Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
The door opened again for a third time, and I watched as the charge nurse, Dru, came in looking ragged.
She walked to the counter and ordered, her body dragging.
I jerked my chin up at her and said, “Have a seat with us.”
She smiled, took the seat across from Apollo but didn’t otherwise say anything more.
Aella and I weren’t the only ones that had had a terrible day. It showed on Dru’s face just how tired she was.
The food was called out for the two of them at the same time, and Silver popped the last of her fries into her mouth before she said, “I got it.”
Dru gave Silver an appreciative smile as she moved to get the food.
Apollo gave her nothing, his gaze far away and blank.
Silver was back in a flash with the food and set it on the table between them.
They both unwrapped their meals, and I inwardly laughed as I saw the stark difference between Apollo’s food and Dru’s.
Dru had so much sauce on her burger that it was pouring out the sides, and three slices of cheese at that. Absolutely zero veggies. She’d also gotten a small onion ring and two cookies.
Meanwhile, Apollo had every single vegetable that Whataburger offered, as well as a salad as his side.
Weirdo.
My eating style leaned much more toward Dru’s preferences than Apollo’s.
Hell, before I’d met the man, I hadn’t even realized that Whataburger had salads.
The door opened for a third time since we’d gotten there, and Cakes made his way inside, his gaze fastening on our table almost immediately.
He walked toward us, and I saw Aella straighten out of the corner of my eye.
I grinned and held out my hand as he took the seat next to Silver. He shook it firmly before turning his eyes to his daughter.
“Cakes,” I greeted. “What are you doing up?”
“Came to the hospital to check on that one,” he jerked his head toward Apollo. “But didn’t find him.”
Cakes and Apollo lived on the same land, sharing a duplex.
“Cakes.” Aella cleared her throat. “This is my sister, Silver.”
Silver turned from Cakes to Aella and back, her mouth forming an O.
“I definitely see the resemblance.” She practically bounced in her seat in excitement. “Holy crap!”
Apollo looked up from his salad, curious.
Dru continued to eat, her head lost in the clouds.
“It’s nice to meet you, Silver.” He grinned and held out his hand to her.
Silver took it, shaking it quickly and exuberantly.
Cakes’s smile widened.
Yeah, I’d only known Silver for a short time, but it was impossible not to like her.
Apollo went back to his food, and I sat back and watched as the left side of me conversed and the right side of me ate in complete silence.
By the time everyone was done, it was decided all at once to leave at the same time.
Cakes pulled me to the side and said, “I’m following him home. Gonna stay with him tonight.”
I nodded, grateful that someone would be with him and he wouldn’t be alone after today. “Who has Detroit?”
Cakes looked back at the hospital that you could still see in the distance. “The baby being too early means she had to stay in the NICU for a bit. They expect her to be able to go home within the next week or so, but from what Webber said, Detroit isn’t leaving today.” Cakes cleared his throat. “He also asked us not to call him Detroit anymore.”
Fuck.
“Shit, I didn’t even think about that,” I said.
Detroit’s—Audric’s—wife had given him that nickname, and it’d stuck.
“Yeah,” Cakes grunted when Apollo got on his bike and started to take off. “See ya. Bye, girls.”
Silver and Aella waved him goodbye as he raced to his bike and took off.
Dru started to back out of her parking spot as well, leaving with a wave.
That left me with two very wide awake women on my hands.
“Not that I’m not happy to meet you, but it’s two in the morning, Silver, what are you doing up?” I asked. “Just worry for your sister?”
“That, and I work the night shift,” she said. “I go into work at three and get off at three in the afternoon.”
“Where do you work?” I asked, thinking that had to possibly be the shittiest shift I’d ever heard.
“The hospital, like y’all,” she said. “But I work in IT.”
“Ahhh,” I said. “But can’t they give you normal hours for that?”
“They could, but working those shitty hours gives me an extra four dollars an hour,” she pointed out. “And speaking of, I have to go or I’ll be late. Love you, Aella. Call me when you’re taking your shower tomorrow.”
Aella waved her off, and I caught Aella around the waist and pulled her to me as Silver took off down the road at a sprint.
“Your sister is a character,” I said as I watched her go. “I feel like maybe we should make sure she gets there.”