30. Travis
CHAPTER 30
Travis
Wren had been asleep for an entire day. She hadn’t stirred at all, even when we all gathered around in the room later that morning. Delilah and River were there, along with Desi, who sat down with Finn in silent support.
My sister’s face was pale with dark circles under her eyes. The rise and fall of her chest beneath the white blanket and hospital gown kept me sane as I waited for her to wake up.
A hand tugged on my leg, and I looked down to find River looking at me. His blue eyes were a shade darker than mine, but still bright as he raised his arms up.
I picked him up and he patted my cheek. “Travis?”
“Yeah, bud?”
“I don’t like you sad. It makes me sad.”
After holding Delilah in my arms for most of the night, I was woken up by the sound of River calling his sister’s name. I hurried downstairs and swept him up before he could start crying because he couldn’t find her. I took him up and laid him down in the middle of the bed between us. When I woke up a few hours later, I was greeted with two sleeping faces curled up beside me. Both River and Delilah had slept with their hands on my stomach, and I assumed it was their little way of ensuring I didn’t go anywhere.
There was no way I’d be going anywhere without them.
“I’m not sad. Just tired, I promise.” I brushed his shaggy hair away from his face. I’d convince him to cut his hair with me next time I headed into town to get mine cut, now that it had grown longer. Though the way Delilah constantly ran her fingers through my hair made me wonder if I should leave it be.
She was curled up on the leather couch by the windows overlooking the hospital parking lot, the mountains serving as a backdrop. My parents were sitting on either side of her, sleeping like the dead. I’d bet anything that they hadn’t slept all night waiting to see if Wren would wake up.
“I’ll go get you guys some coffee,” Desi said as she stood up, Finn rising with her, sporting dark circles under his eyes and his short blonde hair a mess atop his head. He followed her out into the hall after she asked if he wanted to come with her. They were both back in no time, and I knew Finn was probably more eager than the rest of us to see her wake up.
For so long, it had always been him and Wren. They naturally gravitated to one another, always knowing when one was upset or needed space. Before Wren left for Montana, they’d been inseparable. Wren’s move had been hard on Finn, and I suspected it had been hard for her too.
I couldn’t imagine a world with Finn unless Wren was in it too.
“You should head to Silver Hill and get some rest,” I told my brother as he walked over to ruffle River’s hair, which made the kid pout up at him. Finn grinned at his reaction before frowning at me. Before he could say he had no intention of leaving this hospital, the sound of a soft groan sliced right through my heart. Finn spun to face the hospital bed to find Wren stirring.
“Holy shit,” Finn whispered, with relief dripping from each word. We both hurried to her side. I heard Delilah wake my parents up and then we were all surrounding my sister as she opened her eyes.
Dad gently took Wren’s hand in his when she saw him first, blinking up with tired, glazed eyes. “Hey there, honey.”
“Dad…” Wren frowned as she looked around the room.
“Are you in any pain?” he asked her.
She released a shaky breath that resulted in her grimacing in pain. I held River a little tighter to me when he tucked his face into the crook of my neck.
“It hurts…” she murmured.
Behind me, Desi wasted no time offering to get the doctor before she disappeared into the hallway.
“You scared the shit out of me, you know that?” Finn said to her when she gave him a small smile. He kissed her cheek, and she whimpered slightly, making him pull away. He glared at the bandage around her head like it was the enemy. “What would I have done with you, huh?”
“I have to keep you on your toes now that I’m here. Can’t let you have all the attention.” She tried to joke but it fell flat. Finn was the only one who let out a shaky laugh, dropping his head between his shoulders.
Wren looked to Dad and saw him barely keeping it together, a tear rolling down his cheek.
“Dad, please don’t cry,” Wren pleaded. “I’m okay.”
Dad nodded, wiping his face before placing a kiss on the back of her hand. “I love you, kiddo.”
I placed a kiss atop her head before my sister said, “Man, you guys look like shit. ”
This time we all couldn’t help but laugh. Leave it to one of the twins to pull out a joke at the worst time.
“Bad word,” I heard River whisper to Delilah.
“Better than you, that’s for sure,” Finn tried to joke too. I rolled my eyes at them until Finn grew serious and murmured with affection, “You really had us worried there.”
“Do you remember what happened?” Mom asked her.
Wren frowned and said after a beat, “I remember the rodeo. We were roping and then…I-I don’t know. It’s kind of fuzzy.”
The doctor walked in right at that moment to check her vitals. He asked her a few questions before he explained that, with her head injury, loss of memory was bound to last for a few hours. It would be something we’d all have to keep an eye on. Wren seemed all right with that, probably because she was too disoriented to understand. However, she understood what he meant when he said her leg had been broken.
We all understood what it meant to her to hear that she wouldn’t be able to ride.
Just like that, I saw a light flicker in her eyes and die all in less than a minute. There were no jokes after that. No smiles from her. All she did was fall right back to sleep, leaving us all to worry once more for what was to come.