Draw (Gentry Boys #1)(82)

He was listening but still wouldn’t say a word.

“Some creeper at the motel approached Chase with an offer to get into dealing. He was considering it. I was considering it. You put the brakes on and you were right. We’d already seen close up what that shit did to people, to our own mother.”

I looked up at the sky. The stars looked back at me.

“It was a night like this. We were all feeling pretty low and wondering if we were going to wind up back in Emblem as a dead end Gentry after all. You grabbed your guitar and hustled us outside. You started singing. It was some of that old music you’re so into. You kept going and people started coming out of their rooms to listen. And there, in that crappy place in the company of people who were no better off than us, it was a f*cking beautiful moment. I was so god damn proud to call you my brother.”

Creedence closed his eyes. “So?”

I grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look at me. “So can we have the same ending tonight? Please?”

He could have gone either way. He thought about it. It seemed like an eternity passed before he smiled. Then he grabbed me in a crushing bear hug. His voice was husky with emotion.

“Sure, Cordero.”

We ambled back to the truck together. Creed wanted to drive and I let him. When he stopped by the apartment to pick something up I took my phone out and tapped out a message.

“Please come back to me.”





CHAPTER TWENTY NINE


SAYLOR



I’d done everything I needed to do in Emblem and now it was time to leave. Declan bid me farewell with a wave from the front step of his trailer. I saw the triplets, especially Cordero, in his smile.

There was only one way in and out of town so I had no choice but to pass the prison again. It was quiet now. The protesters had left and the rec yards were dark and empty. I knew inside those walls it was a different story though. It was a sad and chaotic bedlam of activity. I shuddered, wondering how my parents and their colleagues were able to stand it, working in there. I supposed after a while it just became common and boring, nothing even worth blinking over.

My arm was stinging. It felt like three hundred paper cuts treated with peroxide. It was a good pain though. It was the kind of pain that spoke of hope and desire; the epicenter of everything that mattered. It was something I’d once despaired of ever finding.

Emblem faded in my rearview mirror and I hurtled through the night, hoping my car held out long enough for me to reach Tempe. Tonight wasn’t the time to get stuck on the side of the road somewhere. I felt slightly faint when I thought about Cord. I would have given ten years of my life to know that he was safe.

When my phone buzzed I figured it was Bray. I hadn’t told him what time I’d be back but I knew how much he worried about me. I rifled around in my purse with one hand and pulled my phone out. The words on the screen nearly caused me to drive off the road.

“Please come back to me.”

I had my finger on the button to call him but that’s not how I wanted this to go. I needed to see him, to hold him, to revel in the way our bodies crashed together because that’s how it was with us.

There were still about thirty miles of driving until I reached Tempe. I didn’t know what to make of his message, other than the obvious. It left a few unanswered questions. Had he done something terrible tonight? I almost couldn’t bear to know. It would be in his face when I saw him. The torment would show. He wouldn’t be able to hide it.

I felt a cold sweat breaking out on the back of my neck as I dared to push the car fifteen miles past the speed limit. He would be at the hospital. There was still forty five minutes left to visiting hours.

The hospital parking lot was crowded. Finally I gave up and parked next to a dumpster by the perimeter.

I knew the day had taken a toll and I likely looked a wreck. It seemed like a silly thing to care about though, considering everything that had happened lately. Moreover, Cord wouldn’t give a damn if my hair was out of place and my makeup smeared.

Hospitals never really got quiet. I suppose they were like prisons in that way. There were always dramas unfolding and needs to be met. As I walked down the corridor towards Chase’s room I passed various people who were wrapped in their own emotional battles. I imagined that was the way of it for everyone, whether they said so or not.

The music was loud enough for me to hear as soon as I turned the corner. I stopped to listen, and smiled. A handful of patients and visitors were gathered by the doorway of the room. The hospital staff could have put a stop to it since technically it was disruptive, but they only smiled indulgently and let it continue for now.

They were all there, all three of them. Creed was seated with the guitar in his hands, playing avidly. Chase was in bed, shaking with laughter and holding his side. And Cord leaned against the far wall, singing along with Creed as they belted out the quirky lyrics of ‘The Joker’. They got to the chorus and elevated their pitch. I closed my eyes and thought about how perfect the song was there in that moment. The Gentry boys, they were perfect together.

When I opened my eyes Cord was staring at me. I took a few steps into the room and waited. Chase raised his eyebrows and glanced at his brother. Creed was so lost in his singing he didn’t even appear to notice I was there.

When the song was finished people clapped and the nurses finally ushered everyone away since visiting hours were ending. Cord hadn’t moved. He smiled at me bashfully as I went to Chase and kissed him on the cheek.