Falling for my Best Friend

Waiting

Kilian

After a little while, my brother showed up in the waiting room and sat with me. It's really quiet here, with teams of nervous families and friends gathered around waiting for news of their own. Trying to figure out what's going on with them all helps take my mind off Wren, but only for a little bit.

Neither Nolan nor I know what to say. What is there to say? I think the revelation of what actually happened to Wren has us shell shocked. We thought we had it bad at home after mom died but Dad has never put his hands on us or even really had coarse words for us.

It's like a secret has escaped out into the world and none of us have all the information, it's easy to get lost in our thoughts.

"Is Shane coming?" I inquire.

"He said he would be here as soon as he could, he was going to get the little one from her friend's house first," Nolan replies as he runs a frustrated hand through his hair.

His voice is low and somber, as if he genuinely cares, he's not calling me boy or asshole he's just my big brother again. I can only imagine what he's thinking, he's seen the best and worst of the McCauleys in a span of twenty four hours.

"Quin," I say, "She's going to be so scared."

"You love her, Wren, don't you?" he asks, still seeming like he's worried about me.

"Of course I do, I love all of them, they've been like family for years," I reply.

"No, you're in love with her, I can see it all over your face," he pats my shoulder, "and for what it's worth, the way she looks at you... she loves you too."

My brother's sudden display of sentiment brings back all the emotions I had been suppressing and I'm struggling to hold back tears again.

The truth behind what he's saying comes over me like a ton of bricks, I shake my head before I admit, "You might be right."

After a few more excruciating moments of silence, I hear Gael's voice ring through the waiting room, "Kil!"

Declan and Gael rush towards me, panting heavily. They stop short just in front of where I'm sitting.

"Is that...?" Gael gapes as he points at the dark red stains on my clothes.

I look up at them and shake my head yes, somberly; and even though I try to hold it in, a tear falls down my face.

"Where is she? What the hell happened? Are you okay?" Declan is bombarding me with questions, and I don't feel up to answering any of them.

To my surprise Nolan steps in, "An accident in her kitchen at home, we don't know the details yet. Her dad and sister are on the way here too. She was unresponsive and was bleeding from her head," he explains.

Nolan still sounds somber, as if he understands the gravity of the situation. Gael lets out a shaky breath and collapses into the chair next to me as Declan sits next to Nolan. A line of sad guys all in a row.

I can feel the eyes of others in the waiting room, I'm sure it's startling to see me covered in blood but I didn't think to pack a change of clothes. Obviously it's an absurd thought but I can't help the anxious blurts my mind is having.

"What do we do now?" Gael says.

"We wait," I reply.

After about twenty more minutes of us sitting in silence, Shane shows up with Quin. Quin's eyes are red like she's been crying, and her hair is wet and messy. She's wearing her swimsuit with a jacket on top as if she was pulled right from the pool.

"Anything yet?" Shane asks.

I shake my head no, I can feel Quin's eyes on me but I don't know if I can handle looking at her right now. I'm terrified and I don't want her to pick up on that because it will only make her feel worse.

Shane greets Gael and Declan, "Thanks for showing up boys," he says with an up nod.

Nolan seems like he can tell that he is the one least affected by this. He stands up and addresses Shane, "I can take Wren's car and get everyone some food or something, whatever you need, we don't know how long you're going to be here."

Shane pulls out his wallet and hands Nolan a fifty. "That would be great son, thank you, Quin will need dinner eventually. Whatever is easiest for you to find will be great, we're not picky."

I can't help wondering how Shane is keeping it together when I'm majorly failing at it. After only a moment of contemplation I realize that he's doing it for us, we're all kids to him, especially little Quin. I'm sure he's falling apart on the inside but he is putting on a brave face for us.

I need to follow Shane's example and stay strong for Quin's sake so I finally look up at her and meet her eyes, she looks heart broken.

I open my arms and say, "Come here, Quinny."

She runs to me and gives me the biggest hug before she pulls back and recoils as she looks at my stained clothes.

"I'm sorry Quin, I know it looks bad, but your sister is strong. She has all of us pulling for her, she'll be okay," I say in an effort to reassure her.

"WREN MCCAULEY!" a nurse calls from the station, "Family of WREN MCCAULEY!"

"Quin, stay here with Kilian, I will be right back," Shane says before anyone else can react.

Once Shane is out of ear shot, Quin whispers in my ear, "It was momma."

It sends a shiver down my spine, I know what Wren said and now Quin is saying it too. I feel the need to protect them but it's not my place to say anything so I try to calm Quin down instead.

"Shhh, it's okay, she's gonna be okay, they are telling your Dad right now," I say quietly.

Wren

The last thing I remember seeing before everything went black was Kilian's face. The insanely bright white lights and this uncomfortable bed are a dead giveaway, I know I'm in the hospital now but I feel groggy as hell. My eyelids feel heavy and my thoughts are sluggish, as if I'm trying to wade through a sea of cement.

How did I get here? Where is everyone? What about Quin?

I try to sit up, but my head is spinning. There's the hum of monitors all around me and I feel surrounded by the sterile scent of disinfectant, the sound of beeping machines, and the cool sheets against my skin.

My instinct is to stand up but I quickly realize that I have an IV and I'm in a lot more pain than I realized.

Ow! It hurts to breathe. I know that I need to get myself together, I'm not sure what to do with what I know. I don't know for sure what Quin saw or what happened after I blacked out.

I take a deep breath and will myself to stay calm as I look around the room for someone I recognize, a nurse comes into focus.

"Oh hello," she smiles, "You're awake, let me get the doctor," she says politely.

I don't want the doctor, I want Kilian or Quin. I want Gael and Declan, I need some people I can trust. Navigating this situation is going to be a struggle.

Even so, after a few minutes the doctor is in my room checking me out, "It looks like you took a nasty spill," he says.

My gut pinches at his words, it sure was nasty but I'm not ready to tell him about my mother's involvement yet. I know that I'm going to have to fill my dad in too, but at least the doctors don't seem to expect anything outside of an accident, so I can control the flow of information now.

"You're going to be alright, you have a mild concussion and you'll need to stay for observation," the doctor concludes.

"Kilian?" is all I can muster.

"Is that your family?" the nurse chimes in, "I'll go see who's here for you, you can have visitors for a while."

I manage to wring out what I think is a smile so she heads out the door hopefully in search of Kilian. The doctor checks a few more things and then leaves me alone. I guess now all I can do is wait.