Chapter 34
Hayden ran his hand through his hair as he waited for the barista to pour his coffee. He felt tired to his bones and he was pretty sure anyone who looked at him would be able to tell. The muscles in his back ached from having slept in that uncomfortable chair in the hospital. His head was pulsing and his limbs felt as heavy as led.
"Milk and sugar?" The girl behind the counter asked.
"No," Hayden said, pulling out his wallet.
Paying as quickly as he could, Hayden grabbed his coffee and turned towards the emergency infermery the palace had set up. He zig zagged past the nurses walking around the mobile trailers while the construction crew worked overtime to clean up after the aftermath of Kiara. Maksim had been kind enough to let the doctors set up Nora in one of the guest bedrooms in the palace. Hayden didn't like the idea of her being in any random hospital.
As he climbed the stairs to the third floor, his eyes caught on Elian coming out of Annabelle's room with a large bag. Hayden paused and waited for the boy to walk over to where he stood.
"Going somewhere?" he asked.
"Annabelle is," Elian said. "She's scared to stay here. Her doctor recommended she stay elsewhere for a few."
Hayden slowly nodded. He wasn't too sure how much Annabelle had seen. But it was enough to traumatize the young girl. Maksim did his best to keep her calm while Ella recovered. But seeing her own mother in the hospital only added to Annabelle's fear of staying in the palace. Hayden knew it was probably Owen's idea to have the kids go stay with him and Mavi in Juniper while Ella recovered and Maksim stayed busy with the infirmary renovations.
"Were you here?" Hayden asked, looking at Elian.
"No," Elian sighed. "But I wish I was....mom and Bell..."
"There wasn't much we could have done," Hayden said, feeling his own heart contract as he remembered the sound of Nora's body hitting the floor.
"Are you okay?" Elian asked as he watched Hayden flinch.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," Hayden nodded. "Tell Annabelle I'll come and see her in Juniper soon."
Elian nodded before stepping around and hurrying down the stairs with his twin sister's bag. Hayden stood at the top of the stairs and watched the boy disappear before he turned towards Nora's room.
"Hayden,"
Before Hayden could turn, Killian's voice stopped him once more. He turned and found the tall boy standing by one of the other guest bedrooms beside Nora's room.
"How's Nora?" Killian asked.
"She's okay," Hayden said. "How's Kiara?"
"Still unconscious."
"Yeah...so is Nora," Hayden sighed. "How's Lila?"
"She's good," Killian said.
"And you?"
Killian didn't answer. Hayden felt like an idea for asking such a question.
Killian didn't need to answer for Hayden to know how broken and dead he was inside. The light was almost out in his eyes. The little flickers were only for his daughter's sake....everything else to him was dead.
Hayden felt a rush of panic and pressure rise in his chest imagining what he would have done if Nora was in Kiara's shoes. He couldn't imagine ever looking at those brown eyes knowing that she didn't remember anything. He couldn't do it....just thinking about it made him want to throw up.
