Page 80 of Thicker Than Water
“They’re bringing him out of the coma,” I say.
Chapter Twenty-TwoSIENNA
It’s a long time before we’re allowed to see him, well into the afternoon. They have to run tests, let him rest, and it’s almost unbearable—this long, final wait.
Upon arrival, we were intercepted by a nurse, who led us to the family lounge. “It’ll be a little while. I’ll come get you as soon as he’s ready,” she said, and I jumped on the phone with Lou. He agreed to make some calls, keep Beck and any guards from pouncing on Jason right away. That was hours ago, hardly thelittle whilethe nurse promised, and the entire time, Julia and I have occupied opposite sides of the couch, legs crossed away from each other, our silence like another person sitting between us.
Visitors have come and gone, plucking tissues from boxes, clearing their throats during calls. They made our quiet less loud. But we’re alone now, and it seems like every time I breathe, the room shrinks or expands. Sometimes, it’s too big for us. Other times, too small.
Julia looks hollow, merely a husk. But I am filled to the brim,emotions raging inside me. Fury, bewilderment, despair—all of it swirls around the same fact: Julia’s made up her mind; she believes my brother’s a killer.
But there’s something else, too, a dark epicenter right above my heart.
Maybe we’ve both been holding each other back.
No other words have left me so devastated. They’re worse than Wyatt’s, when he confessed to cheating. Worse than the judge’s, when he condemned Clive to only three years. Worse, even, than Julia’s own:Jason did it, I truly believe he did.
It crushed me this morning, how different she was, just from yesterday. Her voice was firmer than usual. Faster. Like something had unclogged inside her. For years, I’ve waited for Julia to speak her truth. I just never imagined the words she’d say would hurt so much, or that the change would happen without me—as if I’ve been the one to plug her up.
I look at my hand, my cut cleaned and bandaged. Earlier, Julia gaped at it like it was gruesome, while I still saw it as beautiful, proof of my own power. Now, though, as I press my thumb against the gauze, I’m surprised to feel the wound beneath it throb.
A sound reaches us from the hall, the blunt padding of a nurse’s shoes, and we snap our attention toward the doorway, tense with anticipation. When the nurse pops her head into the room, chirping, “You can see him now,” we spring up in unison.
This is it. Jason will tell us everything. Julia will know how wildly wrong she was.
“He’s alert enough to talk,” the nurse says over her shoulder as we tail her down the hall. “Lucid, too; he’s been asking about you both. But he’s going to be weak, so we ask that you don’t stay longer than fifteen minutes to start. And we’ll need you to do your best not to agitate him.”
Outside Jason’s closed door, there’s a tangle of suits and uniforms. Lou is here, speaking to Detective Beck, and behind them are two officers, hands on their holsters like they expect to burst into Jason’s room and find him armed.
The sight of them flushes my face with heat. “Lou, you told me you’d hold them off.”
He swivels toward me, offering a thin smile to Julia and the nurse before responding. “Detective Beck has agreed to let you visit with Jason before he goes in.”
“Oh, you’veagreed, have you?” I say to Beck. “How generous.”
A muscle twitches in Beck’s jaw. “We’re not obligated by the law to wait.”
“Well, were you obligated by the law to verify Henry Hendrix’s alibi? Because you did a shit job of that. It took me two seconds to learn he lied to you. And you should know that Wyatt Miller is covering for him.”
Lou jolts up a hand like a crossing guard. “Whoa, whoa, who’s Wyatt Miller?”
“A Hillstead cop. My ex. He’s helping Henry.”
“Sienna, stop,” Julia says behind me, touching my arm. “You don’t know that.”
I yank out of her grasp, whip around to face her. “Donottell me what I know.” I turn back to Beck. “Don’t believe me? Ask Wyatt yourself. Go over Henry’s alibi again. I don’t know who the hell you checked with the first time, but it’s all a lie.”
Beck’s face surprises me. He doesn’t scoff at my claim, or roll his eyes, or even seem to dismiss it, the way I expect. Instead, he looks confused, almost troubled, as if he’s actually considering what I’ve said. Over his shoulder, his officers exchange a glance.
“Uh,” Beck says, and it’s the first time I’ve seen him anything less than confident. “What did Miller say to you, exactly?”
My heart drops, even as it should feel bolstered.
Beck’s question gives weight to my assumption—itispossible; Wyattcouldbe covering for Henry somehow. Even Julia seems to sense it. She squints at Beck, frowning.
At Jason’s door, the nurse clears her throat. “Should we hold off on this visit?”
“No,” Beck says, as if she’d been asking him. “No, you should both go in while I—” He turns and mumbles something to his officers, who nod and straighten. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he adds. Then he heads down the hall, pulling his phone from his pocket.
