Darker: The Inquirer

by M. S. Parker

  “Here’s what we’re going to do.” I kept my voice calm and even. “I’m going to run back to my cabin and make myself decent. You do the same and meet me by your truck. I’ll go with you to the hospital. Help you stay focused on driving. I can get a ride home from there.”

  “Okay.” He ran his hand through his hair, still looking like he had no clue what to do.

  I reached up and put my hands on his cheeks, waiting until his eyes met mine. “Hey, it’ll be okay. Get cleaned up, and I’ll meet you at the truck.”

  He nodded. When I started to move, though, he grabbed my wrist. “Will you stay with me at the hospital?”

  Talk about the definition of not taking things slow. A lot of people fucked early in a relationship, especially if that’s how things started out, but I’d just agreed to spend some time with him while I was in Savannah, and now he was asking me to meet his family, not just at some random thing either, but during a family emergency.

  Every instinct I had that worked at protecting myself should have been screaming at me to make some excuse why I could only drop him off, but my head was weirdly quiet. Almost like my mind was waiting to see what sort of decision I would make without all that shit causing chaos.

  “I’ll stay as long as you need me,” I said.

  The relief on his face told me I’d made the right choice. Even if this blew up in my face, I was glad I’d agreed. I’d gone through too much shit by myself, and I knew from personal experience what it was like to finally have someone to stand by my side when something bad happened. Kaimi and I had been that for each other for more than a decade. Tonight, I’d be there for Bradyn.

  “Go.” I gestured toward his bedroom. “It’ll only take a few minutes, and it’ll be worth it.”

  I only waited until he took a step in the right direction, and then I hurried back to my cabin. I wished I had enough time to shower, but I made do with a wet washcloth, clean clothes, and pulling my hair back. I didn’t look great, but at least I looked more like someone who’d been working all day rather than someone who’d just been fucked into three orgasms. Maybe four.

  Bradyn was waiting by the truck when I got there, but he didn’t look impatient so I assumed that meant he hadn’t been there long. His face still wore that slightly dazed look of someone who’d been caught off guard, but he’d managed to change his clothes, and everything was on the right way, which was honestly more than I’d expected when I left him a few minutes ago. That made me feel better about him driving, at least.

  “Ready?” I asked as I walked around to the passenger’s side.

  The first part of the ride to the hospital was quiet, but not that nice sort of comfortable quiet. Bradyn gripped the steering wheel hard enough for his knuckles to turn white, and his entire body was stiff with tension. The muscles in his jaw were tight, his lips a flat line.

  I didn’t know how to do this, how to comfort or help. If he’d been Kaimi or Rose, I’d know what to say or do. Bradyn, I was still learning who he was. What I could do, though, was ask.

  I reached across the seat and put my hand on his arm. He startled, as if he’d forgotten I was there. “Will it help to talk to me?”

  After a few seconds of silence, he said, “Clancy.” He glanced at me. “That’s my nephew’s name.”

  My research into the Traylor family had told me that Bradyn had an older sister, but I hadn’t really looked into her much yet. I’d been focusing my attention on their father.

  “My sister, Ashley, is four years older than me. She’s the golden child, can do no wrong, you know?”

  I did know, but his question was rhetorical. Not that I would’ve answered it, anyway. Bringing up my sister would just lead to a whole other shitload of questions and baggage.

  “She’s always done everything our parents wanted, which means she and I aren’t really close. I’ve never really understood how she fell in line with their rules and regulations, and she never understood why I wouldn’t.” He slowed to a stop at a light, his fingers drumming against the steering wheel as we waited for it to change to green. “Her husband’s basically the same way. Warren’s twelve years older than her.”

  A memory popped up. The name Warren. A man named Warren Lester was a junior partner at Check & Sons. I hadn’t looked into him, though. I’d barely even registered his name.

  “She was seventeen when they met. He works for the law firm that my family’s always used.”

  That answered a few of my questions. The name I’d read and Bradyn’s brother-in-law were the same person. Check & Sons had been the Traylor’s lawyers for a long time. And Bradyn knew the law firm’s name.

