Page 65 of Extraction Play
Eva glanced at Parker, who shot her a sharp look in turn. The prickle beneath her skin was telling, and she had a gut feeling who the call was about, but that didn’t make it any easier.
“Yes, I’ll be there shortly,” Pixie said and pulled the phone from her ear. It dropped from her hand, and she stood there, staring at the wall as if it might give her answers.
“What happened, dove?” Eva asked.
“We shouldn’t have left last night,” Pixie whispered. “I knew she wasn’t in the right mental state, but it seemed like she was in good hands with her friend. Like she’d be fine.”
Eva’s fears were confirmed. “Where is your mother?”
“Novato Community Hospital,” Pixie replied, her blue eyes dull, lifeless.
“Shit, Pix.” Parker stepped into the room. “Is she okay?”
“I…don’t know. All they said was she got in a car accident. They’re trying to stabilize her now,” Pixie said.
Eva’s chest tore in two. Pixie needed her…but Micah did too. And she’d failed him too many times.
Parker’s gaze met hers. She hadn’t spent a ton of time with the guy, but he made Micah happier than she’d ever seen, and that was enough for her. But the understanding in his gaze struck her square between the chest. As if he understood exactly what she was going through.
“Go get Micah,” Pixie said, those blue eyes pleading. “I’ll handle this. I can’t stand the idea of Micah wandering out through the city thinking we hate him.”
Eva’s eyes burned a little, and she clenched her hands into fists. “But I can’t leave you. That’s the whole point in having someone—so you don’t have to face shit like this by yourself.”
“The whole point in having any relationship—friends included—is you don’t need to face life by your lonesome,” Parker said, fixing Pixie with an arch look. “And I have the feeling you’ve been doing that for far too long. I’ll drive you to the hospital. Eva, you get my boyfriend and have the talk you need to. Then both of you can meet us at Novato.”
A hot tear slipped down her cheek at the way Parker stepped in to help. She would never have been able to make the call on her own,not with the stark fear of losing her brother. Six months ago, the idea would’ve been ridiculous. However, after watching her parents walk away from them both, that was a reality she now entertained. Yet Pixie had been alone for so long, shouldering everything herself. Eva didn’t want to be anywhere other than her side.
Except she understood Pixie had been keeping her friends at a distance. And one of them was her brother. If they hoped to pull any scrap of their relationships from this wreckage, she needed to get Micah.
Eva walked to Pixie and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Pixie’s shuddered breath against her mouth almost made her cave, and she placed a steadying hand on Pixie’s waist. “I’ll find Micah, and we won’t be long after you and Parker. It’s all going to be okay—and even if it’s not, I’ll catch you when you fall.”
Eva didn’t want to pull away. The urge to protect Pixie burned so strong inside her that walking from her right now would welcome a hell of a lot of pain. Pixie’s expression was so open, sadness and fear flaring in those blue eyes. All Eva wanted to do was stay with her—prove to her she didn’t have to face the world alone.
If Eva had it her way, Pixie never would again.
Yet the logical part of her understood Parker’s suggestion was the right move to make.
Eva pressed one more soft kiss to Pixie’s lips. “Soon, dove. I’ll be with you soon.”
She forced herself to pull away, though the loss of contact drove shard after shard through her chest. Eva crouched to the side of the bed and grabbed her purse with her wallet, phone, and keys.
“Let me nab my stuff, and we’ll go,” Parker said to Pixie.
Eva swallowed hard as she left Pixie’s room and strode to the door.
The moment she walked outside, resolve settled in her bones.
Time to find her brother.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The ride to the hospital was agonizing.
Parker didn’t push her to talk, but she almost wished he would, solely to avoid the awkward silence that descended between them.
“So, Eva,” Parker said about fifteen minutes in.
“You try turning down a hottie like that.” Pixie looked at the ceiling of the car, wishing she didn’t feel like she was about to crawl out of her skin right now. “We didn’t want to sneak around on Micah, but things just unfolded between us.”