All the Broken Pieces: (Broken Series Book 3) (2 page)

Clay spoke to the receptionist and we were directed to the waiting area outside the surgical unit.

We made our way to the open door halfway down the long sterile hall and once inside, Clay skidded to a stop.

I nearly ran into his back, muttering, “The hell?”

I looked around him and found a mostly empty room, much like the one we’d all inhabited after the fire. Two drab couches, a few stiff chairs, and a small, round table with four plastic-backed chairs, one of which was being used.

No one else was in the room.

Just her.

She had her head down, resting on her folded arms, and her hair rippled as her shoulders shook.

Her blood red hair.

I frowned and looked at Clay, whose confused expression must have mirrored my own.

Where the hell was Lauren?

From what I’d been told, she had black hair, though since first hearing about her—complete with her Cruella nickname—I had pictured her with Cruella’s signature half black half white mane.

Another glance at the oblivious crying woman and I gripped Clay’s arm, backing us out the door and into the hall. “Did we get the room wrong?” We both looked at the thick stamped plate by the door that verified we were in the right place.

“No.” He looked up and down the hall. “I thought for sure Lauren would be in here. Ali said Marilee was at her sister’s and wouldn’t be here yet. She’s on her way, though. Lauren came here with him in the ambulance.” He continued scanning the empty hall, perplexed.

“Clay?” The sound of a woman’s tearful voice came from inside the room and we both frowned again, walking back in.

Her head was up now, her long hair pushed back away from her face as though she’d just run her hands through it. Her face was tear-soaked and slightly blotchy. Her red-rimmed eyes were a crystalline blue, several shades lighter than my own.

Even in her tearful state, she was beautiful.

Sadly, brokenly, dejectedly beautiful.

“Shit, Lauren. Sorry. You had your head down and with the hair…” He shook his head as he made his way toward her.

She focused her attention on Clay and her face crumpled, a broken sob escaping her. “They took him away and they won’t tell me anything. He was so still, Clay, so so still.”

Clay moved to her side, pulling one of the chairs close so he could hold her hand. “What do you mean they won’t tell you anything?”

I took the seat across from her and offered a small, helpless smile when she briefly looked my way.

“Marilee had to give them the okay for the surgery. They called her on her cell because she’s his next of kin. Ever since they talked to her, they won’t tell me shit. It’s like they look right through me. So all I can do is sit here alone and worry.”

“You’re not alone anymore. Brant and I will keep you company but first I’m going to go find out what’s going on, okay?” His voice was soft and calming. “Brant will stay here with you while I’m gone and Ali will be here soon. Talia and Spencer, too, I think.”

She sniffed awkwardly, rolling her eyes miserably. “Great. I’m sure Talia is eager to see me after all this time.”

“Don’t worry about any of that right now. You have enough going on.” He leaned in a little closer, forcing her to look at him. “If it makes you feel any better, it’s not in Talia’s nature to hold a grudge, and besides, it wouldn’t have been her grudge to hold in the first place.”

She flicked a glance my way and I nodded, wanting to help ease her mind if only a little. “He’s right. No one is thinking about any of that right now. We’re all here for Teach, and for you.”

Her gaze moved over my face, taking a slow inventory that made me feel exposed before settling on the table between us. “I’ve never met you before today, but you know me already, don’t you? You know what I did?”

Clay met my tense expression and nodded. He knew I couldn’t lie to her. She would see right through that.

“Yes. I’m aware of what happened last year. And I also know you were forced to do what you did. We all understand.” I leaned forward and brought my face into her line of sight. “No one blames you for wanting to protect your uncle.”

Her devastated eyes lingered on mine. “I just wanted him to be okay.” She glanced out the glass window into the empty hall before returning her gaze to me. “I still do. But I have a really bad feeling and there’s nothing I can do to help him now.” Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, though she seemed unaware of them.

I held her eye and spoke to Clay. “I’ll stay here. Clay, I think it’s time to find out what’s going on with Teach.”

I saw his nod from the corner of my eye and just like that, he was gone, leaving me alone with her.

“How about I make us some fresh coffee?” I asked, remembering that each waiting room had a coffee maker and all the provisions stored in the small cabinet above the counter where it sat.

