Chapter 228

I felt fingers gently running through my hair, a pair of lips against my forehead as I slowly drifted away from my mind numbing dreams and into consciousness. Someone was saying my name softly, the voice familiar. I knew the voice was mine, but I was tempted to say, “Go away and let me sleep,” all the same. Every bone in my body ached with exhaustion. It felt as if I had only just fallen asleep. “Archer.” The voice gave a quiet laugh. “Honey, I know you’re awake.” I gave a disgruntled groan. Opening my eyes was inevitable. Hadley’s pretty, tired face swam into view in front of me. She was sitting in the seat next to me, and I realized that I had passed out in the waiting area in Bellevue sometime around three in the morning, and I was still there. “Shit.” I sat upright, brushing my hair out of my eyes. “What time is it? How long have I been asleep?” “It’s only about eight,” Hadley said right as Carlo came walking up to us, coffee cup in hand. “Would’ve woken you up, but you just looked so cute sleeping, I didn’t want to disturb you,” he said, slapping my leg as he took a seat beside me. “Blow me.” I got to my feet, stretching my arms behind my head. “How is Lauren doing?” Carlo took a large swallow of coffee and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. “Don’t know. She still hasn’t woken up.” “Dammit. Seriously? I don’t – “ “Actually.” My voice broke off at the approach of Zia Karin. She was walking towards us, arms crossed, a pinched look about her face. Her eyes were hollow and tired, how I guessed the rest of ours were. “Ma.” Carlo shot upright, converging on her. “Is she awake?” Karin nodded, reaching up to massage her temples. “She’s miserable, but she’s awake.” I hadn’t had much occasion to feel particularly excited of late, but I was grudgingly excited that Lauren was awake. I needed to know what had happened. Speculations could only get you so far. I needed to hear the truth from Lauren. Carlo and I both blurted, “Can I see her?” at the same time, but Karin held up a hand, cutting us off. “No. You can’t see her. At least, not right now.” Karin let out a sigh, turning to Hadley. “She wants to see you.” “What?” Hadley stood, moving to my side. She was frowning, looking very confused. “Why does Lauren want to see me?” Lauren and Hadley were close, but Lauren had always been attached to Karin and John, no matter her age. I was surprised she would have wanted to see somebody other than her parents right now. “I don’t know,” Karin said, shaking her head. “She’s asking for you. Please, Hadley, just go see her.” Hadley nodded, reaching out to give Karin a tight, comforting hug. “Of course. Of course I’ll go see her.” They left through the double doors together, murmuring quietly to each other, leaving Carlo and I alone in the waiting area. Carlo dropped back into a seat and went back to chugging down coffee. I remained standing there, watching the doors where Hadley and Karin had disappeared through, irrationally hoping that someone was going to come walking through those doors and tell me that Lauren was perfectly fine and that everything was going to be perfectly fine. Fat chance of that happening, I thought with a scoff. I took a seat beside Carlo, propping my elbows up on my knees and resting my head in my hands. What was going to happen now? “Archer.” I forced myself out of my reverie and glanced over at Carlo. “Yeah.” Carlo leaned forward and mimicked me, resting his head in his hands. His eyes were narrowed, glaring down at the floor. “Dude.” I nudged his leg with my knee when he remained silent. “What?” He shook his head, letting out a sigh, then raked his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know, Archer. I really don’t. But don’t you think…” “Don’t I think what?” I hinted when he fell silent again. I knew where Carlo was going with this. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear him say it, though. Carlo finally let out a frustrated groan and stood, giving the coffee table in the middle of the waiting room a shove with his foot. “Dammit, Archer, you know what I’m talking about!” I involuntarily flinched at the sound of Carlo’s voice echoing off the walls. My cousin was not the type of person who raised their voice. Carlo was the laid back type, preferring to watch goings on unless there was something he felt the need to share his thoughts on. Lauren was his little sister. It was only natural he would get worked up, upset about what happened to her. And he and I both knew that this was all because of Henry or whoever Havoc claimed he was. But if only Carlo knew the real reason behind everything. “How can you just sit there like that, all idle or whatever, acting like nothing even happened!” Carlo rounded on me, jabbing a finger in my chest. “Doesn’t any of this matter to you?” “Excuse me, sir, you can’t – “ I waved away the nurse that approached us, glaring at Carlo, and gripped him by the back of his neck, dragged him out of the waiting room, down a deserted hallway by the bathrooms. “Look, Carlo.” I let go of his collar before he could send a fist flying in my direction. “I know you’re upset about Lauren. I – “ “No, you don’t know, Archer.” There was a wild look in Carlo’s eyes as he turned on me again – a look I had never seen before. It honestly…frightened me. “You don’t know what this is like. Seeing your baby sister battered to within inch of her life all because of some goddamn bastard she’s involved with!” “Carlo, I – “ “We can’t just sit back and do nothing, Archer! That son of a bitch can’t just be allowed to get away with what he did to my sister! I – “ “Listen, Carlo, you need to – “ “Don’t tell me what to do, Archer, because I’m going to – “