WEST
She’d fallen asleep on me—literally, on me—about an hour ago. But I was still here. Her head had been on my shoulder when she’d nodded off and had gradually moved its way to my chest. I had to get out of here before Brady got home and saw my truck parked down the street. His parents might not notice it, but he would. He would also know I was in her room and how I got there. I wasn’t going to push my luck with him.
Easing out from under her, I pulled the covers up so she wouldn’t get cold. Just as I was about to move away, she began to whimper. It was soft, but it was a cry. Then she began to kick and shake her head as the whimpering got louder.
I have nightmares every night. I see my mother die over and over again. Her words replayed in my head. Was that what this was? I began to rub my hand up and down her arm as I assured her she was okay and I was here.
It didn’t help. She kept kicking and then started to moan pitifully.
I hated seeing her like this. Lost in a horror she couldn’t escape. It wasn’t a nightmare. Those weren’t real. Those you could wake up from. This was a memory that haunted her. One she’d never wake up from.
I crawled in bed and lay behind her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her against my chest. I kept whispering in her ear that I was here. That she was in my arms and I wasn’t leaving her. That she’d be okay.
Slowly, she began to ease. She quit kicking and her terrified sounds stopped. Then her fingers wrapped firmly around my arm. She wasn’t letting me go. Even in her sleep she knew I was here, and she was keeping me close.
That felt good. For once, I had helped her. She’d been my rock and my source of peace, but I was never one for her. I thought she’d gone and lived her hell alone. But in reality, she was still living it, and I could do for her what she did for me. Hold on to her so she never lost herself.
Someone was jerking my body back and forth. Groggily, I opened my eyes to see why. It was still dark out. I blinked and looked down to see that Maggie had turned and was now facing me, tucked in close to my body.
A hand on my arm tightened. Apparently, I hadn’t woken up on my own. I looked up to see Brady scowling at me.
“What. The. Fuck,” he growled. “I trusted you.” He was keeping his voice down, which was good. Brady I could handle, but Boone would kill me.
“She had a nightmare. I was just helping her, and then I fell asleep too. I swear to God, that was it.”
Brady’s scowl didn’t lift. “Why were you in her room? It’s after midnight. I know you, West, and you don’t crawl in bed with girls and do nothing.”
He was right about that. Except with Maggie. I did crawl in bed and do nothing with Maggie.
“I would never touch her, Brady. I swear it. She’s my friend, and she needed me. I’m not trying to do anything more with her.”
Brady finally looked like he might believe me. “She’s dressed,” he said.
“Yeah, and so am I. My boots are even still on,” I pointed out.
Brady backed up and nodded for me to move.
I eased away from Maggie and covered her up. Brady was her cousin, but I didn’t like the idea of him seeing her in those skintight leggings. Her shirt was bunched around her waist, and you could see a little slice of skin on her stomach. I didn’t want him seeing that either.
“Don’t come back in her room at night.”
I wasn’t going to argue with him, but he was stupid if he thought I wouldn’t come back. If she wanted me here, I’d be back every damn night to check on her.
“We talked. She fell asleep, then she started having a nightmare about the same time I was leaving. I calmed her down and fell asleep in the process.”
Brady gave me a hard nod. “Fine. Now leave.”
I would go, but he was leaving too. “I will. But so are you.”
He looked at me like I had lost my mind. “What?”
I looked back at Maggie sleeping curled up alone in the bed. “If I leave, so do you. She locks her door at night. How’d you get in?” I asked him.
“I know how to get into my old room when it’s locked. Besides, once I saw your truck parked down the road, I knew where you were and how you got in here.”
I trusted Brady, but I didn’t like that. “I leave, you leave,” I repeated.
“Are you serious?” he asked.
“Very.”
Brady shook his head and opened the bedroom door. “I swear to God, West. You’re insane if you think I’d make a move on my cousin.”
I didn’t think he would. I just didn’t like him being in her room while she was asleep. She hadn’t invited him in. It was an invasion of her privacy.
When I’d finally gotten home and into my own bed, I’d gone to sleep hoping I’d wake up to a repeat of last weekend with my dad. I didn’t get it.
Instead I was woken by the sounds of an ambulance outside the house, and my mother’s frantic voice. My heart slammed against my chest, and I moved fast. I ran from my room toward the front of the house where I heard Momma.
“He’s down the hall!” she shouted at the paramedics who were already rushing through the door. “Hurry! He’s throwing up so much blood. Hurry! Please!” Momma was crying pitifully, and the paramedics moved fast. I backed up and let them pass, then went to my mother, who was holding on to the front door as if she were about to collapse. She had blood all over her clothing. And tears were running down her face. “We’re gonna lose him. Oh God, West, we’re gonna lose him.” She sobbed as her knees buckled.
I hurried over to her and held her against my chest. “He needs us to be strong right now. We can break down later. But we need to show him that we can handle this. If he sees you cracking, it will be even harder on him.” As I urged her to do what I wasn’t sure I could do myself, I felt like Maggie was right there with me saying those words in my ear. Reminding me this wasn’t about me right now. That I was strong enough for this.
Momma nodded and wiped at her face. “You’re right. He needs us to be strong,” she repeated. “Help me remember that.” She patted my arms I’d wrapped around her. “I need to change and go with them to the hospital.”
“I’ll drive you. Go get changed, and we’ll follow. They aren’t going to let you in the back. They’ll need all the room to help Dad.”
She nodded again, but I could tell she didn’t like the idea of his leaving this house without her.
I held her as they brought out my father, unconscious and covered in blood. Seeing him like that brought on a new, deeper sorrow. One I hadn’t experienced yet.
“We’re coming, honey. We’re right behind you. Be strong for us. We’ll be waiting on you,” Momma called after him.
“Go on and get cleaned up,” I told her.
She held on to my arms for a few more seconds as they put him in the back of the ambulance. Then she hurried down the hall to change.
I jumped in the shower and cleaned off before throwing on some jeans and a T-shirt. Once we got to the hospital, I’d find a cleaning service to call about coming to clean up their room. I wanted it nice and ready when Dad came back home. I also didn’t want Momma cleaning it up.
When I stepped out of my own room, Momma stepped out into the hall from hers. We looked at each other for a moment. “He needs us to be strong for him,” I reminded her. I wanted her to find her inner strength too. In case this was it. If we had to say good-bye to him soon, I wanted her to be ready to give him that without breaking down.
I just hoped to God I could do it. Momma nodded once more and headed for the door. I followed behind her as I texted Maggie. I was going to need her now more than ever.
