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“You might have mentioned it once or twice.” I smile back and he hugs me. I allow myself thirty seconds to relax in his arms before pulling away. Any longer and I might crumble.
My phone buzzes and I see it’s a message from the others to say they’re waiting outside. There’s no way they’ll all be allowed back here though.
“Thorn, can you go and see the others?”
“Of course, princess,” he agrees.
“Get yourself looked at too while you’re out there please.”
“As you asked so nicely.”
He kisses the top of my head and wanders off, leaving me to guess who will be first through the doors to check on Phoenix. I can just imagine Rebel and Ace fighting but it’s Baxter who shocks me by coming through first.
“Is she okay?” he asks quietly, standing beside me and squeezing my shoulder gently.
“Yeah. We’re just waiting for an x-ray.”
“Are you okay?” He turns my gaze away from Nix’s sleeping form so that I’m forced to look at him. His dark eyes bore into mine and my walls crumble. A sob escapes me.
Pulling me to my feet, Baxter wraps me in his arms and I breathe in his intoxicating scent. It never ceases to amaze me that he gave up smoking when I was pregnant with Phoenix, and even though he never restarted it, the smell still lingers after all this time. It’s a nostalgic smell, and I secretly love it, even though I hate smoking.
“I’m just worried…” I whisper.
“Shh, I know. I promise it’ll be fine. Nothing bad will happen because of this. I’ll kill her first, if I have to.”
“I feel so guilty! I should have been there!”
“Even if you were, she would still have been skimboarding with Thorn, and she’d still have fallen and hurt herself. Don't beat yourself up.”
There’s something so soothing about his voice that I find myself melting into him and nodding along. He could promise me anything and I think I would believe him at this point. He’s never let me down.
“Oh sorry,” a voice says, interrupting our embrace. “I’ve come to take Phoenix for her x-ray.”
Baxter’s arms tighten around me and he turns to stone. I glance up and see his face is taut, his eyes icy daggers upon the nurse. I giggle and dig him in the ribs a little to get him to loosen up. It’s not that big a deal that she interrupted us.
“Oh no, she’s asleep. Do you want me to come back later? Or I can still take her down if you’d like?”
“Sorry, it’s fine,” I say with a warm smile. “She sleeps like the dead so she probably won’t even wake while you do it.”
“Brilliant. Let’s do this then, and get you guys home sooner.”
She removes the brakes on Nix’s trolley and pulls the bed out into the corridor where a porter is waiting to help her wheel Nix away. My heart catches as I watch them go, but I know that she’s in safe hands.
“Do I need to tell Cordelia about this?” I shake with fear at the thought.
“Fuck Cordelia. She doesn’t need to know shit right now,” Baxter growls angrily, still staring after Phoenix. “Excuse me, I’m just going to speak to someone.”
Before I can question him, he strides off and I’m left alone once more. There’s no point staying here, so I decide to go and find the others. A drink sounds good right about now.
Jožef: Yo, yo, yo, cuz, what’s up! Are all the girls in England that fucking hot? Cause if they are you have to convince my mati to let me come ‘study’ over there with you.
Ace: That one not special.
Jožef: Dude, can’t you use like a translate app or something? Uncle said your English was still as fucking backward as your brain but I didn’t believe him.
Ace: Odjebi.
Jožef: I was joking! Jeez, chill out. Anyway, uncle is super impressed with the girl you sent him (me too!) he almost didn’t want to sell her because he likes her so much. Maybe even more than Valentina. But he thinks she’ll make too much money at auction to justify keeping her as a pet. I’m heartbroken.
Ace: Don’t care.
Jožef: He said he’ll quadruple the finder’s fee if you keep sending them regularly…