  “My parents had been thrilled, but I never understood how they’d been okay with a man who was almost thirty pursuing their teenage daughter. I really wonder sometimes if he’d been the one to insist on waiting until Ashley was eighteen before they went out. Makes me think better of him, but I’ve never asked.”

  I heard the part of the statement Bradyn wasn’t making. He hadn’t asked because if he was wrong, it would change how he looked at his brother-in-law.

  “They got married right after she turned nineteen, and their oldest, Warren Jr., was born a year later.” Some of the tension in him had gone away, and as he turned into the hospital parking lot, he seemed much more in control of himself. “Betsy came along three years after that, and then Clancy.”

  The way Bradyn’s voice cracked on the name told me how much he loved his nephew. I felt sick to my stomach, wondering what had happened to the kid. The part of me that fought to put myself first, to run away from anything that could possibly hurt me, begged me to leave. It’d be easy to call a cab and go back to the ranch, leave Bradyn with his family. I didn’t belong here.

  As he parked the truck, I thought of what I’d say, how I’d get myself out of my promise to stay with him. Before I could say a word, he reached over and grabbed my hand, his grip painfully tight.

  “He’s only six years old, Nyx.”

  Fuck.

  I couldn’t leave him. Even if this thing between us never went any further than the rest of the time I was here, I’d never forgive myself if I abandoned him. My life was full of enough regrets. I didn’t need to add one more, especially one like this. I knew all too well what it was like to be thrown away by people who should have been there.

  “If something happens to him–”

  Bradyn shook his head, unable to continue, but I understood. If Rose had been the one in the hospital, I’d be just as lost. I leaned over and kissed him. Just a brush of my lips across his, comfort not sex.

  “Don’t start in on the ifs. Let’s see what’s going on, find out the facts.” I kissed him again. “All right?”

  He inhaled slowly and then let the breath out the same way. I watched him steady himself and then he nodded. As we walked across the parking lot, he reached over and took my hand, our fingers lacing together as if we’d been walking like this for years.

  If the situation had been different, I’d probably have been reading into it, wondering what it all meant, but right now, all of that was pushed to the back of my mind. Pushed back and then down into boxes. Bradyn was the priority.

  The woman at the desk directed us to the elevator and gave us a floor number. It wasn’t until we stepped off the elevator that we realized where we were.

  Surgery.

  Shit.

  We followed the arrow directing us to the waiting area, anxiety growing with each step. I gritted my teeth, reminding myself that I was here for Bradyn. Whatever he needed from me, I’d give, even if it meant suddenly having six people staring at me.

  “What are you doing here?” A tall man with steel gray hair and bright blue eyes was the first to speak.

  Clancy Traylor. Even if I hadn’t seen a picture of him, I would’ve known who he was. The resemblance to Bradyn was strong.

  “I told him Clancy was here.” The oldest woman in the room spoke up. Jaylin Traylor had the same stubborn set to her jaw that
Bradyn did.

  “That wasn’t your decision to make.”

  “Daddy, please!” The words came from a blonde woman with a sugar-sweet Southern accent and tears in her light brown eyes.

  A tall, lean man with thinning hair almost the same shade as mine put his arm around the blonde. Ashley and Warren Lester. The red-haired boy in one of the seats behind them was Warren Jr., and the strawberry blonde with the sour expression was Betsy.

  At least I didn’t need Bradyn to introduce me to everyone. Between the research I’d done and the information he’d given me on the way here, I had names for faces without needing to ask.

  “What happened?” Bradyn asked, his hand tightening around mine.

  After a few uncomfortable seconds of everyone exchanging glances, Mrs. Traylor answered the question.

  “Clancy’s appendix burst. He’s in surgery right now.”

  Bradyn glanced at his niece and nephew, then moved closer to his mother. “How bad is it?”

  She crossed her arms, not in a stubborn way but more like she was trying to hold herself together. “We don’t know. He’s only been back there for about twenty minutes or so.”

