A cool breeze follows the man as he walks away from the hallway light and toward my parents. First, he shakes my mother’s trembling hand, then directs his attention to my father. “My name is Dr. Anthony Noble, I’m the surgeon who operated on your son. If you’d like, I can take you both somewhere we can speak in private.”
I grab Micah’s hoodie and pull it over my summer dress, and Leah’s eyes find mine. I know what she was thinking: wanting to speak with my parents alone isn’t a good sign. She’s right. Unfortunately for my brother’s girlfriend, her anxious search for reassurance will remain unfulfilled. I have absolutely nothing to offer her. I wrap myself with the comforting scent of my fiancé’s cologne and wait for them to speak.
My dad gives the secluded room a rapid overlook. His jaw is rigid, and I can tell he’s doing his best to stay calm and not lash out at Vince’s surgeon. But the truth is, we’ve been at the hospital for hours. We’ve asked questions and no one wanted to tell us what was going on. The only thing they would give us was a reassuring smile and a promise that as soon as Vince was out of surgery and stable, someone would let us know about my brother’s condition.
“This is Leah, my son’s fiancée.” With a thin smile imitating my father’s, Dr. Noble shakes Leah’s hand. “And this is my daughter, Aubrey, Vincent’s twin sister.”
I move from my chair and walk to stand with my parents. The expression on the doctor’s face goes from unreadable to starved.
“Twins, of course.” His black eyes trail down my body, stopping short of my naked thighs.
Dr. Noble is an attractive man, he’s tall, fit, and the smoldering color of his eyes and short trimmed hair complements the darker shade of his skin tone, but he’s cocky, and I’m not in that kind of mood right now.
He stretches his hand, eager to reach out and touch my fingers, but I cock a brow. For some reason, he must consider it as a challenge, because his lips curl into a wide, charming, but defiant grin. “I must say, Aubrey, you have the oddest yet most beautiful shade of green eyes I’ve ever seen.”
A familiar feral growl echoes behind the surgeon and I suppress the shiver about to run down my spine. It’s a sound that should have sent a wave of comfort through me but doesn’t.
A pair of hooded blue eyes zero in on me from the doorway. Dark narrowed orbs that prowl on instinct and dominance rather than protection. For the first time since I’ve met him, Micah stands in front of me like a man who has nothing left to lose and no desire to gain.
His face is ridden of emotion.
Cold. Distant. Disengaged.
“Micah,” my father warns. “We had a deal.”
Deal? My brows pinch. What kind of deal?
“Mr. Lambert, correct?” A flash of irritation crosses Dr. Noble’s face when Micah gives him no sign of acknowledgment. “I heard you’ve been giving my nurses a little more than a piece of your mind for the past few hours.”
Micah who steps inside the room, following my father’s demand like a good son-in-law, leans against the wall closest to the door, and offers the surgeon nothing more than a self-righteous snicker. “I know this isn’t what you want, Austin, but I think it will be safer for all of us if I stay here.”
My dad hides his grin behind a barely noticeable mouth twitch and an understanding nod. “This is my family, Dr. Noble, whatever you need to tell my wife and me, you will share with them.”
I almost roll my eyes when Micah crosses his arms over his chest, challenging his new nemesis with another pretentious smirk. What stops me is the hint of gratitude hidden behind his cold glare.
“Of course.” Dr. Noble scratches his throat. “Well first, I should start by telling you that Vincent has suffered multiple injuries to both legs. The mass that hit his right leg fractured his shinbone, specifically, the proximal tibia. Thankfully, the X-rays and scans have determined that his knee joint wasn’t affected. Because of the way Vincent’s bone was severed, we were able to place a plate on the outside surface of the bone rather than a rod to stabilize the fracture.
“Your son’s main injury was sustained to his left leg. The force and the weight of the beam that fell on his thigh fractured his femur in two different places. The first fissure was treated more or less in the same way as his broken tibia. The second fracture is what we call a compound fracture. In addition to the impact, the spike that punctured his leg sliced through his skin. The tears caused severe damages to his muscles, ligaments and severed his nerves.”
I try to focus on what he’s saying, but the rest of his explanations end up getting lost to the strident ringing sound in my ears. My mind drifts back to when we were in the ambulance together, back to when I laced my fingers with his and prayed for him to stay alive, back to the way he smiled and nodded before passing out again.
I wipe the tear rolling down my cheek.
“At this time, Vincent has been put in intensive care and is receiving a blood transfusion.”
“Is he awake?” Leah asks.
“No, not really.” The way Dr. Noble’s eyes keep leering my way makes me want to kick his pretentious ass back to his operating room. “I’ve been informed that he’s been slipping in and out of consciousness for the past hour. He isn’t aware of anything and it might stay like that for a few more hours. Our staff is doing everything they can for your fiancé.”
I frown. “If Vince’s operation was such a success, why is he in ICU and not in the recovery room?”
“Many reasons, but mainly because we are currently monitoring the low oxygen levels and his low blood pressure. In itself, these symptoms are normal, but we do have one concern: the slight unsteadiness in his pulse. We need to figure out what’s causing the arrhythmia and make sure there are no clots in his system.”
