I picked up the phone and called Muse.
She answered so quickly I didn’t actually hear the phone ring. “Con, are you alright?”
“Yeah, Muse. I’m okay.”
“Did you get Vanessa?” she asked in a tear-filled voice. “Tell me you got her.”
“Yes, we did.”
“Thank god,” she whispered. “And no one else got hurt?”
“Well…Vanessa was shot. We’re at the hospital while she’s in surgery.”
“No…” The tears began to pour out, not only escaping in her voice.
“We think she’s going to be okay. She was shot in the arm. Didn’t hit an artery. But we’re still waiting on pins and needles.”
“I should be there.”
“I’d come get you, but I can’t leave the hospital. My parents are pretty upset right now…”
“I understand. Can I have Dante drop me off? Would that be okay?”
Dante would do anything I asked, especially under the circumstances. “Yeah, sure.”
“Good. I need to be there. Vanessa is my friend. When I first came around, she was so good to me. She was my friend immediately. I didn’t even need to do anything to earn her friendship…it was just natural.”
“Yeah, I know.” My sister made an effort to make Muse feel welcome in my family. Vanessa was a brat most of the time, but when it mattered, she was there for me. She always had my back, just how I had hers.
“I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
“Alright.”
“I love you, Conway,” she whispered into the phone. “I can’t wait to see you.”
I closed my eyes, loving the way her love reached all the way through the phone. I could feel it, just the way I could feel her lips against mine when she kissed me. Her love didn’t understand distance, not when it could cross an ocean in a heartbeat. “Me too.”
We got off the phone, and then I looked at my parents again.
My father was holding my mother against him, his chin propped on her head. His hand rested under the fall of her hair while his other hand settled on the small of her back. He hid his emotions like a professional, keeping his thoughts and feelings a mystery. My mother wasn’t the same way. She wore her heart on her sleeve, let her tears cascade down her cheeks.
I approached them slowly, testing the waters to see if they wanted to speak to me right now.
My dad looked at me then opened his arm toward me, beckoning me to join their circle. He wrapped his arm around me and held my mother and me together. I was taller than my mother and the same height as my father, so we cushioned my mother in between us.
“Con…” My mom turned away from my father and moved into my chest instead. She hugged me tightly, her tears soaking into my t-shirt. “Thank you for getting her here so quickly.”
“Of course.” I ran my hand up and down her back. “You were a badass today, Mom. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“No one touches my babies and gets away with it,” she said with a sniff. “Not my son…not my daughter.”
My father only had eyes for her, watching her come apart against me. “Button, Vanessa will be alright.”
“I know,” my mother said. “But until I see her…I’ll be a wreck.”
Muse walked into the waiting room with Dante beside her. To everyone else, she looked exactly the same as before. But to me, she was glowing. Her flat stomach couldn’t hide what was growing deep inside her.
What we made together.
My parents held each other through this ordeal, terrified their little girl wouldn’t make it through the surgery.
Muse and I were just like them now. We made something together, and we would love something together.
She set her sights on me first, and like no one else was in the room, she ran up to me and landed against my chest, hitting me like a speeding car hits a brick wall. She clutched me, gripping my waist with strength I didn’t realize she had.
My hand cupped the back of her head, and I pressed kisses to her hairline, showering her with plenty of affection right in front of my family. I didn’t care if it made them uncomfortable. I didn’t care if it was inappropriate.
“Have you heard anything?” she asked.
“No.”
She sighed against my chest. “She’s going to be okay, right?”
“Yes…I know she will.” I tilted her head up to look at me, showing her the resolution in my eyes. “She’s a tough-ass woman. She can hold her own. I know she’ll get through it. She’s way too proud to survive a kidnapping only to die on a surgical table.”
“True.”
I angled Muse’s chin to meet my gaze so I could place a kiss on her mouth. Her affection filled me with joy, made me feel happy for a brief moment. I forgot all the shit going on around me and just concentrated on her kiss. The only reason I pulled away was because I forced myself to. I rubbed my nose against hers and stepped back.