Page 24 of In My Heart
Rafe got out of the other side of the car and wrapped his arm around me the second he reached me, ushering me inside and out of the rain. Arran and Cal were waiting right inside the entrance for us, and Arran stepped forward to help me out of my wet coat.
“Jesus lass, yer frozen through,” he cursed as he took my ice cold hand in his warm one and gave it a squeeze.
“I should have listened to Cal and worn the cardigan,” I told him, my teeth chattering slightly.
“Don’t be telling the lad that. His head’s big enough as it is,” Arran joked and I smiled just a little.
He had been that way all week – he and Cal really. They tried hard not to look at me with the same worry and concern the others did. Instead they tried to just treat me the way theyalways had for the most part, making me laugh and cracking jokes. We’d watched movies and they’d just been there without making it feel as awkward and intense as it was when Dio or Rafe were with me. I’d needed that easiness to get me through all of the heaviness.
“Is he okay?” I worried as I glanced over to where Cal was sitting on a chair and looking a little pale.
“Idiot didnae take any painkillers this mornin’ so he’s in pain, but I just forced some tablets into him. He’ll be alright,” Arran assured me.
“I’ll just check on him, Rafe,” I told my brother. Rafe nodded, but watched me as I crossed the small space to perch in the chair at Cal’s side.
“Arran said you’re an idiot,” I told him as I took him in.
“I forgot. It was a busy morning, then Terza had to cut my suit to get the damn trousers over this boot. I just lost track,” he sighed.
“Doesn’t sound very medical studenty of you,” I pointed out.
“Medical studenty? You’re going with that term, are you?” he teased.
“Works for me,” I shrugged. Without thinking I reached for his hand and held it tightly in mine against his thigh.
“You’re shaking,” he said as he studied me closer.
“I’m chilly,” I shrugged again. “And I just had to leave my little sister in the cold, wet ground,” I added shakily, wanting to be honest.
“Jesus,” he whispered as he let go of my hand and picked me up, pulling me over until I was in his lap and in his arms.
“Cal, we shouldn’t. Not here,” I argued, even as I clung onto the lapels of his suit jacket and pressed against him as much as I could.
“This is the only way I can hug you right now. Everyone who matters, knows that. And you needed a hug,” he assured me.
“I need to be strong right now,” I told him as I fought not to cry. It seemed like it was all I had done since that fateful night.
“You’re always strong. Cara,” he told me as he kissed the top of my head.
“Everythin’ alright here?”
I turned my head and found Arran in his black suit, with a black open collar shirt underneath, crouched down beside the chair Cal sat in.
I smiled shakily and gave a single nod. “I’m okay.”
“Good, Whenever ye feel ready, Rafe wants us all to walk inside the place together, okay? We’re doin’ this as a family today,” he told us, and I nodded.
I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to survive the day any other way. I needed them all at my side.
I turned back into Cal’s pressed white shirt and squeezed my arms around him as tight as I could for a moment or two, then I took a deep breath and sat up.
“I’m ready,” I told Arran as I held my hand out to him. He engulfed it in his huge mitt and squeezed just a little, comfortingly.
“We’ll be close, babe. Just look for us if you need us, and we’ll be there,” Cal told me as Arran helped me down from his lap and to my feet.
“I can do this,” I told them both as I straightened the black dress that Terza had bought me for the occasion.
It was a maxi dress, so it covered the mess of bruises and cuts on my legs, and allowed me to wear flats beneath. It was pretty plain too, with long sleeves and a modest neckline. I probably looked like that Mum fromThe Addams Familywith my hair down and straightened as it was, but I had just been hoping to hide as much of my bruised and beaten up body as I could. I already felt so vulnerable and exposed just being out in the world. I didn’t need to be drawing any attention to myself.
