Chapter 9
Chapter nine
Noah
“So… this is awkward.”
I snap back to reality, neck cracking and back throbbing as I look up at the person now looming over us.
He’s young, his dark copper hair and stormy green eyes familiar in a way that makes my heart ache.
Instinctively, I shift forward in my seat.
“How is he?” is the first question out of my mouth. “And how’s Sawyer?”
Beside me, Mercer groans at the mention of her name, but I know without looking that my best friend won’t even glance up.
He hasn’t spoken all night, no matter how hard I’ve tried.
So I stay focused on the kid before me, desperate for answers. “You’re her brother, right?”
He nods stiffly, shifting his weight and crossing his arms over his chest.
“My name’s Atticus. I’m Sawyer’s brother and Ty’s best friend.”
If the scowl he’s wearing is any indication, he’s aware of or at least suspicious of the role we played in his buddy’s injuries.
“She asked me to come out here and tell you to leave.”
“Jesus H.” Mercer digs the heels of his hands into his eyes.
I swallow past the disappointment, mentally warring with how to respond, and rise to my feet slowly.
Atticus is tall—maybe an inch or two shy of my height. I have no intention of intimidating him. But I can’t have him standing over me dismissively like that.
And I can’t leave.
I have to know she’s okay.
“Is your friend okay?” I’ll start here and lead up to my more pressing concern.
Atticus glares back at me, silently telling me to fuck off.
That, I cannot do.
“Did he need surgery?”
He sighs. Glances back at the hallway behind him.
I’m a big man. Fast, too, thanks to years of football in high school and college. If I took off down that corridor, it would take at least a few minutes before anyone with enough strength and authority intervened.
“I—” Atticus sighs again, raking a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I just got here. Didn’t get much of an update. Ty is sleeping. Sawyer’s in there with him.”
“If you’re here now, maybe you can sit with Tytus and she can come out?”
The kid only glares back at me.
I have to hand it to him. He’s unwavering.
In one last desperate attempt, I lower my voice to a whisper. “We don’t want to upset anyone. But… your sister is important to us. To the both of us,” I clarify, nodding down at Mercer.
He hasn’t moved an inch. Hasn’t lifted his head or even acknowledged he’s paying any attention to us.
“The chaos of last night was a lot on all of us. We just want to see her for ourselves. To know she’s okay.”
The kid snorts. “No shit. I saw the videos. That’s how I fucking found out Ty was in the hospital in the first place.”
Inhaling slowly, I rub between my brows.
I knew there’d be video. I suspected there would be fallout.
I haven’t allowed myself to dwell on any of that yet.
The optics around the orchard should be my priority. It’s my livelihood, after all. My family’s legacy. And things were just starting to turn around for us.
But my one true concern is Sawyer.
Mercer is a close second.
I have to ensure they’re okay before I worry about anything else.
That’s the only way, I realize, that I will be okay.
A light tap on my thigh startles me, and I look down at my best friend.
Mercer pulls his hand back, and without lifting his head, he says, “Ask if she’ll see Noah. I believe—” He releases shuddering breath. “I believe I’m the one she intends to avoid. She may say yes to Noah.”
He’s right.
She might.
But it would destroy him. It’d be like setting fire to the frayed edges of his heart after dousing them in petroleum.
I won’t do that to him.
I can’t.
Even if it kills me to walk out of this hospital without seeing her, without holding her in my arms, I won’t allow Mercer to sink any lower.
“No,” I counter. “We’ll accept that she needs space and wants us to go. Please let her know that we’ll be standing by if she needs anything.”
Atticus presses his lips together, but the lines on his face soften slightly.
Good.
I’ll take his pity and use it. Anything that might help us get closer.
“We care deeply about your sister,” I tell him.
He straightens his spine, a steely resolve settling over him. “And what about Ty? How do you feel about him?”
I hold his gaze for a beat. Then another. I won’t lie to this kid. I won’t dig this hole we’re in any deeper.
Hanging my head, I exhale and accept defeat.
I wasn’t the initiator. But I was complicit.
Guilty in a way I’ll never forgive myself for.
But I fear that walking out of this hospital without talking to Sawyer is a mistake.
Even so, I refuse to abandon Mercer, to leave him to stew in his self-loathing. If she won’t see the both of us, then this will have to wait.
Face lowered, I nod. “Please let her know that we’re only leaving because she asked us to. That we’re just a call away if she needs anything. We’ll be going now.”
I nudge Mercer’s shoulder, and he wordlessly rises.
Atticus nods, turns on his heel, and walks away.
It takes every ounce of willpower I possess to not stalk after him. To not follow him into that room.
I clasp Mercer on the shoulder and silently guide him to the exit, a hollowness sinking into my bones.
If I can’t be there for her right now, I need to be strong for him.