Beyond Bloodline - Unbreakable Bonds

forty one

"Would you fucking get a grip?" Nigel hissed, already at the limit of his patience. He'd been here for nearly three hours already and all Saxon had done was soak the sleeve of his shirt with tears where he'd buried his face. "She's not even dead yet."

"I don't want her to," Saxon whispered, barely getting the words out with how raw his throat was and how much it hurt for him to even speak.

"Damn that truck," Nigel cursed under his breath, leaning back so he was at least properly slouching against the waiting chairs. "Could have done the world a solid favor."

"Nic."

"Forgive me if I want to see her as anything other than dead," he snorted, wondering how it could take one and miss one. It was the same car. Really, damn that truck.

"Nic," Saxon's face was blotchy, lips raw from how much he'd been biting into it. "She's my mom."

Nigel met his gaze, then felt his own turn blank. Stewing in his hate and relish, he'd almost forgotten he had all their love and doting from the onset. He wasn't like him. He was theirs; theirs to love and theirs to cherish. "Yeah," he said, lip curling in a sneer. "So?"

"So I don't want her to die," he said, brows furrowed. "I'd rather at least have one parent in my life."

And he, who didn't even have the one? "Good for you," he muttered. "What'd the doctor say about her?"

"That the chances of her surviving are pretty slim," Saxon said, blinking his eyes to fight the tears welling in them once more. "That she might not make it even though Dad took the brunt of the collision covering for her."

Nigel hummed to show he was listening but couldn't find it in him to care any more than that.

"He thinks we might as well be better off saying our goodbyes," Saxon managed, lip trembling again. "And cutting her off on our own."

"Smart man," the wise ass comment flew out of his mouth completely on impulse.

"What the fuck is your own problem?" Saxon exploded, glaring at him.

His own fucking problem was his not-brother looking for him for sympathy when he could find it in him to care less and would much rather be helping her cut off the oxygen support. Of course, he didn't say any of that.

"I don't know, brother, what do you think?" he said, snorting at the sight of his face turning from blotchy to pallid as the more jeer than word fell past his lips.

"Why are you being like this?" his expression crumpled abruptly and Nigel watched him have to take heaving gasps to regulate his breathing.

"Are you completely stupid?" Nigel didn't miss a beat. "Why do you think?"

Saxon didn't respond, eyes glumly falling to find his fingers pinching at his clothes.

"When you called and told me of dad's passing," he brought his gaze away from him, full of melancholy as all he could do at this point was hope. Hope the worst for her, of course. "I was full of regret. You didn't mention her so I knew she was definitely still alive."

"I'm sorry about them, Nic, you know I hated it," Saxon whispered, his tears falling. "But they don't deserve to die."

Oh, they totally did.

"Why? Did they do nothing?" he asked, a smile creeping up on his lips— one that didn't even come close to reaching his eyes. "Everytime she chose you over me, I just fucking wished she would die."

"Nic, I—"

"Of course," he continued without any regard for him. "I'd also thought of at least a hundred ways I could implement it myself."