Chapter 27-2

“Listen to me, Carlo!” I shoved Carlo up against the wall, pressing my forearm against his neck, hoping against hope that I wouldn’t be forced to use some other type of force to get him to calm down. Carlo’s eyes narrowed at me, his mouth set in a harsh line. “Fuck off, Archer.” “Not until you hear me out.” “You seriously have – “ “Look, Carlo. You think this is easy for me? You think this is easy for any of us? It isn’t, in case you haven’t noticed. This is our family. Family isn’t just something you can get rid of. Do you think I don’t want to go out there right now and beat the shit out of that son of a bitch for what he did to Lauren?” “I just – “ “Use your head, Carlo!” I pressed my forearm tighter against his neck when he tried to slam his fist against my jaw. “You ending up in jail for assault isn’t going to change anything and it certainly isn’t going to help Lauren.” Several tense moments ticked by where Carlo and I were locked in a furious glare, nose-to-nose. Anger and frustration and hurt were visible in Carlo’s eyes, and I wanted to help him, because seeing my normally laidback, easygoing cousin so enraged wasn’t right. It was difficult for my mind to process that there wasn’t anything I could do to help him, though. “What the hell do you know, huh?” Carlo snapped, giving me a firm shove to the chest. “You think because you’re married and you’ve got a kid on the way you suddenly know everything? Screw you, asshole.” I brushed off his words as easily as I could manage. “That’s not what I’m saying, Carlo,” I said, my throat tightening. “What I’m saying is that you need to get your head out of your ass and realize that going after the bastard that did this to Lauren is only going to get us into more trouble. You have to – “ But that was all I could say before Carlo’s fist finally collided with the side of my face. His punch hadn’t gotten much momentum, but it’d come out of nowhere and packed enough strength to make me stumble backwards a few feet. My first instinct was to return the gesture and jab my elbow into Carlo’s ribs. The message that this is your cousin somehow managed to cross my mind before I acted upon anything. I rubbed my hand across my jaw, not looking forward to the bruise that would surely form there. Ow. “Since when did you start acting like a pussy, huh?” Carlo demanded in an incredulous voice. “I just decked you in the face and you’re not going to do anything about it?” “No,” I said. “If you want to beat the shit out of me, that’s fine. Go ahead. But that still won’t change my stance on this. Don’t do anything stupid, Carlo. Trust me. You don’t want to know what’ll happen if you dig into this.” I didn’t even want to know what would happen. “Just shut up, Archer! I – “ “Hey! Hey! What the hell is going on here?” Carlo and I both turned to see John striding down the hallway towards us, shocked expression on his face. “Well?” John demanded, coming to a stop in front of us. “I’m waiting for an answer, boys.” “Nothing,” Carlo ground out through clenched teeth, shooting me a narrow-eyed look. “Absolutely nothing.” He stalked off down the hallway without another word, not looking back. John turned back to me with a baffled expression, eyebrows raised. “What the hell was that?” “I don’t know,” I muttered, rubbing a hand across the back of my neck. “Your guess is as good as mine, John.” John sighed, shaking his head. He looked as if the weight of the world was pressing down on his shoulders, the poor man. I felt terrible. My whole family was falling apart, all because of something that was my fault, something that I couldn’t control. “Archer.” I felt John’s hand on my arm. “Look. Lauren asked to see you.” “Wait, what?” My thoughts took an abrupt left turn. How long had Carlo and I been in the hallway, duking it out? “C’mon.” John gestured with a hand towards the end of the hallway. “She’s so drugged up right now she probably won’t be awake for long.” I felt my insides clench uncomfortably as I followed after John. I was almost afraid to ask him what the extent of Lauren’s injuries were. “How… I mean, Lauren…” I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly as dry as a desert. “Is she…?” John sighed, rubbing at his shoulder as we walked. “She’s…fine. As well as she’s capable of being.” He shook his head, a distraught expression taking over his face for half a second before it disappeared again. “That son of a bitch really did a number on her.” That did nothing to quell my nerves. John and I traveled down the separate hallway off the waiting area, past several rooms where other patients lay, each dealing with their own terrible illnesses, all the way until we reached room 4321. John stopped outside the room, his hand on the closed door, and turned to look sideways at me. “Make it quick, okay? She needs to rest.” “Right,” I said. “I promise.” John nodded, took a deep breath and then opened the door. The room was small and cramped, dimly lit by the lamp beside the narrow bed where a small figure lay curled up beneath the sheets, pulled up to their chin, a mess of blonde hair splayed out over the pillows. Hadley was sitting in a chair beside the bed, saying something to Lauren, but her voice broke off when John and I stepped in. “Hey.” She started to get to feet with some difficulty, and I quickly reached out to help her stand. “Is everything okay? You look like you’ve just – “ “Been decked in the face? Yeah, that’s a story for another day,” I muttered before pulling her off to the side. “Did Lauren say anything about what happened?” “No.” Hadley gripped my collar to pull me down to her level, lowering her voice. “She didn’t say anything about what happened, but I have a feeling that’s why she wants to talk you. Just be…gentle with her, okay? She’s been through a lot.” That, I didn’t need a reminder of. She pressed her lips against mine in a quick kiss and then left the room, followed by John. The door shut with a quiet click behind them, casting an eerie silence over the room. I took a few hesitant steps forward, not sure if I was supposed to start pelting Lauren with questions now, or wait for her to say something.