I watch as Mickey gets off his bike—which I grudgingly admit is a nice ride. He walks up the stairs and I watch him go in—making Midnight stay outside on the landing. I assume he’s clearing the apartment. When he comes back, he lets her in. While they talk my fingers itch to go and interrupt them. I’m definitely fucking jealous.
How did this happen?
He leaves shortly after that not bothering to go back inside with her. It’s yet another thing that tells me he’s not her old man. I don’t know what they are to each other, but she’s not his. If she was, he’d not let a chance go by to kiss her or touch her. He barely touches her at all.
I watch him leave and Midnight go inside. Once she closes her door, I start my bike. It’s getting late, but I’m going by the hospital. There’s been no change in Ghost—I had checked on him earlier. Yet, I can’t rest unless one of two things happen. One of those is losing myself deep inside of Midnight. That’s not going to happen—at least not tonight. That leaves the second thing—spending time with Ghost.
Maybe if my brother knows I’m there, he might try to pull himself out of the black hole he’s in. The two of us have been closer than anyone. Hopefully, that connection is strong enough to penetrate the hell Ghost has to be in…
I never realized it before tonight, but I’m a wishful thinking motherfucker. There’s not been any sign from Ghost that he even knows I’m here. I gave Brambles some time off. I don’t have anywhere to go anyway. I’m more or less nodding off now, so I’m thinking sleeping here tonight is fine. Hotel beds usually suck anyway. My head jerks up as Drew comes into the room. I shake my head at first, thinking I’m seeing things.
“I decided we are going to read Pet Cemetery tonight, G. I know you hate this shit, so I’m going to tell you right now that if you wake up and tell me to stop, I will. Otherwise, after this book, we’re going to go to the one about the killer clown. We both know you don’t want that. So, you best be pulling your ass up. Got it?” Drew asks, talking to Ghost.
“Got it, Midnight.”
She lets out a squeal, jumping where she’s standing.
“What are you doing here?” she snaps as soon as she gets over her fright.
“I was just about to ask you the same thing, baby. Tell me, what are you doing in my brother’s hospital room, and how did you get in here so far past visiting hours?”
“I…uh…”
I grin. For some reason, I’m really looking forward to whatever story she comes up with.
Chapter 10
Drew
I don’t pee on myself, but I come pretty damn close. Then, I fall straight into a major panic attack. Train! Here in my brother’s hospital room. I guess I should have been prepared for that, but I wasn’t. I didn’t even put G in here under his real name.
How did they find him?
“I’m waiting,” Train says, and I frown.
“On?” I ask, trying to make my brain work.
“On you answering my question,” he says. His lips stay open, spreading to something between a smile and a way for silent laughs to escape into the air. I’m not sure why everything he does is sexy, but it’s really annoying.
“I’m visiting,” I answer with a shrug.
“I can see that. So, are you telling me you torture Ghost by reading to him?”
“G doesn’t really like Stephen King,” I mumble, still wondering how I’m going to get out of this. “I thought reading it to him might piss him off enough to wake him up.”
“Do you know Ghost well?” he asks, and he doesn’t sound happy about that at all.
“Why do you care?”
“He’s my brother. He was shot in the back here in North Carolina when he told all of us that he was going to Texas. I want to find the fucker that did this to him and put him in the ground.”
I rub my lips together. I don’t want to trust G’s club. It’s more than that, however. I don’t want to involve them. I look back to G lying in a hospital bed, his body there, but the rest of him far away. He’s hooked to wires and pumps. I may have not pulled the trigger, but this is my fault. I don’t know Train very well, but I don’t want him to end up like Ghost. I like him—probably more than I should.
“Nothing to say to that?”
“I’m thinking you aren’t talking about taking him up to the beach, burying him in the sand and leaving his head sticking out of the sand for shits and giggles?”
“Definitely not thinking that, Midnight.”
“I’ve known G for a while. He came here to see me,” I respond, and none of that is a lie. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to lie to Train.