Page 40 of A Burning Rage

Cooper and Sam keep offering me water and protein bars, but I decline. Molly and Annie offer to bring me something from the cafeteria, but I shake my head. I don’t think I could keep anything down right now.

Eventually, Cooper refuses to take no for an answer when he offers me a water bottle for the third time. “Drink this, Beth,” he says in a stern voice. Tough love. “You can’t let yourself get dehydrated. You’ll be no help to Shane if you make yourself sick.”

Sam puts his arm around my shoulders and leans in for a side hug. “Please? For me? Don’t make Cooper use his grumpy daddy voice.”

Wordlessly, I hold out my hand to Cooper. He unscrews the cap and gives me the bottle. I down a third of it before handing it back.

I feel shaky, most likely from low blood sugar, and I know I should eat something. But if I do, I’m afraid it won’t stay down.

Tyler comes to check on me, along with his husband, Ian.

Eventually, Annie comes to hug me and say goodbye. “I’ll go help your mom and Joe with the kids. Jake is staying. If you need anything, let him know.”

Annie’s pregnant and starting to show now. I’m sure all this waiting is wearing on her.

“Thank you for coming,” I say as I return her hug. “Please give Luke and Ava a kiss from me.”

My sister-in-law Molly leaves next, heading to my house to collect her two babies. Her husband, Jamie, Shane’s brother, stays.

This is so surreal, sitting here, hour after hour, not knowing anything. My butt is numb as are my legs. I have to get up a few times to walk around just to get my circulation back.

I keep reliving that moment when Shane rushes at me. I can still hear his raw shout, “No!”

I remember the hate-filled look on Andrew’s face as he glared at me from across the parking lot.

“Andrew’s dead, right?” I say to no one in particular. “He can’t hurt anyone anymore.”

“Yes,” Cooper replies. “He’s dead.”

A horrifying thought occurs to me. “Tyler won’t get in trouble for shooting him, will he?”

“You don’t need to worry about that, sugar. Tyler told me that after Shane fell, Andrew was about to take another shot at you. Tyler said he dropped him before he could pull the trigger. It was all caught on camera, clearly self-defense. Tyler’s in the clear.”

I sigh heavily. I couldn’t handle my brother being charged over shooting Andrew.

I glance at my phone to check the time. It’s after six now. We’ve been here for eight hours, and there’s still no word on Shane’s condition.

Sam puts his arm around me. “Let’s go to the cafeteria and grab a quick bite to eat.”

“I can’t leave, but you go. You must be starved. Both of you go.” I gesture to Cooper.

“I’m not leaving you,” Sam says. I can hear the duh in his voice.

“I’m serious. You two should go.”

“There’s no chance in hell we’re leaving you here alone,” Cooper says.

I glance around at all the McIntyres who are still here. “I’m hardly alone.”

“Beth.” I can hear the frustration in Cooper’s voice. “You haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. It’s not going to help Shane one bit if you make yourself sick.”

“I—”

Before I can utter another word, the side door opens and out walks Dr. Markowski. She looks… exhausted. Her expression reveals nothing.

I jump to my feet. “How is he?”

Chapter 15 – Beth