Read Online Here for You by Skylar M. Cates - Free Book Online Page A

felt inside.
    “It’s n-not so bad—” Cole stammered. “He’ll be fine. He’s strong. He’s going to be—” He stalled. Cole clutched desperately at Ian’s starched white shirt. He noticed, almost in a daze, that it wasn’t so white anymore. Ian’s shirt had grime from combing the nature preserve and a dark stain near the collar, like dark jelly. Blood. Brendan’s blood. Cole wanted to scream and tear his hair out. He would have collapsed if Ian hadn’t held him upright.

C HAPTER E IGHT
     
     
    “T HIS MUST be some mistake.” Tomas’s lips trembled.
    Marc pounded his fist into the wall. “Fuck!”
    River sat in a chair away from them, his knees pulled to his chest, staring off into space. “He always warned me to be careful on my motorcycle,” he’d said, blinking at them, when he’d first gotten to the hospital. “Brendan worried….” He hadn’t said another word after that.
    Ian glanced at Cole, who began to chew his nails raw. Although nobody confirmed it, Ian managed to learn that they’d taken Brendan in for emergency craniotomy. Cole had given the nurses as much medical background information as possible.
    Brendan didn’t have insurance, and Ian doubted any of the others did either. Brendan’s parents, located in his cell phone contacts, were on their way from Fort Pierce. Cole, insisting he be the one to do it and not the hospital, had made that phone call, his voice stronger than Ian would have expected, and gentler too.
    The police were at this moment investigating the scene, which was standard procedure, although it looked like a freak accident. Ian barely knew how to process that fact. He had been prepared for a hit-and-run, or an attack, but not something so random and senseless. A curve in the trail, a momentary loss of control, a rock in the wrong fucking place—all adding up to a case of horrible, awful, bad luck.
    Ian sat next to Cole. He leaned back in his chair, tenting his fingers in his lap. Cole didn’t say anything to him, but their eyes met for a brief moment.
    Then they watched the clock. They waited. The television in the waiting area blared out CNN. Ian took the remote and lowered the volume.
    The craniotomy was a last effort to relieve the pressure in Brendan’s head. Based on Brendan’s responses before surgery and body clues, he might have significant brain damage. How significant, the surgeon could not tell them. Okay, logically Ian realized the doctor couldn’t tell them anything before surgery, that only family could speak with the doctor then. But screw logic. Ian wanted to shake him and demand answers. He wasn’t used to being ignored. Ian googled the procedure to find out what the hell was actually going on. As they sat there, he learned that the neurosurgeon used a high-speed drill to make a hole in Brendan’s skull.
    The thought of Brendan brought Ian a searing pain. Brendan was so bright, so set on a future… and so damn young. Brendan thought if he worked hard enough, life would reward him and treat him fairly. Ian shut his eyes.
    He wished he had something valuable to do… anything to do but sit there.
    “I keep thinking,” Cole whispered suddenly, in a voice so low only Ian could possibly hear it, “what if he was awake awhile out there? What if hitting the rock didn’t knock him out right away, and he was out there alone and afraid?”
    Ian opened his eyes. “Don’t torture yourself with that kind of thinking.”
    “I can’t help it.”
    Ian didn’t know what to say. He touched Cole’s thigh.
    Cole’s eyes, brimming with fright, held his.
    Brendan’s parents finally arrived. They were surprisingly young, Ian thought. The father pressed his lips tightly together, while the mother wailed softly.
    “How did this happen? How?” she kept asking them.
    “Brendan will be glad you’re here,” Tomas replied.
    The parents stared at Tomas and didn’t answer. They kept to themselves in a tiny corner of the room. Brendan had told Ian a