My mother gives me a pointed look. I ignore it; she抯 in no position to be doling out relationship advice.
揧ou should go get some sleep, sweetie,?she tells me. 揧ou look exhausted.?
揑 haven抰 slept in厰 I try to count the hours. 揂 while.?
揋o. Your father will be out of it for a while. I抣l send you any updates.?
揙kay.?It doesn抰 take much for me to agree. Sitting on hard plastic while my mother justifies her money-motivated decision to stay with my father hasn抰 been a blast.
Silently, Crew stands and offers me his hand.
I take it. 揃ye, Mom.?
It feels wrong, leaving her sitting there all alone. I can抰 picture my father holding a vigil if the roles were reversed. Never before have I tried to analyze my parents?relationship this closely. I just took it at face value. I know why I抦 peering closer now桰 have something to compare it to. I want everything they抮e not.
Crew says nothing as we leave the hospital and climb into the waiting car. It抯 dark out. I don抰 know what time it is. What day it is, even.
I stare out the window, seeing nothing. Even once we pull into the garage, my eyes don抰 focus. My limbs don抰 move.
The door on my side of the car opens. Crew leans in, unbuckling my seat belt and lifting me into his arms.
I press my face against his warm neck, inhaling the familiar scent of his cologne. 揧ou smell good.?
揑 showered.?
His steps are sure and solid as he walks over to the elevators. I don抰 open my eyes.
揌e was with his mistress when it happened. Not my mom. She doesn抰 care. She says she never cared. I hope that抯 true, or else I抦 screwed.?I squeeze my eyes tighter. 揑 can抰 even remember the last time I was this tired,?I mumble. 揂nd I抦 always tired.?Crew somehow manages to hold me and also flash the card to get the elevator moving. 揧ou抮e so strong.?I sigh. 揑 feel like everything is falling apart. Like I am.?
His grip on me tightens. 揘othing is falling apart, Red. Everything is fine. Your dad will be fine.?
揑 know. I抦 relieved. You know why? Because my first thought when I heard he had a heart attack was that if he died, I would have had to take over Ellsworth Enterprises. Or sell it. Or匢 don抰 even know what I would have done. How sad is that??
揑t抯 understandable. Your relationship with him is complicated.?
揂ll of my relationships are complicated.?
The doors open with a ding. I open my eyes to the familiar sight of the entryway to the penthouse I抳e started thinking of as ours, not mine. Crew doesn抰 set me down and I don抰 ask him to. He just strides for the stairs.
揌ave you talked to your dad??I ask.
Crew shakes his head. 揑抦 sure he抣l call about something work-related soon. Until then, I抦 not getting involved in the Candace drama.?
I blink. 揥ow. I completely forgot about that.?
揧ou抳e had a lot going on.?
揧ou should talk to them, Crew.?
I used to think that Arthur and Oliver were closer than Arthur and Crew. That Oliver resented Crew for usurping and outshining him. But I realized Crew is the glue holding his family together on the flight to the Alps. Arthur and Oliver both rely on him to handle whatever needs handling. I don抰 like that I抳e become another burden Crew has to carry條iterally, at the moment. I lean on him, need him, rely on him, and he抯 never needed my support the same way.
揧ou should sleep.?He lays me down on the soft fabric of my comforter. 揝taying up all night can抰 be good for the baby.?I can抰 distinguish his concern for me from his concern for the baby. He carried me to bed once before I was pregnant. Would he have carried me tonight if I wasn抰？
揑 tried to sleep on the plane,?I mutter.
揑 know, baby.?The soft tone of his voice temporarily soothes my worries.
揗y dad is fine. You can go back to the chalet. Spend Christmas with your dad and brother. Your family.?
He says nothing for a long minute. I don抰 want him to go, and I抦 worried he took it the wrong way梩hat I do. I wish it were brighter in here. The hall light doesn抰 illuminate his whole face; most of it is shadowed. I can抰 see his expression, but I can feel something pulsing in the air between us. Before I can decide what it is, he speaks. 揗y family is right here.?
Five words, and they decide more between us than the two-hundred-page document that was supposed to govern this arrangement. If our story had a different start, I抎 respond to that sentence with three. I抎 admit he抯 become my whole world. The first thing I think about when I wake up and the last before I fall asleep. The first person I抎 call with good news or bad. My family.
Pretty promises can be deceptive. All I hear in Crew抯 words are truth. Not ugly, but real.
Before my tired brain can come up with a response, he stands and moves away. 揋et some sleep, Red.?