“What did you do?”
I laughed low as I pulled us away from the door and strode through it, loving the feel of her small hand in mine as we paced leisurely down the hall.
Slanting a glance down at her, I answered, “Caused a public scene in the lunch hall.”
Her head dipped back as she giggled, eyes bright and warm. I responded with a grin of my own. There was a weird euphoria about the moment. A sense that this was more right than anything ever had been.
We approached the door to the principal’s office like that. Not one care in the fucking world.
And then life came crashing down on top of us.
Sixteen
Riley
“He’ll be fine,” I said, my voice small and reeking of an uncertainty I failed to disguise.
I had no idea if he would be fine. It was just one of those things that people said to each other when stuff like this happened. I hoped he’d be fine. That was what should have come out of my mouth, or maybe nothing at all. I couldn’t give any reassurances, and we both knew it.
Reno didn’t acknowledge my platitudes. He hadn’t spoken since we’d stepped inside the principal’s office. Funny, floating down the corridor, neither one of us had given any real consideration to the reason for the summons. We’d been so preoccupied with each other, completely lost inside our little bubble of happiness. The one time we’d forgotten that life was a never-ending conveyor belt of crap, doling it out when you least expected it…
“Take a seat, son.”
“What’s going on?”
The bite to Reno's tone was sharp enough to pierce the shield shrouding us only moments earlier. The sympathetic tone and somber expression on Principal Hewman's face took care of any lingering contentment we might have been feeling. Something was wrong.
Principal Hewman’s eyes darted away and back quickly as he clasped his hands together atop his walnut desk. His eyes settled on me. “Miss Mason, could I ask you to step out—”
“No.” Reno’s voice cut across the room, preventing Principal Hewman from finishing his request.
The older man shifted in his seat a little, nodding his acquiescence, before turning to face Reno, his fingers spreading apart.
“It’s your father.”
While Reno looked at Principal Hewman, I looked at Reno. His face didn’t shift, not one shred of emotion appeared, but his fingers clenched around my hand so hard I had to bite my tongue to keep from yelping. He wore it so well—indifference—but he felt everything. I squeezed back, feeling my heart bumping inside my chest. Anxiety coated my lungs as I realized that what hurt Reno would undoubtedly hurt me. But more than that, what hurt Reno, hurt Reno. And I’d do just about anything to prevent that.
“He had a heart attack this afternoon. They couldn’t give me a great deal of information regarding his condition, but he was taken to Claremont General. Your brother is listed as his emergency contact. They haven’t been able to re
ach him yet.”
Reno’s face blurred as my eyes misted. I could make out the tight set of his jaw, the tendons straining in his neck and the way his shoulders bunched as if he’d just had the world dropped on top of him. But he still didn’t speak. I wasn’t positive he could.
“Reno?” I murmured, my voice thin.
His head swerved toward me slightly, but he didn’t face me. His eyes remained fixed to the shelving units behind Principal Hewman’s desk.
“He’s in the best hands, son.” He hesitated, looking between Reno and me. “I don’t know if you’d like to go there now or if you’d rather stay in classes for the remainder of the day...?”
When he didn’t move or respond, I squeezed his hand. “Ren?”
“Maddox?” Reno’s head jerked to Principal Hewman. “Did you want to go to the hospital?”
Reno just stared for a long moment, then cleared his throat, the noise gruff, rusty. “Yeah.”
“Can I...” I began, and Reno finally looked down to me. The sight almost broke my heart. His big, brown eyes were glassy, wet and dazed, like he didn’t know what had hit him. I turned into him, thrusting my face into his side and gripping his body tight with my arms.
“Yes, of course, Riley,” Principal Hewman said. “If you two head out now, I’ll keep trying Owen.”