She blinked slowly and gave me an almost imperceptible nod.

Happy to have something to do, I jumped up and started the coffee, filling the carafe from the water cooler that sat by the door. As I made my way back to the coffee pot, I cast a glance her way. She sat with her eyes on the table, her expression far away and decidedly defeated.

It was hard to see someone hurting like that and not help, but I’d never been very good with conversation. I always came off as awkward and weird. After years of social avoidance, I was ill-equipped to be of any use to someone in Lauren’s position. Empty platitudes flashed into my mind but there was no fucking way I was going there. I knew better than anyone how useless it was to tell someone everything would be okay and everything happened for a reason.

In fact, I could still remember the faces of every single person who had ever approached me with those bullshit lines. I remembered because I’d wanted to bash those faces in. Even now, more than ten years later, I still got angry when I thought about it. Saying shit like that to Lauren now would make me the biggest hypocrite on the planet.

So I made the damn coffee and kept my trap shut.

When the pot stopped gurgling, I grabbed two of the small foam cups from the counter—briefly frowning at them and wondering why the hospital wasn’t using paper ones—before turning to speak to Lauren’s back. “How do you take your coffee?”

“Black.” Her voice was shaky, uneven.

I poured the sub-par coffee into the cup and idly wondered if there was a decent coffee shop nearby where I could find something that couldn’t be used to remove rust from a bumper. Given the lack of options and the necessity to stay close, this stuff would have to do for now. Maybe once everyone arrived I would make a run to the nearest Starbucks.

At least that would be helpful, unlike my awkward silence.

After pouring a steaming cup for myself, I returned to the table and placed her cup in front of her as I took the seat Clay had just vacated. “It isn’t gonna be the best cup of coffee you ever had but it’s something.” I offered weakly.

Her hand wrapped around the warm cup and I watched as goosebumps broke out on her arms. She shivered slightly and lifted the coffee to her trembling lips. Her hand shook so much I worried she’d inadvertently pour the scorching beverage on herself.

“Are you cold? You have goosebumps.” The room actually was a little chilly but I was more concerned that she was in shock.

“I don’t know.”

I frowned, watching her. “You don’t know if you’re cold?”

She shook her head, sending deep red strands of hair flying around her pretty face. “Can’t really feel anything. It’s all numb. All of it.”

Shit. I knew that feeling all too well.

She sat the cup back on the table just as her entire body shuddered violently, one of those bone-deep shivers that I recalled more vividly than I cared to admit. She was in shock.

I stood and stepped to the door, peeking into the hallway and breathing a sigh of relief when I saw a nurse scurrying in the other direction. I called out to her and waited in the doorway while she reversed course, a pleasant smile on her face. She was more than a foot shorter than me, with skin the color of mocha and wearing blue Scooby Doo scrubs. Her stethoscope had a stuffed Scooby hanging from it.

“Can I help you, hon?” she asked with a thick southern drawl.

“Yes, ma’am.” I told her, smiling in return. “I was wondering if I could get one of those heated blankets for my friend in here.” I nodded toward the waiting room and she stepped back, peering through the glass. “She’s shivering all over and I think it would really help.”

The nurse—Monique, according to her nametag—reached out and gripped my hand, patting it. “Sure thing, sweetie. You just sit tight and I’ll be right back.” Her hand slipped out of mine and she took off through the secured double doors across the hall.

I stepped back into the waiting room to check on Lauren and found her with her head once again resting on her folded arms, her eyes closed and her shoulders shaking.

I was just about to go to her, the urge to put my arms around her almost overwhelming, when the doors across the hall opened with a whoosh and the friendly nurse appeared, a thick blanket under one arm.

She stepped into the room with Lauren and I, wordlessly handing me the blanket that was so warm steam was pouring off it. Before she turned and left, she handed me a small card with her name and information on it, whispering. “If either of you need anything else, dial that number and ask for Monique.”

With one more flash of her dazzling smile, she was gone.

Feeling somewhat buoyed by my pleasant interactions with the nurse, I stepped over to Lauren and unfolded the blanket a little so that I could drape it over her shoulders. I left it folded over as much as possible so it would hold its heat longer and gently lay it across her back, tucking it over her slumped shoulders.

