Page 55 of Don’t Look Back

Ashley knelt in front of me, offering me a bottle of water—and a notepad and pen. “Write down your number. I called his mom, and she said she’d be happy to update you. Off the record.”

“Thank you,” I strained, scribbling my number down as best as I could. “I’m sorry; it’s messy.”

Ashley straightened, giving my knee a reassuring squeeze. “I read doctors’ handwriting for a living—don’t worry too much. I’ll do what I can.”

I muttered another thanks, and she walked away. Just then, the emergency room doors opened again and Charlie rushed through them, scanning the room. I wanted to call out to her, but I couldn’t speak. I had nothing left in me. My phone buzzed endlessly in my pocket, but unless I saw Ryan’s name or a Florida number, I wasn’t answering.

“What are you doing out here?” Charlie asked me, dropping into the chair across from me.

“They won’t let me back. ‘Family only.’” I scrubbed at my burning eyes. “What happened? What do you know?”

Her face dropped, and her eyes glazed over. “Sawyer. I’m… I’m so sorry, Gene. I took my eyes off him for a second.”

No one had ever been able to tell Sawyer Huxley what to do. I didn’t blame Charlie.

“What did he do?” I spoke in a monotonous tone. I already wanted to bury Sawyer in my backyard. Nothing could feel worse than what I felt in that moment.

Charlie began to talk, looking nauseated herself. “I took him to my place. I thought I’d be able to keep an eye on him, but he bolted the first chance he got. When I found him, he’d just gotten to Ryan. He could have stopped with the first hit—Ryan went down hard on the concrete, busting his head open. But by the time I got out and was able to pull him off, Sawyer had beaten him to a point that… God, I’ve never seen so much blood.”

Charlie had tears streaming down her face by the time she was done talking. I gulped down the bile rising in the back of my throat, nudging my water at her. I wouldn’t be able to drink it.

“You called the police?”

“An ambulance. But when I said what happened they sent police anyway. They asked me if I wanted to take Sawyer home, but I said no.”

“Charlie, he’s your brother.”

“I don’t give a shit who he is,” Charlie snapped. “He’s where he belongs.”

“Are you going to bail him out?” I asked, only worried that he would be determined to finish the job.

“Hell no. But I can’t promise that no one else will. I’m staying here with you.”

I opened my mouth to talk but was interrupted by another phone call—one with a Florida area code. I froze, my finger hovering over the button to answer.

“Who is it?” Charlie asked.

“I think it’s Ryan’s mom. The nurse gave her my number. I don’t… Charlie, I can’t…”

“Give it to me.”

Charlie had the phone in her hands and to her ear before I could blink. I couldn’t hear anything but the sound of my heartbeat in my ears. It must have been less than two minutes, but they were the longest two minutes of my life.

“I’ll let him know. Thank you,” I heard. “Drive safely.”

Charlie slid from her seat, kneeling in front of me. She was almost green. “Ryan… Ryan needs surgery,” she said softly, swallowing hard. “He has a bleed on his brain. They’re going to keep an eye on that and hope it fixes itself, but he’s got a ruptured spleen, and some internal bleeding. They have to fix that. He’s stable, but critical until they can get the bleeding under control.”

I couldn’t stop the tears anymore. I tried to wipe them away as they fell down my cheeks, but it was useless. “Move,” I said.

“No.”

“Charlie, I’m not playing around.”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Charlie and I wrestled as I tried to get up. Heads were starting to turn, and murmurs started up. The tears were falling uncontrollably. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t breathe.

I just needed him. With Charlie cemented in her spot, holding me in place, I was stuck. Damn it, she was strong. I dropped my head into my hands.