When someone had yelled across the yard that Lily was inside, my entire body had gone limp with defeat. A part of me had felt relieved for just a sliver of a second. I knew without a shadow of a doubt, that if Lily could get him out, she would. She’d never stop trying to get those boys out of danger. I knew that. But staring at the house, I hadn’t understood how they could still be alive.
I wouldn’t have survived it if they were gone.
Will and Grease climbed off of Cam as Trix reached him. She could hold him back better than any two men, without question.
Then, like a fucking miracle, we’d seen the screen on a window downstairs bowing before it popped out of a window. Curtis fell out first, landing on his ass. Seconds later, Draco came tumbling out behind him.
The guys climbed off me as I stared. I was paralyzed as I watched Will and Cam running toward the window. They lifted the boys off the ground and listened to them for just a second before sending them running from the house.
Sirens wailed behind us as I scrambled to my feet. Will and Grease were still staring at the window.
And then, there they were. From my vantage point, all I could see were Lily’s arms, but I could see Gray’s entire body. He looked fine. He looked scared, but fine. Will pulled Gray from Lily and I’d wanted to scream. Get them both, goddamnit, what are you doing? But nothing came out.
I made it to Grease and my baby boy just as Will pulled Lily out the window. She was limp.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat as I walked down the halls of the hospital. My mom texted me Lily’s room number an hour ago, and as soon as they’d given the all clear, I’d headed in that direction. I needed to see her. To feel her. To kiss her face and make sure she was okay.
“And then, the door popped open,” Curtis said from the foot of Lily’s bed as I reached the open door to her room. “And we were kind of worried that it was the Russian dudes.”
“But it wasn’t,” Draco interrupted. “It was Aunt Lily, and she was all, ‘Go out the window’.”
“Well, first she asked where Gray was.”
“Yeah, and then when we couldn’t find him, she said to go out the window, but it was so dark that I couldn’t see anything.”
“Yeah, and I didn’t want to leave her behind, so she pushed me really hard.”
“And she was all, take this many steps forward and then use the desk to guide you,” Draco said. “Did you know she could do that? She found us in the dark.”
“So we counted our steps to the desk and she went to go get Gray.”
“And then we jumped out the window.”
“We didn’t want to leave them,” Curtis said, looking guiltily at his dad. “She made us.”
“You did the right thing,” Cam said gruffly, nodding his approval. “We knew just where to get your aunt and cousin because you guys came out that window. If she hadn’t made it out, we knew just where to look.”
“She was really brave,” Draco said, his chin wobbling.
“You were pretty brave, too,” I said, walking fully into the room. “You guys stayed with Gray in the safe room?”
“Yeah,” Curtis said, giving his brother time to bring his emotions under control. “We played games and stuff.”
“Good job,” I said, kissing his head and then Draco’s. “Thank you.”
I smiled, and finally lifted my eyes to Lily’s.
Her lips were trembling as she tried to smile, and her cheek was swollen and purple.
“Hey, Dandelion,” I said, moving to the head of her bed. “How you doin’, pretty girl?”
“Like I just inhaled a fuck-ton of smoke,” she replied, her voice broken and raspy.
“You’re not supposed to be talking,” Cecilia reminded her from her place near the window. “You’re supposed to let your throat heal.”
“I love you,” Lily said, ignoring her sister. “Is he okay?”
Her eyes moved to Gray, and my eyes watered as I laid his sleeping form in between her side and her arm.
“He’s okay,” I said, leaning down to press my lips against hers. “Thank you.”
I kissed her again. “Oh, God, thank you.”
“Time to go boys,” Cam said from behind me, lifting his sons off the bed.
“Where are we gonna sleep?”
“Gramps’ and Nana’s,” Trix said, helping to usher them out of the room. “You can sleep in Uncle Leo’s old room.”
“But there’s only one bed,” Curtis complained.
“Oh, good. You guys can cuddle,” Cecilia said as she shut the door behind them.
“God, Lily,” I whispered as the room around us grew quiet. “I thought you were gone. I thought both of you were gone.”
I buried my face in her neck, hardly able to smell her beyond the scent of smoke.