I just growled once more, pulling again hard. No luck. Forget it. And looking straight ahead with a determined expression, I jammed the key in the ignition and revved the motor, the car roaring to life before settling into a distinct putter.
“Naw,” I growled. “No seatbelt’s gonna save me from this vehicle. If we don’t explode in a ball of flames on the highway first.”
Katie just rolled her eyes again, crossing those arms over her soft breasts.
“We’ll be fine,” she said sarcastically. “We’ll be fine.”
And I grunted, eyes fixed on the drive while pulling the car out onto the road.
“Hopefully we survive,” I growled.
But once the car got going, I turned to the girl, looking at her from the corner of my eye. The air inside crackled with energy even if it was silent.
“So what was that all about?” I asked, like nothing was wrong. “What was that?”
Katie turned towards me.
“That was my Aunt Mae trying to protect me,” she said tightly. “I told her everything about us. About me, you and Mason, about the fake engagement, the fake everything, and she was disgusted. She was just trying to protect me.”
I snorted because that statement was certainly wrong. Auntie Mae wanted Katie to be with us, it was the opposite of what the brunette thought, she just didn’t know it. But there was no point in getting into that just yet.
“But why’d you take off?” I asked, my voice a low growl. “Why’d you jet like we were lepers or fucking criminals?” Because deep inside, that was the part that hurt the most. Katie, Mason and I had developed a bond I thought, something real even though we were acting out a play. And even if she didn’t feel it, surely it was weird to take off with no warning? So why had she done it?
But the girl refused to answer, instead turning towards the passenger side window and staring out stonily, mouth in a line. I had half a mind to drag her into my lap even as we sped down the highway, to force her to kiss me, opening those lips and breathing some answers. But fine. We’d wait. We’d wait until Mason was here to start with the real Q and A.
And with a squeal of tires, I pulled into the hospital parking lot. Shit, there was the black sedan, and sure enough, there was a pair of orderlies wheeling Auntie Mae into the emergency room as the old lady clutched her leg, screeching, “It hurts! It hurts! Get me a doctor!”
So now it was her leg now, huh? No more back pains? I exchanged a glance with Mason, who trailed the wheelchair into the nondescript building. Clearly, he’d had a talk with Auntie Mae on the ride over, and knew exactly what was going on.
But Katie didn’t know and was frantic with panic.
“Is my aunt going to be okay?” she asked, rushing up to the front desk and gripping the counter. “She’s all I have.”
Oh shit, the brunette had tears in her eyes again, lip trembling. This was just a farce. This was just a small lie within our bigger make-believe story, and there was no reason to be so worried. But of course, the nurse had no idea that Mae was faking, and acted bored, snapping her gum.
“I’m sorry Ma’am, there’s no way we can tell without doing a thorough evaluation first,” she replied, not even looking up. “But we have a load of forms for you to sign, here you go,” she said, pushing a giant stack of papers towards Katie. “You’re next of kin right? Be sure to sign everywhere there’s a yellow X,” the woman said before turning back to her computer, fingers fluttering away at light speed.
And Katie almost collapsed then, eyes wide as she took in the mountain of yellow paper.
“I can’t,” she said in a small voice. “I can’t, not now.”
Despite the fact that we were angry with her, despite the fact that she was angry with us and there were so many unresolved questions in the air, our girl’s distress was real, and I pulled her into my arms.
“Things are gonna be okay,” my voice soothed, a low growl. “Things are gonna be okay baby.”
Mason came to stand by us, that dark form looming. So what if we were two guys with a crying girl in our arms? Emergency rooms the world over have seen this very sight.
“Don’t worry baby,” he rumbled. “It’ll all work out. Let’s step outside and get some sun, it’s fucking depressing in here.”
Slowly, with a sobbing Katie in our arms, we made our way outside, finding a bench next to a fountain. Despite Newark being a shithole of a city, this hospital was pretty nice, the water tinkling musically as flowers bloomed around us.