Once Iris’s arm and stomach were stitched and her skin had been cleaned and bandaged, they took her from me. No part of me wanted to let her go. But that ounce of rationality made me uncurl her fingers, knowing she needed that CT scan to make sure she would come back from this.
When she was gone, I paced in the waiting room a few floors up, where she would be coming once the tests were done. And hopefully where Finn would recover from his surgery.
Members of TSC began to fill the room, worry painted on each one of their features. June came last, her chin held high, shoulders square, like she was ready to battle for her sister. And I fucking loved that girl then. Loved that Iris had her as a sister.
Iris was in a private room within an hour. I had two guards placed outside of it shortly after. No staff tried to stop this, just as they didn’t say a word when her band, her sister, and I crowded around her bed.
They’d finally given her something for the pain once they saw the CT scan was clear. Her eyes flashed to mine briefly before they closed and she fell asleep. June held her right hand, Rodrigo held the other, and I…didn’t know if I had a place here with her. I’d fucked up royally, put her in this position. Did I even deserve to be at her bedside? Would she want me here when she was fully aware?
But fuck, I couldn’t leave the room, couldn’t stop watching her chest rise and fall. She was alive, breathing, not bleeding, and seeing that with my own two eyes was the only thing keeping my tenuous thread from snapping.
The nurse with the teddy bear scrubs came into the room some time later. No idea how much time had passed, only that it had. The sun had worked its way across the sky, and evening had taken hold.
“Finn, your...brother, right?” She raised a brow, waiting for me to confirm this.
“Aye. He’s my brother.” That wasn’t a lie.
“He’ll be three doors down in a few minutes. They’re bringing him down now. If you’d like to be with him…” Again, her eyebrow raised.
“Yes.” I rose from my chair, surprised at how stiff I was. But then, I hadn’t moved from my vigil for hours. “I need to—”
“I’ll wait outside.” She retreated to the hallway, leaving me with my guilt and Iris’s family.
I turned back to the bed, to my sleeping love, and bent down to touch my lips to her temple. Christ, I wasn’t sure she’d want me to do that, but leaving this room without a small taste of her wasn’t an option, even if it was my last.
“Is Finn alone?” June whispered.
I nodded. “He is.”
“Then go, be with him. Iris won’t be alone, even for a second.” Again, my respect for Iris’s quietly strong sister rose ten notches.
“We’ll let you know when she wakes up,” Adam added. He and Roddy were slumped on the small couch under the window now. June, Callum, and I filled the spaces around Iris’s bed.
I shoved my fingers through my hair. “Shit.”
I was cleaved in two. Almost every part of me longed to stay by Iris’s side, but she had her sister and her band surrounding her. Finn had no one. I was his family here. Besides, I wasn’t too certain I’d be welcome at her bedside when she woke up. Not after the things I’d said to her—the way I’d treated her.
“We’ve got her covered.” My head jerked to Callum. This was the first time I’d heard him speak. He had an accent. Southern, if I wasn’t mistaken. “She’s gonna be sleepin’ for a while, but I’ll tell her you’re down the hall. She’ll know.”
“All right. Tell her I’ll be back if she wants me here.”
Callum held my gaze. “She’ll want you.”
Strangely reassured by his broken silence, I nodded sharply, then fought every instinct in my body and left Iris’s side to find Finn.
It was difficult to be angry at the man who’d put himself in harm’s way to save the love of my life. Seeing him wheeled into his hospital room, bandaged and in a medicated sleep, was a sight I would never forget. It hurt almost as bad as seeing Iris bloody and crying.
Finn had come out of surgery to repair a nicked intestine and internal bleeding a couple hours ago. He was beginning to wake, and all I could think was this was my fault. My Iris was down the hall, cut up and bruised, because of me. Finn had been stabbed in the gutbecause of me. Because an unstable girl I’d pushed from my mind saw my beautifulmealaand my brother as obstacles in her way to me.
I should have ensured she was getting the help she needed.
I should have checked she was in the treatment facility her mother swore she’d been checked into.
I should have done a lot, but it was too late. I’d fucked up, and now we were here.
“What are you doing here?” Finn’s eyes were barely open, but they were focused on me.
“Watching you sleep. You snore like an old grandda.”