Drink Me

44. ASLEEP

ASLEEP

When Aidan called, it was two in the morning.

Riley reluctantly opened his eyes at the noise of his phone vibrating on his nightstand and immediately sat up straight as he read Aidan's name on the screen.

"How is he?" he asked right away.

Aidan sounded tired and disheartened. "He's still out of it. Doctors think it could be meningitis," he explained.

Riley passed his hands through his hair, nervously. "I'm sure he'll be fine," he tried and realised how useless that must have sounded to Aidan.

"Listen, we need to talk about New York," Aidan said, ignoring his cousin's words.

"What about it?" Riley's senses piqued.

"If Edward doesn't wake up by tomorrow, I'm not going to make it."

Shit.

"OK, Aid, I understand. I'm sure you can reschedule," he offered.

Aidan cleared his voice and was silent as voices became louder in the background and then progressively quiet. "No, you don't understand," Aidan said more sternly. "The meeting can't be postponed."

Double shit.

"OK, so who's coming with me?" Riley asked.

"No one," Aidan said after a moment of silence.

Riley shifted in his bed, his fingers through his hair. "You want me to go alone?" he questioned, incredulous.

"I don't want you to, but we have no other choice. Caroline and I don't trust anyone else with the information," he explained. "It's too short notice..."

Riley slumped back on his pillow. "Let's cross that bridge if we get there, OK?"

"I have to go," Aidan said and hung up.

This wasn't good. Other than the boy being in the hospital, he now had no choice but to tell Alice why Aidan was going to pull back from the most important meeting the group had ever secured. And with that, explain why he had withheld that information for so long.

He reluctantly picked up his phone again and typed GymPT

Available for a session in the morning?

***

Riley met with Alice the following morning. She looked great in an oversized dark grey jacket that she had styled as a dress with a tight belt around her waist and wellington boots.

But Riley didn't have time for gawking.

"I bet this meeting is connected to Aidan spending the night at a hospital," she stated getting up from the sofa as she saw Riley coming through the door, no regard for greetings.

Riley stopped briefly in his tracks and looked at her cautiously.

Alice folded her arms on her chest. "Do you think at this stage in the investigation with don't have him followed?"

Riley resumed walking.

"So, who died?" Alice asked, sitting back on the sofa. She sounded bored.

Riley took a seat next to her and poured himself a coffee. "No one died," he said. "Edward's in the hospital. Doctors believe it could be meningitis."

Alice didn't say anything, she just sat opposite Riley and kept her penetrating eyes on him.

He was now sure she was perfectly aware of how her silence and piercing stare made him feel.