been choking on it for years.
“Hey, babe,” Haven says, walking over to the bed. “Guess who came to see you?”
My eyes finally look at my brother, and my stomach drops. He’s got tubes and wires everywhere. One is down his throat. His skin looks ashy. The room gives off a cold chill that makes me shiver.
I come to a stop, refusing to come any closer.
“It’s okay,” Haven notices. “They say he may not be awake, but he can hear us.” She gives me a small smile. “I’m sure he’d love to know you’re here.”
I shake my head and swallow the lump in my throat. “No—”
“Mia.” Walking over to me, she takes my hand. “I’m sorry for blaming you, but this is not your fault. Do not blame yourself.”
“But it is.” I sniff. “And I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not. None of it is. We know that, and he knows that.”
If he ever wakes up, he’ll hate me. She doesn’t know that he wanted me to stay away. That when I called him, he told me not to contact him. All I can do is prove I’m sorry, and I haven’t figured out how yet.
BONES
I PARK MY car in front of the house, not pulling into the garage around back because I won’t be here long. It’s a little after two in the morning, and I need to be up at Glass by four to close it down. Entering the house, I stop and listen. It’s silent. Either Mia’s asleep or she decided to stay at the hospital tonight. I haven’t heard from her since they left Kingdom earlier today, and I hate how much that’s driving me crazy. I’ve never waited around for a woman to call me. Or cared to wonder where they were. I’ve always been the one too busy to text or call back. The closest thing I’ve ever had to a relationship was my high school and college years with Emilee. We were never a couple, but we had an understanding that we were exclusive. She gave me what I needed in the bedroom without the clingy girlfriend bullshit. She didn’t expect me to love her, and I didn’t feel the need to pretend I did.
Making my way to the bedroom, I open the door to see she’s in bed. Nite had texted me earlier that they plan on keeping Luca in his coma a little longer.
My cell rings, and I look down to see it’s April. “Hello?”
“Bones,” she whispers my name. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“No. You’re fine. Everything okay?” As I ask the question, I’m already walking toward the front doors of my house and stepping outside on my porch to look over at theirs. I see several lights inside the house are on. I frown. She’s always up early because of the flower shop she owns, so for her to be up this late is odd.
“It’s Grave.” She sighs. “I tried calling Titan, but he didn’t answer. Then I saw your car parked out front.”
I’m running down the stone steps before she even finishes her sentence.
There’s a long pause before she asks. “Can you come over?”
“I’m already on my way. What’s wrong?” I question, my heart racing, thinking the worst. My first thought is that he’s relapsed—swallowed too many pills. He’s facedown in his own vomit, and he’s too heavy for her to move.
“I-I don’t know.” April sniffs. “He won’t talk to me. I tried calling Titan,” she repeats. “I’m sorry.” She begins to cry.
“Don’t apologize. I’m on my way.” Hanging up, I start to run across the cul-de-sac over to their house. Titan and Grave have gotten really close this year. More than they were before. Titan’s the one who dropped him off at rehab. I hate that Grave felt he couldn’t talk to me like he could Titan, but I didn’t care who my little brother spoke to as long as he sought help when he needed it.
I’m breaking a sweat by the time I run up their steps, and she meets me at the door. I notice her bloodshot eyes and runny nose. Her makeup is smeared in places and completely rubbed off in others. She’s holding a wad of tissues in her hand. Her purple hair is up in a messy bun, but pieces fall out of it around her face. She grabs her black silk robe and wraps it around herself to cover up her white spaghetti strap shirt and matching cotton shorts.