Page 143 of Delirium
“Will they survive?” I blurted out, unable to contain my words.
“Of course they will.” She chuckled. “We’re placing them in incubators, but we don’t think they will need to be inside them for more than two days. They’re already extremely strong, and that little girl has a strong set of lungs on her.” She grinned. “That one will be a troublemaker, for sure.”
“Oh thank God,” I murmured, dragging my hand over my face. “We need to tell Storm,” I told Atlas. “He needs to be here.”
“That’s the father, right?” the nurse asked. “I can take you to him, and the doctor will meet him here to take him to see them.”
“Please,” I murmured. “You’re gonna stay here, right?” I asked Atlas. Rationally, I knew that the danger was gone, that both Ava and Tristan were locked up, but having Atlas with them here, even if he was only in the waiting room, made me feel better.
“Of course, dude,” Atlas answered. “I’ll be right here. Go and get Storm.”
I nodded mindlessly, looking at the nurse, waiting for her to lead the way. With a soft smile on her face and more understanding than most people I knew had, she led the way back to the elevators, to the floor where Ophelia was fighting for her life.
As we exited the hallway leading to the waiting room where Storm was, I almost collapsed at the sight of him.
Storm, the man who always looked so strong, seemed so small, sitting on the floor, with his head between his knees. His shoulders shook, and I had no doubt that he was crying quietly, while Indigo kept looking at him with a worried expression.
“Is that him?” the nurse asked, whispering to me.
“Yeah,” I choked. Seeing him like this was not something I ever thought I would see. Storm was a force to be reckoned with and seeing his pain like this was a hard pill to swallow.
I slowly walked toward him, ignoring the glare Indigo sent my way, and crouched down on the floor next to him, placing my hand on his shoulder.
“Storm,” I murmured. His head snapped up, hitting the wall in the process, the tears he’d been trying to hide obvious on his face.
Crimson streaks of Ophelia’s blood were all over his clothes, his hands, his face, and something told me he didn’t want to wash it away.
“Not right now, Kill,” he breathed out, keeping his pain coiled tightly, trying to hide it from me, but there was no use. He loved her—loved her more than any of us, and I knew he needed her more than air to breathe.
I didn’t beat around the bush. I knew he needed to hear this. I knew he needed to know his kids were okay.
“The twins are here, Storm,” I murmured, waiting to see his reaction, and he didn’t disappoint. His eyes snapped open, immediately connecting with mine. “They’re okay. Alive. They’re up in the NICU.”
“They’re here?” he breathed out, barely whispering as if he too couldn’t believe they were okay.
“Yes.” I smiled, hoping it would ease the tension. “We caught Tristan and Ava before they could run away with them, Storm. We fucking caught them.”
“I want to see them,” he said, looking behind me at the nurse, finally realizing what was happening. “Can I see them?”
“Absolutely.” She chuckled as he jumped up with renewed energy. “Come on. I’ll take you to them,” the nurse said, slowly walking toward the hallway where we came from.
“Storm,” I called out to him as he followed her. “The girl,” I choked. “She looks exactly like Ophelia.”
His face scrunched, his eyes filling with new tears, and he simply nodded, before coming back to me and taking me into a bear hug.
“Thank you, Kill,” he murmured, clinging to me. “Thank you for bringing them back.”
“Always, man,” I murmured, controlling my own emotions. “Ophelia is family, and she’s going to be okay.”
“She died on me, Cillian,” he sobbed, his voice breaking, his body shaking, and I wrapped my arms tighter around him. “She fucking died two times on the way to the hospital.”
“She will be okay,” I repeated, willing it, fucking manifesting it. “She’s strong.”
“I know,” he murmured, taking a step back. “I’ll be back,” he said, looking between me and Indigo. “Tell me if anything changes.”
With those parting words, he ran after the nurse who waited for him at the elevators, leaving me with Indigo, who suddenly collapsed into a chair. Only then did I see how tired he looked. I crossed the waiting room and sat down next to him, looking at the doors that had signage that only authorized personnel could go through, and waited.
“Thank you, Cillian,” Indigo grunted. “I was worried about him, so…” He looked at me. “Thank you.”
