Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“Thank God,” she whispered, her voice wobbling as she dropped back onto the couch. “Fuck. I thought she was dead.”
“I’ve got her,” Ronan said as Saoirse started to cry. “You go in with Richie.”
My gut churned with nausea as I walked toward Richie’s room. One of the nurses behind the desk pointed me in the right direction, but for a split second I thought I had the wrong room—I didn’t even recognize him at first. He was out, a tube down his throat, IVs and wires coming from under his blanket like a bunch of loose threads. He looked like shit.
“Hey, Pop,” I said, leaning down close. He didn’t even twitch. “Aisling’s okay. Not sure if anyone’s told you yet. I went and got her. She’s safe.”
I sat down in the chair next to the bed and leaned my elbows on my knees. “Aoife’s with her—that’s why she’s not here right now. She’ll be back in a little while, though. Sean’s at home with Aunt Ashley. He’s fine.”
I didn’t know what the fuck to say, so I stopped talking. It killed me that I didn’t know what had happened when Richie had gone to get Aisling. If he couldn’t hear me and leaving Aisling in danger was the last thing he remembered, then wherever he was, he was panicking.
“I’m still here,” I said after a while. “Not goin’ anywhere until Aiofe gets back, all right?”
I wasn’t sure how long I sat there. A couple hours at least. Every once in a while, I’d say something so he knew I was still with him.
Finally, the curtain was pulled aside, and Aoife stepped into the room. “Hey,” she greeted softly.
“Hey,” I said with a groan, sitting up. “Aisling?”
“She’s all done.”
“They discharge her?”
Aoife’s face was blotchy and pale. “I don’t think they wanted to,” she replied, looking at Richie. “But they knew she’d just be on a different floor of the hospital.”
“Here,” I said, standing. “Sit. Did she say anythin’ about what happened to Richie?”
“She hasn’t said much,” Aoife replied, walking to the bed. Her hand slid over the dull white blanket, her hand wrapping around Richie’s ankle. “She’ll tell us when she’s ready. Can you go get her? She wants to come back.”
I bit my tongue instead of telling her that Aisling would be talking soon whether she wanted to or not. I needed to know what the fuck was going on.
“No problem.” I muttered, turning to Richie. “Takin’ care of things here. Don’t worry.”
I walked to the door as Aoife moved into my place and leaned down to kiss her husband. “Hey, baby. Got our girl back. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
The waiting room was deserted except for my siblings. Aisling and Saoirse sat close together and Roman was across from them, his head resting against the wall.
“No change?” Saoirse asked.
“Not that I can see.”
“They said the next couple of days are the most important. They were able to repair everything, but now his body has to actually start doing all the shit it’s supposed to be doing again.” She reached out and gently rested her hand on Aisling’s back.
“Mam asked me to bring you in to see him,” I told Aisling. She looked like a ghost, her face was so pale and drawn. “You ready?”
Her hands were visibly shaking as she rose to her feet. “Yeah,” she rasped. “I’m ready.”
Chapter 7
Myla
“Well, where is he?” Lou asked Bas the second he put his phone away. “What’s going on?”
“Family shit,” Bas replied, getting to his feet. “I already told you that.”
“What family shit?” she prodded, hopping up from the couch.
Bas looked at her for a long moment and sighed. “Richie got shot.”
I inhaled sharply in surprise. Of all the things I could’ve imagined happening to Cian’s family, that was probably the last thing on the list, right before being abducted by aliens.
I’d met all of Cian’s family. It was impossible not to, considering how close he was with them. His oldest sister, Aoife, who he called Mam, was the most serious in the group. Witty and sharp, but always a little watchful. Saoirse was quieter than the others, calmer, and whenever you talked to her, it felt like she could see right through you. Luckily for me, I was pretty sure that she saw I was hopelessly in love with her brother, so she’d always been friendly. Ronan was a lot like Cian. Funny and sarcastic, but lacking the sharp edges that Cian had. Aisling was my favorite though—she was wild. Hilarious and loud, you could tell that she was the baby of the family, and they adored her. It was probably why we got along so well—I was also the coddled youngest sibling.
Aoife’s husband, Richie, was the friendliest and most open man I’d ever met. He seemed like the kind of guy who’d never met a stranger, and he seemed just as protective of the siblings as his wife. They were an unshakable unit—it was noticeable the moment you met them.