“Come on, pumpkin. Off you go.” Tris places his hand on her back, tilting his head toward the door.
“Bye,” she sings as she skips back inside and slams the heavy door behind her.
I start to ask what that was about but decide against it. “Come on then, we’re going to be a little late.”
He takes a step toward the car and stumbles. “Your mom is coming?”
“Yeah, I brought my mom along. Thought it’d make it interesting.” I roll my eyes as I open the car door and climb in, shutting it on his loud laugh.
He climbs in the passenger side and swivels around in his seat. “Hi, Tilly. How are you?”
“Morning, Tristan. Make sure you put your seatbelt on.”
The ignition stutters to life with a bang and Tris turns back toward me, looking at me with wide eyes before grabbing the handle above the door. “I really think we should take my car.”
Mom laughs as I steer us down the driveway before he scrambles to strap himself in and I burst out laughing, receiving a warning look from him which doesn’t phase me one bit. I know my car is on her way out, but I’ve had her for so long now that I couldn’t imagine not driving her. I will get a new car eventually, just not today.
There’s several touch-and-go moments on the way to the hospital where Tris holds on for dear life as I drive around the corners and the car screeches, but nothing is as funny as when we were at a stoplight and the exhaust backfired; he ducked his head and mine, shielding me. He thought someone was shooting at us.
I find a parking space and he lets out a giant breath that he seems to have been holding the entire time. “Thank God!” He pushes out of the car and looks up at the sky before he crouches down, placing both hands on the asphalt. “I’m safe.”
“Stop being so dramatic,” I quip, making Mom laugh.
He lifts his head and seems to realize where we are for the first time, his whole body going rigid.
“Tris?”
“Why are we here?” His voice is low, a deep rumble. I take a step toward him, touching his arm gently but his muscles are tense and I don’t think he registers my touch.
“I’ll show you if you’ll come with me.” I thread my fingers through his and he seems to relax slightly at the contact.
We walk up to the neonatal unit in silence but I feel his hand tighten around mine as he looks around on high alert. Mom pushes the buzzer to be let into the unit and we all sterilize our hands with the sanitizer that is attached to the wall.
“Hey, Tilly, hey, Harmony. Oh, and who is this fine specimen you’ve brought with you today?” Belinda—one of the regular nurses—asks.
Tris clears his throat and shakes her hand as we giggle. “Tristan Carter.”
“Well, Tristan Carter, you can come back anytime you want to.”
He laughs and it seems to ease the tension in his shoulders as he faces me again. “So, what are we doing here, Harm?” His gaze flits around the room briefly before settling back on me.
“I’ll meet you back here in a few hours,” Mom says and walks off in the direction of the room that the babies are kept in.
“I didn’t want to tell you before we got here because I didn’t think that you’d come.” I pause a beat, trying to gauge his reaction. “I’ve been coming for a while now.” I walk toward the room and he follows behind me, cautiously. “It’s been… helping me to come to terms with a few things in my life.” I take two pairs of scrubs off the shelf and hand one to Tristan. “You don’t have to come in with me, but I’d like you to. You can change in that room over there.”
He turns around to where I’m pointing and looks back at me curiously, tilting his head. “Coming to terms with things?”
A small sigh escapes my lips at having to tell him; I don’t know how he’s going to react. “How about you put those on and we can talk after? I’ll tell you everything, I promise.”
&
nbsp; He watches me for a beat before sighing and saying, “Okay,” then reaching over for the scrubs and walking into the room to get changed.
He exits a couple of minutes later with his clothes in his hands, still looking apprehensive.
“Put them here beside Mom’s things. They’ll be safe.” He places his jeans and t-shirt down on the shelf and I walk toward the room he’s just vacated. “I’ll be out in a sec.”
“O-okay,” he replies, his voice unsure as he looks around, his gaze flitting everywhere.