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I studied the bruising on her nose, eyes and lips closely before saying, “The doctor said she’d be in at six to check everything.”
She nodded, her eyes drooping.
“Try to get some more sleep?” I suggested.
“They’ll just wake me up when I finally manage to get there,” she grumbled darkly.
I tucked a stray lock of her black hair behind her ear before saying, “And Ande already texted, saying she was heading this way after her shift ends in two hours. If you don’t want her to know…”
“We’re never going to be able to hide this from your family, are we?” she wondered.
“Probably not for long, unless we go on a long vacation far away from people who can drop in unannounced,” I admitted. “My family’s nosy. Not to mention, you’re going through a lot of bad things being hit at you in all different directions. The pregnancy…”
“Pregnancy?”
My shoulders sank, and I looked toward the door where Ande was standing in her flight suit, likely still on shift.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, hoping she’d not notice the switch in topics.
Ande rolled her eyes. “I’m not the young, impressionable kid who’ll fall for it when you change the subject.”
I sighed.
Shayne squeezed my hand for a few short seconds before letting me go and turning to her best friend, and my baby sister.
“There are some things we’re not ready to talk about yet,” she said. “We’re working out some things before we take any big steps.”
Well, the steps had already been taken. I couldn’t unimpregnate her. Nor could I take away the loss that she’d suffered—we’d suffered. But what I could do was allow Shayne to handle Ande.
Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to the side of Shayne’s mouth. “I’m heading to the station. I’ll be back soon. Text me when you know what the doctor has to say, please.”
She nodded, her eyes still sleepy. “I’ll text you the moment I know.”
I pulled away and made my way outside, managing to avoid brushing past my sister who was still holding up fort in the doorway.
I was two steps outside the room when I turned around and said, “I love you with my whole soul, Shayne.”
My sister drew in a deep breath, but I didn’t wait to hear what she had to say. Nor did I wait to hear whether Shayne was going to say it back.
After letting Atlas know he was on duty, I made my way to the elevator and waited for it to arrive, my eyes on my phone as I read through the multitude of messages that’d come through in the ten minutes I’d been saying goodbye to Shayne.
The door to the elevator opened, and I was unsurprised when Ande slipped into the car with me.
I leaned my shoulder against the wall, kept my eyes downcast, and waited.
It didn’t take her long.
“I don’t care that you’re my brother, Quinn,” she said softly. “If you hurt her again, I’ll never speak to you again.”
That sent my heart seizing in my chest.
“It’s not my intention to,” I admitted to her. “She’s not worried, Ande. So just leave it at that until we navigate this, please?”
“She’s not worried about anything because she feels like she has nothing to lose.”
I whipped my head around, staring at my sister.
“What?”
