Asher Banning still mourns his mother after three years. When his friend, Caden, decides to get their group of friends together for Christmas as a way to help Asher not feel lonely for the holidays, things quickly turn upside down.
MATURE: for expl...
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The smell of bleach and old people woke me up. I stirred in the thin sheets until my eyes fluttered open completely. The hospital room was quaint, but it was like anything out of a movie. A single room with a bed and monitors beside it; a sink and counter off to the side; a few chairs off to the corner; and a window seat to my right with flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals taking over the couch.
I shrugged off the questions I had about who brought those things here, and as I took a deep breath, the door opened.
It was the detective. "Thought you'd be up." He shut the door behind him, careful not to spill his coffee that steamed out of the lid's opening.
"Detective?" I said, wondering why he was here and why would he be the first person to see me.
"How you feelin'?"
"Fine, I guess? Why? What are you doing here?"
He sat in the chair closest to the cornered wall. He took a few sips of his coffee and placed his foot on top of his leg as if to get comfortable. "Your foot should be fine, the doctor said. But you were lucky. Having a compound fracture like that? It could've been infected, and you could've had an amputated foot." The man pointed his index finger to me. After a moment, he let it fall into his lap.
"Okay, thank you?" Why was he giving me this information now? "I suppose you don't know anything about Freyja's condition. Are my friends okay?"
"What, your girlfriend? I'm not sure. I haven't asked. But, I'm not here to tell you what condition everyone is in." Okay? The detective took a deep breath and said, "About three weeks ago, your father was found dead in his bedroom. It wasn't an accident. And that Nick Ailey you talked to us about earlier? He's missing."
