38
Nolan
A ire. A bright florescent light blinded me as I woke up. "Aire." Where was she? It was hard to call her name and my voice sounded hoarse. My throat ached when I tried to speak. Someone beside me screamed, "He's awake!"
Was that Raine's voice? Isn't he supposed to be in London? Where was I? Turning my head was painful, so I stopped. I blinked again, getting acquainted with the harsh light. I heard a beeping machine. The vein on the top of my hand pricked with something invasive. A canula. I was in the hospital. It all came back to me after that. I was with Aire and then I got shot. Or we both got shot. Was she okay? Oh god. Aire! I shouted louder, this time not caring about my vocal cords.
People marched in. "He's awake." One voice said. Ivy's. "Thank fuck," Levi said. "He wants Aire," Raine said. A few moments later, a face appeared next to me. Aire. "Hi." She was fine. She looked fine. Her weary smile made me feel ten times better. I tried to get into a sitting position, but she put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
"You're hurt." Her voice calmed me down, and I did as she told me.
Another person materialized on the other side. They had a clipboard in their hands. They pressed a button somewhere close to the bed and felt the head of the bed rise as it adjusted into a sitting position. I could see everyone clearly now. The person with a clipboard was a man in his mid-forties with brown hair. "Hello Mr. Hawthorne." The man bent over to flash a diagnostic penlight into my eyes. He told me I was in a hospital, which I had quickly gathered, and that I was recovering from a gunshot wound on my left shoulder. Apparently, I was unconscious when I came into the hospital, but I must have forgotten about it. I had surgery to remove the bullet wound and this is the first time I woke up in a day. After asking me basic questions and testing my mental acuity, he added, "Your wife was very upset when you came here. She's probably happy to see you wake up. "
I turned my gaze to Aire. She looked tired in a way I had never seen before. Behind her were Ivy, Levi, Seb, Carey, Tyler and Raine. All of my siblings were present. As soon as the doctor left, they rushed forward, surrounding the bed. Levi was the first to speak.
"We all got a call from Ae—Aire telling us you got shot! You freaked us out, man!"
My gaze darted to Aire. "They know your real name?"
"She told us everything," Carey jumped in.
"Really?" My gaze was still on Aire. She nodded."I wanted to come clean. I couldn't hold the secrets any longer. Not when you were close to..." She didn't need to finish the sentence. She thought I almost died.
"And the baby? Is the baby fine?"
She rubbed her belly and smiled. "Yes."
Ivy shrugged. "Wild story, but at least we're not the only fucked up family."
"That's what I was telling Aire," Carey said. "We also had a fucked up patriarch who liked controlling people."
Aire gave me a surreptitious glance, and I remembered our last argument. She seemed to be thinking of the same thing as the surrounding conversation devolved into stories about father. I was just glad to see them again. To think if whoever shot me had aimed an inch further, I would have been dead.
Ivy and Levi were now arguing over some misremembered memory when Carey said to me, "You're going to have to give a statement to the police. I can be present if you don't mind."
"Statement?"
"The person who shot you was caught, but they're not talking. The police need information. Any idea who would want to do this to you?"
I shook my head.
Carey raised his eyebrows. "No business enemies."
"Not ones who want to kill me over a fashion collection, if that's what you're asking." I couldn't think of a reason why anyone would want to kill me. Hawthorne had a reputation for being one of the best places to work in the fashion industry. Our workers were unionized, we didn't use sweatshops, and we steered clear of most animal-based products.
"Just asking. But who knows with nut jobs? Some guy could have watched some silly video online and decided you were part of some vast conspiracy."
The family fussed over me for some more minutes. After they were gone, a nurse came by to check up on me with a tray of food. Aire was the only one left and offered to help me eat. I thought I could do it myself until I failed to hold the spoon properly. I let her feed me, feeling like a kid and a pampered king simultaneously. The act was strangely intimate. Our eyes met constantly, which would have meant nothing if there weren't a lot unsaid between us. I was happy to see the plate empty.
"You told them everything?" I asked, after she was done wiping a dropping on my cheek.
She nodded. "I thought..." she choked. A tear fell down her cheek. "I thought you might die! By the time the ambulance came, your body was lifeless, I thought," she sniffed and wiped away tears that were now streaming down her face, "I thought you were gone."
She drew me into a hug. I embraced her like I wanted to ever since I woke up. "I'm here," I said into her neck.
"I couldn't bear losing someone I lo—someone again." When we pulled apart, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes red from crying. This was probably the first time someone ever cried over me. In all my life, no one has ever been afraid of my death. I was always seen as either reliably there or as an heir that could be easily replaced.I pulled her into my arms again. This is what I wanted, I thought. To be wanted. I didn't want to think of anything else. Wonder if this was all a ruse. Maybe it was, but deluding myself for a minute wasn't so bad.
Over the next several days, Aire stood at my bedside, watching over me and helping me heal. She was there every day and as I was getting better; she went home, but she still came to the hospital and spent most of the day with me. We ended up bonding in a way I least expected. We mostly played card games and when I got tired of them, she organized for the hospital to install a gaming console, and we played a few games together. Some of the hospital staff would come and join in. It was fun and made the stay easy, but when it was time to be discharged, I was glad to be gone from the sterile environment.
Aire continued to nurse me at home even when I felt I no longer needed her help. I wasn't one to complain and she would crush any rebuttal I had to her nursing with one phrase, 'the doctor said.' It felt nice to be pampered. I knew this new reality differed from our previous life before the shooting, but I didn't care. I liked life like this and we would be better off if we continued like this.
I still hadn't gone back to the office. Kelly had become more and more of my right-hand man, coming by together with my assistant to brief me on company matters. One day, he came alone while Aire was out taking a walk in the park. She had been doing plenty of those ever since she got pregnant.
"You better have a good reason why you came on Saturday," I said to Kelly as he walked in on me playing Street Combat. The grave look on his face made me pause the game and drop the controller. "What is it? "
"Can we speak in your office?"
I nodded and led him to the office. My hand was still in an arm sling, making movement difficult, but I was getting used to it. Kelly began sweeping the room as soon as he entered, searching for what I can only assume to be a bug. I let him do his thing and when he was satisfied; I went to the side of the desk where the chair was, but did not sit. "What do you have that’s got you so paranoid? A rival is trying to steal our designs again?"
He shook his head, serious as ever. "I think I know who did that." Kelly pointed to my shoulder. "Your wife tried to kill you."