She breathed out a soft sigh, her eyes remaining closed. “Thank you, Brant.”

Despite the grave situation, the sound of my name on her lips made me smile. I liked the way she said it, the low huskiness of her care-weary voice. I was suddenly consumed by thoughts of her calling my name in pleasure, whispering it against my ear as I used my body to blanket hers…

And that made me the biggest asshole on Earth.

There she was hurting, scared, and vulnerable—and I’d reverted to thinking with my dick.

Ah, self-loathing, how I’ve missed thee. Welcome back, old friend.

Pushing away my unwelcome thoughts, I lowered myself into the chair beside her, angled my body toward her and did the only thing I could.

I reached for her hand.

Her long, dark lashes lay softly against her skin as she threaded her hand into mine, gripping tightly as tears trailed from the corners of her eyes.

I leaned my other elbow, the one closest to her, on the back of her chair and used my fingers to whisk her hair from under the still-warm blanket, smoothing it down and rubbing her upper back, soothing her as best I could and wondering where the hell Clay was. If I’d had any sense at all, I would have asked the nurse about Teach but I’d been so concerned about Lauren that I forgot. Given her attire, I suspected she worked in pediatrics anyway.

The minutes stretched on as I sat awkwardly holding her hand and rubbing her back. My own back protested the angle of my body but I ignored it. Since I’d taken Lauren’s hand, her tears had slowed substantially and she’d stopped shaking, though the occasional tremor still rippled through her.

Clay stepped into the room a few minutes later, mouth open to speak. He caught sight of us and hesitated, watching the slow rise and fall of Lauren’s shoulders. He cast a glance at me and whispered, “Sleeping?”

I looked over at her and shrugged.

“No. I’m awake.” Her voice came out as a croak and she sat up, eyes wide. “What did you find out?”

Her new position forced me to sit back and remove my arm from behind her but she still held tight to my hand, so I scooted my chair closer and spun it so that my back would stop aching. From this position, she and I faced Clay together, each watching him with weary eyes.

He took the seat across from us and blew out a breath. “Well, they aren’t telling anyone anything until Marilee gets here. I raised hell and nearly got thrown out but they still wouldn’t budge. All they’d say was that he was taken into surgery, which we already fucking knew.” His voice grew hard, angry, as he spoke. “I called Marilee but her sister answered and said she wasn’t taking calls. She told me they would be here in under an hour and we’d just have to wait until then. A real gem, that woman.”

Lauren’s eyes narrowed. “That’s Bonnie for you. Hateful old cow.” She glanced over at me and squeezed my hand. “Guess now I know why they won’t tell me anything. Bonnie probably threatened them into keeping quiet.”

I felt the anger boiling up, my face heating. “They can’t shut you out like that. You’re family too, dammit.”

Clay and Lauren exchanged a glance and she looked back at me, sadness pinching her features. “No, technically I’m not.”

“But I thought he was your uncle…” I looked between her and Clay and saw something pass between them.

Clay spoke when Lauren faltered. “He’s family in every sense that matters, no matter what Marilee’s shrew of a sister thinks.” His statement was more for Lauren than me.

What the hell wasn’t he telling me? He clearly knew something I didn’t and it kind of chafed for reasons I couldn’t quite fathom.

Before I could question them further, Ali burst in and Clay jumped to his feet, relief apparent on his face. “Oh, thank fuck! If you’d taken another ten minutes to get here, I was coming to hunt you down.” He picked her up and crushed her against his chest, his back to me and Lauren.

She hugged him back for a minute and watched Lauren over his shoulder, finally wiggling from his grip and approaching her former nemesis. “How is he? Any word?”

Lauren shook her head and blinked rapidly, fighting another wave of tears. “No word.” She breathed out a shuddering breath as Ali leaned over and hugged her. Lauren let go of my hand but quickly gripped it again with her other, tightening her grip on it so hard my knuckles cracked and turning toward Clay’s new bride with a sad smile. She embraced Ali with one hand and watched me over her shoulder, just as Ali had watched her over Clay’s a moment before.