  At least she hadn’t waited hours to tell Bradyn what’d happened. I found myself disliking her a tiny bit less.

  I waited for someone else to say something. What they were supposed to say, I had no idea. It wasn’t like I’d ever done this before. Not just the specifics, but all of it. I had no clue how I was supposed to help someone who was experiencing this type of emergency.

  Did I say something to his family? Tell them I was sorry? Or was that the sort of thing that only apply to a death in the family? I’d lost my father when I was eight, and everyone who came to see us said they were sorry. I hadn’t been old enough to really understand that kind of sorry wasn’t the same as when I had to apologize for doing something naughty like stealing my sister’s toys.

  By the time Mom married Art, I’d learned the difference, but I’d never really had to use it. I’d been a bit of a loner, even before all the shit that happened with my stepdad. Going to juvie didn’t do much to make me more sociable. Saying I was socially awkward when I finally got out was an understatement.

  “You’ve made an appearance,” Clancy – Mr. Traylor, obviously, not the grandchild named after him – finally said. “You and your…friend can go now.”

  I moved a little closer to Bradyn, hoping he’d understand that I would support whatever he wanted to do. Any doubts I’d had about being here with him were gone. His family would’ve pissed me off even if I didn’t care about him like I did.

  “We’re not going anywhere.” Bradyn’s voice was quiet, but there wasn’t anything soft about it. “No matter what’s going on with all of us adults, I will be here for the kids.”

  “I’m not asking you to be,” Ashley snapped.

  I didn’t like her tone, but her kid was having surgery so I didn’t say anything to her. Plus, there was the fact that I didn’t think it was my place to mouth off to Bradyn’s sister, or any of his family members, for that matter.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Bradyn said. “I’m staying.”

  As if to prove his point, he went over to the empty chair next to Warren Jr. and pulled me after him. Ashley glared at both of us, but absently, like it was more of a reflex than her actually doing something consciously. It didn’t make me like her, though.

  “Hi, Uncle Bradyn.” The kid glanced at me and smiled, raising a hand in a little wave. “I’m Les.”

  “Hey, kiddo.” Bradyn ruffled his nephew’s hair.

  “Hi, Les. I’m Nyx.”

  His eyes widened. “Nyx? I’ve never heard that name before.”

  I grinned at him. “It’s not a common one.”

  “It’s weird.” The little girl leaned over from the other side of Les and gave me one of those annoyed looks that spoiled little girls seemed to perfect.

  “Betsy.” Bradyn gave her a stern look.

  “It’s okay,” I said, squeezing his hand. “Everyone’s a little on edge. And my name is weird.”

  Betsy didn’t seem to appreciate me sticking up for her. She leaned back in her seat and glared at nothing. I couldn’t say that I wouldn’t have been pissed off if I’d been her age and stuck at the hospital, but she looked old enough to understand that her brother was sick. Any child of–

  I pushed the thoughts away. I was in no position to judge any kids or their parents. This was not about me.

  “Is Clancy gonna be okay?” Les asked. The worried expression on his face looked too old for someone his age.

  “An appendectomy is a pretty common surgery,” Bradyn said. “And the doctors here are really good.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “When I was in high school, I had to have my appendix out, and I had it done here.”

  The kid’s eyes went wide. “Really? I didn’t know that.”

  As Bradyn continued to talk to his nephew, I let my attention wander. This wasn’t a date or even a family function. I was here to be whatever Bradyn needed me to be. Someone to talk to. Someone to stand or sit with. If talking with Les made Bradyn feel better, then I’d sit back and let them talk.

  Mr. Traylor kept throwing me dirty looks, but I didn’t respond. If he thought he was the most intimidating person I’d ever met, he was dead wrong. He wasn’t even on my top five. Maybe not on my top ten if I really stopped and thought about it. I wasn’t going to do anything about it, though. Sometimes it was a good thing to be aggressive when it came to bullies, but sometimes it was better to just ignore them.

