No Strings Attached

Chapter Twenty Seven

“God, Nate,” her voice cracked and tears clung to her long lashes, but she cast her eyes down – Shannon did not need to see them, they would send her over the edge, “You have to be okay.”

Shannon’s phone trilled into the heart wrenching trepidation, and she looked down to see Jayden’s name flashing on her screen. That couldn’t be good – if Nate was okay, he would’ve called right? He’d charged his battery last night, no way could it be dead.

She glanced over to Tori quickly, whose own violet eyes were dancing between Shannon and the phone in her hands anxiously.

“Hello?” she said shakily – as soon as she answered – it didn’t seem like the right word – it didn’t feel like it was enough but she had no clue what to say.

“Shan, you okay?” Jayden sounded panicked – he was trying to hide it but she could hear it, “Where’s Tor? She with you? She okay?”

“What’s happening?” her voice was cracking – breaking with the promise of tears.

“Put me on speaker,” he said quietly, sounding resigned.

Swallowing convulsively, she did as he asked, her eyes clinging to Tori – who reached for her spare hand, and squeezed.

“Ok,” Tor said quietly, “I can hear you Jay.”

“Baby, oh my God, babe, are you okay?” it was as if the sound of her voice was breaking his heart, at the same time as calming him.

“Stop worrying about us Jay, and just talk,” she was impatient – she could feel Shannon’s ravaged pulse against her fingertips. He had to be okay, he just had to be.

“There was an accident,” Shannon froze, her fingers struggling to hold onto the slim phone, and Tori took it from her, not letting go of the other hand, “We’re at the hospital – Nate’s just going into surgery. I need you two here where I can see you.”

“What kind of accident?” Tori almost shouted, biting her lip to try to hold herself together – not sure if Shannon was really seeing anything – or conscious at all – she hadn’t moved since Jay’s first words, as though she’d completely curled in on herself.

“He ... um ... must have lost control of the car or something. Just please, babe, come.” He wasn’t telling them something – he was deliberately avoiding something, she knew him well enough, and it sent her hackles rising at the thought – her brother was in surgery, and he wasn’t keeping them in the loop?

“Shannon hasn’t moved since the first time you spoke,” she muttered coldly, “We’ll be there – of course we will – but if you think you’re going to be able to spin some fucking cloak around this stuff once we’re there then you’re out of your god damned mind – I swear to God, I’ll walk out of this relationship and never look back if you think that now is the time to be pulling you’re I am an island bullshit! If I lose my brother, and you’re still talking in riddles, I’ll never forgive you.”

Without waiting for a single response, she ended the call, calling Shannon out of her head and grabbing the keys.

Ava was with Rory’s aunt that morning – she’d come to act as a sort of surrogate grandmother for the baby girl over time, so she didn’t bat an eyelid when Tori called and told her what happened – of course she’d stay with the baby, and of course they’d stay at her place.

Tori skipped over all the details – not that she really had any – and thanked the kind old lady eternally, before grabbing her fur lined coat to head out.

Tori’s phone buzzed, signalling a message.

From: Jayden Caine

I love you, and I’m sorry, okay? I’ll tell all when you get here, I just need you to get here safe. Take the Land Rover, because it has a roll cage and it’s the safest car we have. Don’t stop for ANYTHING – not a god damn thing, okay? That’s crucial – and keep to the populated places – don’t use the back roads, even if it seems like the only way – find another. Dual carriage ways and motorways only baby, please. Take care of Shannon – remind her about what I said to her in the garage, and take it easy driving because the winds picking up. We’re at St. Andrew’s – the A & E Unit, I’ve told reception I’m waiting on you so they’ll know who to send you to. Just tell them “Caine” when you get here and they’ll point you to me. I LOVE YOU. Please don’t talk about leaving me ... ever. I’d die without you, there’d be no reason to breathe anymore. I might be a cunt, but you’re stuck with me ... for richer, for poorer xxxx

Steeling herself, she shook Shannon’s arms gently – she still hadn’t really moved, she was just staring ahead morosely. Tori had never seen her looking so broken and fragile.

“Come on babe,” she said gently, “He needs you there.”

The only thing that brought Shannon out of the dark shadows she was roaming through in her desolate mind were those simple words, as she nodded her dark head, and started to pull on her coat in a state of completely fragile consciousness – as though she was on total autopilot.

Tori only hoped that those words were true – that Nate wasn’t so completely broken that he still needed the one thing that had brought him back to life in the first instance.