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The sun shone brightly through the window, highlighting every crease in the white sheet that Gaia had slept beneath, after hours of restlessly tossing and turning. At some point, she had eventually fallen asleep and even when a doctor had woken her up at seven o'clock to check her for concussion, she had managed to drift off before too much of the night returned to her memory.
Birds sang outside the window, life going on as normal as though nothing had happened last night, and that familiar sinking sickness of dread lined Gaia's stomach with lead. She turned her cheek against the cool pillow, glancing to her side to see that Zara was gone, no trace of her husband or her daughter where they had been the last time she had opened her eyes, and she made a concerted effort to control her breaths as she pushed back the covers, slipping out from under the uncomfortable sheet to pad through to the tiny bathroom.
Evan stood inside, hands gripping the white porcelain sink as he stared at his weary reflection in the mirror, harsh lights illuminating the dark bags that hung heavily beneath bloodshot eyes like laden rain clouds. His pink eyelids looked sore, as though he had spent all night rubbing them, and his hair stuck on end where he had spent hours raking his hand through it for something to do. Gaia sank against the doorframe, watching him until he noticed her and he pulled her against his chest without a word.
No matter what, Evan was always ready to comfort and console, his arms open to help anyone around him. For almost seven straight hours, he had held his daughter until she had fallen asleep, as though she was six rather than sixteen, and now he pulled his wife into his warm embrace when it was him who needed the hug. He hadn't slept a wink, too busy making sure that the women in his life were ok, and once he had Gaia in his arms, he clutched her as though he couldn't live without her.
Nothing was said for two full minutes, a hundred and twenty long seconds of silence as Gaia revelled in her husband's warm embrace and he stroked her hair, his cast hard against her back. She could hear his heart beating beneath his chest, and she could feel the thrum of his pulse as it slowly settled, syncing with her own. His steady breaths whispered through her hair, his fingers grazing over the tangles of a disturbed night, and she gripped his t-shirt in both hands.
"Where's Zara?" she asked when another ninety seconds had passed, her cheek still pressed against Evan's chest until they eased apart and he led her back into the room. When she perched on the edge of the bed, her hands clasped in her lap, he dropped down onto the chair he had spent the night in, comforting his daughter.
"Bree came an hour ago to take her home. To her flat," he said. "She brought you a change of clothes. The kids are fine. She said they were great yesterday and Alfie was still asleep when she came. She took Zara back. She didn't want to go."
Gaia's body sagged, her shoulders hunching over as anguish settled in her bones and dragged her down as though gravity had become her enemy, pulling her to the ground. "How is she?" she asked, her voice small as she dreaded the answer. Evan took a deep breath, letting out a long, slow sigh as he ran both hands through his hair, rubbing his itchy, exhausted eyes.
