Page 126 of Just Between Us

“Come in,” I say, once most of the pink is gone from Cassie’s cheeks.

The door swings open and an orderly wheels in a chair, cheerful as hell for someone who just ruined the best moment I’ve had in weeks.

“Your chariot awaits,” I say with an exaggerated flourish to the waiting wheelchair.

After three weeks of tests, scans, and rehab, Cassie is finally busting out of this joint today.

She winces as she lowers into the chair, but bats my handaway when I try to help her. She adjusts and sucks in a deep breath.

“You good?”

It takes a second, but she nods. While the transporter moves her to the hall, I grab her bag, her shattered phone, and the last bunch of flowers from the table. They’re wilted now, but Cassie insisted we weren’t throwing them out.

Cassie’s mom is in the patient pickup area behind the wheel of the Toyota Corolla she bought with her own money. Beth, she corrected me after I called her Mrs. James for the second time. She’s been splitting her days between shifts at the diner, Cassie’s hospital room, and her new granddaughter.

Three weeks of sitting in a tiny hospital room, taking turns when needed with Cassie, will bond you to someone. She doesn’t talk much, but somewhere between her bringing us home-cooked meals and me walking her to her car at night, we’ve built a friendship.

Tyler, ever the businessman, has a rental she’s staying in, but after seeing her with the baby, I have a feeling she’s here for good.

“Ready?” she asks once we’re in.

We’re both in the backseat like two kids, but I wasn’t sure how Cassie would handle riding in a car again.

“Take us home, Mom.”

Mom’s car rattles down the gravel drive, passing Liam’s parents’ house and slowly approaches ours. But something is different. Cars line the edge of the drive and none of them belong to Liam. I spot the new Subaru Austin bought for Penny, Tyler’s Volvo, and my aunt’s Lincoln.

“What’s going on?” I ask, looking from the cars to Mom in the rearview mirror, and over to Liam.

“I know how much you’ve missed them. Plus, you haven’t met your niece. But I gave them strict orders. One hour, then it’s out the door.”

A lump rises in my throat. My friends and family visited during my hospital stay, but only in short intervals. And I still haven’t met my new niece. I get it, though. Bringing a newborn to a hospital is asking for it.

Josie’s son is throwing a ball for my sweet Mutt on the side of the house. On the front porch, Josie and Penny stand on either end of a hand-painted banner that reads:Welcome Home, Cassiein a font so perfectly drawn, only an artist like Josie could have achieved it. And right as Mom cuts the engine, my aunt steps out onto the porch.

Liam opens my door and offers his arm, steadying me as I step out. The pain reliever I took right before discharge must be kicking in, because there’s only the dullest ache from the movement.

Then everyone is moving at once and my brain struggles to keep up. Josie is at my side, arm looped gently through mine, saying something about my hair. Penny is reaching for my hand, eyes glassy, and Jay is yelling something to Josie about Mutt and a shoe. Voices layer over each other and the sun is too bright and there are so many faces at once. My eyes clamp shut as pressure builds at the base of my skull. This is all so much. Too many words, too much to process. Just too much.

Air. I need more air. Liam’s grip tightens while I gasp a breath. Then another.

The voices die down almost immediately. I hate this. I hate it so much. These are my friends. My family. And I’m happy to see them, I am. It’s my brain I can’t control. And that’s fucking terrifying.

My eyes are still closed when I feel two hands cup my face.Warm palms with lotion that smells like childhood and safety. I don’t need to open my eyes to know who’s there.

“Sweetheart, if this is too much, just say the word.” Her voice is familiar, soothing, and I grab onto the thread of it. “We will all clear out of here so fast you won’t know we were even here.”

I open my eyes to find Aunt Ashley, her steady gaze studying me the way it has my entire life. Like she can read every hurt I’m trying to hide. Behind her, Josie and Penny have taken a step back, giving me room to breathe.

“I’m okay,” I say, and this time I almost mean it. “Just give me a second.”

“Take all the time you need. We’ll be inside when you’re ready.”

Everyone crosses the yard, until it’s Liam and me, alone in the driveway. I'm still trying to fill my lungs with enough oxygen when he steps in front of me, blocking the sun from my eyes.

“Breathe with me.” Liam’s voice is low, almost hypnotic. “Can you do that? Just like you did for me that night on my deck.” He takes my hand and presses it to his chest so I feel the rise and fall of it.

Closing my eyes, I take in a breath through my nose.