  I wasn’t sure how much time passed, only that the Lesters and the Traylors had paced and sat and then paced again. Finally, a short man in scrubs came over to where we were waiting.

  “Clancy Traylor’s family?”

  “Yes, I’m his mother.”

  Warren followed Ashley over, and the rest of us came behind them. Bradyn reached for my hand again, and Les grabbed the other one.

  “The surgery went well,” the doctor said. “We were able to get to the infection before it spread too far. He’s on antibiotics and will need to stay here for at least several days so we can monitor him.”

  It was like everyone sighed at once. As much as I didn’t like their attitudes or how they treated Bradyn, they loved the kid.

  “We’ve moved him into recovery,” the doctor continued. “I can take you back to him.” He looked from Ashley and Warren to the rest of us. “Only the parents. The rest of you can come back tomorrow during regular visiting hours.”

  Mr. Traylor stepped forward, knocking his son-in-law out of the way. “I want to see my grandson.”

  The doctor looked from Ashley to Mr. Traylor and then back again. “I can take two people into recovery, Mrs. Lester.”

  Without even looking at her husband, Ashley took her father’s arm “Daddy and I will go. Warren, why don’t you take the kids and Mom to the house and then bring me back a bag of things so I can stay the night.”

  I waited for Warren to speak up and tell his father-in-law to stay put, that he was going to see his son and the grandparents could take the kids home.

  Warren’s shoulders slumped. “Yes, dear.”

  Ashley and Mr. Traylor followed the doctor through the double doors, and Warren turned back to his kids. Mrs. Traylor went over to Betsy and shook the girl’s shoulder.

  “Wake up, darlin’. Time to go home.”

  “Warren, is there anything we can do to help?” Bradyn asked.

  Warren looked at me and then at Bradyn, but it was Mrs. Traylor who spoke. “This is a family matter, Bradyn. We don’t need to be airin’ our laundry in front of a stranger.”

  The expectant look on Warren’s and Mrs. Traylor’s faces made me think they were waiting for the same thing. For Bradyn to tell them who I was and why I’d come with him. I was kinda curious myself about what he’d say, but I wouldn’t press him to give an answer. It wasn’t like I’d be able to answer it any better. And honestly
, I didn’t know what I would’ve wanted him to say. It was all still so new.

  It seemed like everything between Bradyn and me just kept getting crazier. It should’ve made me wonder if anything was worth all of this, but for once, all those voices in my head kept quiet.

  Nineteen

  Bradyn

  “I. Said. I. Want. Ice cream.”

  Betsy had her dad’s teal eyes, but when they were narrowed and annoyed like they were right now, she looked exactly like her mother. People rarely took into account how much attitude came into play when it came to resemblances between family members.

  “And I said that you have to eat your lunch first.” I kept my tone calm but firm.

  I was still a little confused as to how I’d gotten here, but kids were like horses. They could smell fear. I had to pretend that everything was as normal as possible. Les was a good, compliant kid. It was Betsy I had to watch out for.

  She crossed her arms and gave me a pout that was all Ashley.

  I understood why she thought she could test me. I’d never babysat for them before. Even before the shit hit the fan with my parents, I’d avoided family time as much as possible. I loved my sister and parents, but I didn’t like them very much. Ashley and I had been butting heads since I was old enough to talk.

  That was one of the main reasons I was completely baffled by the fact that I was at Warren and Ashley’s house, watching Les and Betsy while their parents were at the hospital with Clancy. I assumed my parents were there too. I couldn’t think of another reason why I’d be with the kids. It made sense. Me watching the kids kept the adults from having to deal with bored kids and also kept me from showing up at the hospital uninvited.

  “Uncle Bradyn, when did you say Clancy was coming home?” Les spoke up from his seat at the table. “I want to write it on the calendar.”

  I doubted Les actually needed me to remind him. He was the sort of kid who came up with schedules of his own and followed them to the minute. The quick glance Les shot toward his sister confirmed what I was already thinking. He was trying to change the conversation, either to distract me or to distract Betsy. The way he did it made me think that he’d done it before, probably on a regular basis.