Outback Living

Chapter Fifteen

I spend the evening wrapped up in Stiles' arms, as I lay awake for most of the night worried for my Aunt. We're on the sofa and Stiles is asleep, his chest rising and falling under my head. I must fall asleep at some stage, as I wake to a cacophony of hushed whispers around me, and bright morning sunlight coming through the French doors. My eyes slowly open and I wonder why the hell I fell asleep on the sofa, before my brain wakes up and remembers what happened.

I get up quickly, too quickly, as my head spins and my knees buckle. From out of nowhere Stiles appears and holds me tight, essentially stopping me from falling over.

"Hey, hey." He coos as he holds me close.

"My Aunt, anything yet?" I ask as I look up into his eyes.

"Dad is on the phone to Chris right now. Come on, let's get you some coffee."

I notice Noah hanging up the phone just as we enter the kitchen. I also see Melissa, Scott, Derek and Isaac sitting at the table, all with varying expressions on their faces. When Noah joins them they all look up with expectant looks.

"She's gonna be just fine."

Audibly we all let out heavy sighs of relief, and tears start to swim behind my eyes again. Stiles has his arm around my shoulder, and he runs his hand up and down in a gentle motion.

"She woke up from her concussion almost as soon as they got to the hospital, demanding to know what was going on."

We all laugh.

"She's had surgery on her elbow and her wrist has been set, but they want to keep her for a little while to monitor her brain function, due to how long she was out."

We all relax slightly after Noah explains everything, and to keep myself occupied I start to get breakfast ready for everyone. All the guys and Melissa help, and I'm grateful that they don't notice how torn up inside I am, about the fact that I nearly lost another loved one. By nine am, the men have all gone off to do their work. They all grumbled about it, until Noah raised his voice to a tone I've never heard before, citing that Sybill wouldn't want them siting around moping.

I've just finished up with the laundry when I hear the tell tale sound of Gus' ute. Shit. With everything that happened last night I had completely forgotten that we had a guest arriving today. And then of course my nerves are shot again, as I begin to worry about Malia's reaction to me and Stiles being together. Of course it should be the last thing on my mind, considering my Aunt is laying in a hospital bed hundreds of kilometres away.

The noise of Gus' ute must've got Melissa's attention, because suddenly she is by my side. We share a look, before she pulls a radio -that everyone on this property has- from her back pocket and tries to get Noah on the line. After a bit of static, I hear Noah's voice come over the radio. Melissa goes on to tell him that Gus has arrived, and that he might want to hurry back. Neither one of us want to be the ones to explain Sybills accident.

Malia walks through the door first, and I'm a little shocked at how frail she looks. Her once voluptuous figure has become thin, and it makes her look about five inches shorter. Her normally perfect hair is a little ratty and looks like it is due for a cut and a decent treatment. Her head is down as she walks the familiar hallway. She only looks up when she's nearly to the kitchen, and I have to hide the gasp that nearly leaves my mouth at her eyes.

Normally they're so big and full of life, now they're cloudy and sunken. I quickly look away to hide my shock. Melissa is the saving grace by saying hello and welcoming her. I just stand there with my fingers twisting in front of me and my eyes focused on the floor. It's not until I hear the screen door again that I raise my head. I see Gus coming in with a suitcase dragging behind him. Melissa moves to help him and I'm left standing there with the ex girlfriend of my boyfriend.