My mother who hasn’t spoken a word since the doctor walked in, gasps for air. She’s basically on the verge of breaking down. My dad who’s been putting on a brave face, nods, but his unshed tears sell him out. Leah, who’s knees have given up on her, has her face completely buried in her hands and is backing away from our circle.
I watch them.
Study each and every one of their reactions, but my focus is on one person only. Micah.
I watched him the entire time Dr. Noble spoke. He sucked in each and every word, cursed every time the man dared to say his best friend’s name, closed his eyes and relived the nightmare he and Vince have been through together, over and over again, and he would never say it, but clung to the hope that everything would be okay until he realized it wouldn’t.
Micah’s walls are thick, but not thick enough to hide his pain.
Not thick enough to hide his guilt.
A guilt I don’t understand.
He catches me staring, reads my mind, and instead of challenging me like he knows so well how to do, he cowardly lowers his gaze to the floor.
What the hell?
“I know that all of this is a lot to take in, but if you have any other questions…” As if sensing it was his time to go, Dr. Noble’s voice dies down.
“Will he be able to walk again?” All eyes are on me. I know what they’re thinking. It doesn’t matter if he walks or not, what matters is that he survives.
But they’re wrong.
As opposed to everyone here, I’m not worried about Vince’s heart. I know it would pull through. I feel it. I feel him.
What I’m worried about is his life.
The doctor’s lips thread into a thin line. “I’ll be frank with you, Miss Bankes, your brother’s chances of walking again are pretty thin.”
“Give us a number.” Micah’s request is choked.
Dr. Noble peers back, his face serious and shakes his head. “I’m sorry, we can’t say for now.”
“You’re lying,” I snap. I know because for the first time since he walked in, Anthony Noble is avoiding eye contact with me. He knows what the odds are, he’s either too afraid of getting in trouble for telling us or doesn’t want to be the bearer of bad news because the probabilitie
s are too low. “So let me be frank with you, Doc. Right now, I really don’t give a fuck about your policies. I want answers.”
“Aubrey,” my mother scolds through her own tears, but my glare doesn’t falter.
The doctor sighs and returns his attention to my parents. “There is no easy way to say this, Mr. and Mrs. Bankes: your son has a very long road of treatments and therapy ahead of him.”
“That’s not an answer. Stop skirting.” Strength and confidence radiate through me. But when I start closing the remaining distance between us and lock eyes with him, I see the truth. My voice cracks. “Please.”
His Adam’s apple moves and he gives me a solemn nod. “Less than ten percent.”
A sharp hissed curse followed by a loud thud breaks the eerie silence.
“Less than ten percent,” I whisper, and by the time the information sinks in completely, I notice through my tear-filled eyes that Micah has stormed out of the room.
CHAPTER TEN
Micah
Present
Less than ten percent…
A roar wants to explode out of me. A brutal, raging, protective cry, and I can’t let it go because blaring out my anger would give away my hiding spot. Not that it’s a good one… a dark secluded dead-end hallway with no way out except for the door with a no entry sign is always a good place to hide until someone decides to walk up to it for no good reason.
I just need to be alone.
Away from their prying eyes. Away from their probing minds.
I need to be away from her.
“This room is pretty nice. How many people did you piss off to get us here?”
Austin’s voice echoes in the back of my mind and I force my lids shut. Aubrey had told her parents about our engagement. My ring perfectly placed on her finger was the first thing I noticed when I came back inside and took a seat on the hallway floor. I half expected Austin to say something when he saw me, maybe give me shit about what had happened in the ER, but he didn’t. He’d stood in the doorway of their private room, blocking my ability to watch my fiancée resting on her mother’s lap and waited for an answer. It didn’t matter how long it took, I would have pressed until they got fed up and locked me up if I had to.
The truth is that I’d pissed off too many people to count. Doctors, nurses, support staff, people from the administration office… and high chances are that I’m also on the security guards’ asshole radar. But I didn’t care. Still don’t. The only thing that mattered to me was knowing that the Bankes family had a quiet place to be while they waited for some news about Vince. A place where I could be close enough to keep an eye on her but remain hidden in the shadows so she wouldn’t see me.
“I think you’re hurting yourself more than you’re hurting her.” Austin pointed out when he noticed my legs twitch. A slight shiver had just run down Aubrey’s spine, and my muscles seemed to have a mind of their own, ready to lurch inside the room to remove the strand of hair that was hiding her mascara stained cheek and tickling the tip of her nose.
Vivian, who had kept a close eye on me since I’d sat down, had tied her daughter’s hair in a loose braid that cascaded down her bare shoulder. It’s probably how she managed to get Aub to close her eyes in the first place.
When Aubrey fights her sleep, I play with her hair: ten minutes and she’s out like a light.
Austin waited an entire minute to see what I would do, and when he realized that I would force my body to remain stoned into place, he sighed and stepped over to my side of the hall to take a seat beside me.
I press my throbbing head against the flat cool surface of the out-of-order elevator door and bite back another curse.
I want to shut out the conversation he and I had.
Shut out my entire night and pretend like it never happened.
“Trust me, Austin, I deserve it.”
“If this is about Vincent—”
“It’s not.”
This is all on me. My past. My demons. My secrets.
He waited for me to give him more.
I didn’t.
I followed his gaze. Sitting in the corner chair, Leah was studying me with glossy eyes. She was worried, heartbroken, and behind all her anxious concern, she demanded to know what had happened. Unfortunately for the both of us, she was asking for answers I couldn’t give.
I can’t explain why Vincent chose to follow me inside the Phoenix’s burning house. I can’t tell her why he didn’t listen when I told him to leave. I have no idea what had caused the explosion. The only thing I know is the one thing I’ve known all along.
One day I was going to pay for my broken promise.
One day my past was going to catch up with me.
One day, the rage that was lodged deep inside my core, hidden behind the delusion of a perfect life was slowly going to scratch its way out.
That day is today.
“Do you think there will be a point where you’ll come and sit with the rest of your family?”
We both silently watched over the three women in the room.
Our family. My love.
“Micah.”
There was tenderness in Vivian’s whisper. My glance slanted her way but only for a moment, the second Aubrey stirred in her sleep again, my focus shifted. A wave of goosebumps prickled my fiancée’s porcelain skin and within that same instant, another rush of anger coursed through me.
I should have been the one holding her.
I should have been the one cradling her, taking care of her.
The expression on my future father-in-law’s face saddened when I didn’t answer. “I don’t know what’s eating you up, son, but let me tell you that whatever it is, it’s not worth it. She loves you. All of you. And every second you’re not allowing yourself to touch the woman you love is a distance you’re choosing to put between you.”
To my silence, he got up and walked in the direction of his wife.
“Austin.”
He stopped, spun on his heels and eyed the hoodie I had taken off my back. I extended it to him so he could cover Aubrey’s shivering body. His eyes tightened at the corners. My lack of words irritated him, but thankfully he understood that he couldn’t force me to talk. Even if he tried, I would have simply walked away.
He took my shirt and stepped inside the waiting room, but before leaving me to my dark thoughts, he glanced back. “Be the man I saw when I walked through the ER doors, Micah. Be the man you promised me you would be when you asked for her hand.”
I frowned. How could he not see that those were two different men?
“Be the man who was unable to control himself because he was afraid of losing her.”
Afraid…
I sigh. I’ve spent a lot of hours thinking about the way I reacted when she and I were in the emergency room together, and if there’s one thing I know for sure: I’m not afraid of loosing Aubrey. I’m fucking infuriated with her.
Her broken promise.
Her ability to put her ass right smack in the middle of danger and not fucking care about the risks or repercussions.
Her mistrust.
Her lies.
I suppress a long-enraged growl and slam my palms repeatedly against the out-of-order elevator door. Each strike sends a sharp sting throughout my nerves. It’s like a million little needles are prickling my skin. It burns, but the pain isn’t enough.
Nothing is enough to calm me down.
Low blood pressure. A frail heartbeat. Massive blood loss… the words circle in the back of my mind over and over again.
I thought things couldn’t be worse. I was wrong.
So. Fucking. Wrong.
“Less than ten percent,” I whisper to myself. “Why couldn’t it have been me?”
“Micah?”
My head shoots up and I freeze.
Aubrey. Fuck.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Micah
Present
The first thing that hits me when the no entry door thuds twice behin
d me is the nauseating stench of iodine and rubbing alcohol. I have no idea how long I’ll be able to hide here, especially since I’m surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glassed walls, but I’ll make the best of the time I have.
Each room I pass by as I meander my way up the deserted corridor in search of a better hiding place is equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The beeping sounds coming from the machinery on each side of the hallway echoes through the sterile air, breaking the silence I am desperately craving. And by the time I reach the third room, the realization of where I’ve just ended up dawns on me.
My heart starts to stammer against my chest. The idea of seeing Vince right now is both relieving and petrifying. It feels like I’ve been waiting for this all night, yet now that I’m here I want to run in the opposite direction.
But I can’t. Because he’s right there.
It’s funny how the human brain works. The way our mind has the ability to twist reality in order to protect us from the facts. The truth is no matter how prepared we are, nothing is ever the way we imagine it to be. When Dr. Noble said Vince’s breathing was being monitored, my mind didn’t construe the image of transparent tubes taped to his mouth and nose to control his oxygen intake. When he said his heartbeat was unsteady, I could easily picture the wires attached to his chest, what I didn’t envision was the external defibrillator next to his bedside. And when he said he was under observation, the last thing I thought I’d see was my best friend lying in his hospital room completely alone.
Walking through the sliding door, I make my way toward Vincent and regardless of the cool crisp air flowing through the ventilation system, sweat drenches the back of my neck.
My throat feels thick as I stand at the foot of his bed. I keep wanting to look at him, but I can’t bring myself to do it. “Your surgeon is a real piece of shit.” I know it sounds stupid and this is pretty much the last thing I should be talking about, but I also know my best friend, and he would want to know. Anthony Noble might be the reason Vince is still alive, but the reminder of his starved eyes devouring my girl like she was a damn cherry lollipop is making my blood boil.
Broken Promises (Burning Mistakes Book 1) Page 11