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“I am. Sometimes they just ignore me, but a few are talking back.” She sighed. “It’s hard. I’m not charming. Angelina was charming.”
“Angelina is...”
“The drag queen who took me in when my mom took off. He was born Carl, but in his heart he was always meant to be an Angelina. After Angelina Jolie. He, I mean, she totally respects Angelina’s life choices.” She lowered her voice. “Not counting Brad Pitt, of course. Because I mean really. Why? But all those children and the work she does around the world? That’s why she took me in. I didn’t have anybody.”
“You have family now,” Delaney said, not sure how much of the Carl/Angelina story was true. She wished she could talk to the asshole brother and tell him to step up and take some responsibility. Keira was desperately lonely. Why wasn’t anyone looking out for her beyond paying for private school and giving her a roof over her head?
Keira ignored the family comment and said, “Angelina wants to transition. Carl/Angelina, I mean, not the actress. She’s saving for the surgery, then wants to move to Hawaii because everything is beautiful there and she loves beautiful things.”
Keira opened her mouth to say something else, only instead of speaking she jumped to her feet, screamed “No!” at the top of her lungs, then raced out of the lobby.
Delaney was so stunned it took her a full second before she could move. She ran after Keira who was barreling out the doors and into the busy street. Before Delaney could figure out what was happening, she saw Keira bend down and pick up something from the street, then turn back toward the safety of the sidewalk. But before she could make it, there was a hideous screech of brakes followed by a horrible thud as a Prius struck Keira, sending her into the air, then back onto the street where she lay lifeless, a tiny kitten cradled in her small hands.
The world went silent. All Delaney heard was the beating of her own heart. Everything moved in slow motion as the driver flung open the car door and ran toward the fallen girl. People emerged from everywhere to surround her. Phones were pulled out as dozens called 9-1-1.
Shock later, action now, Delaney thought, willing her limbs to move. She stumbled to Keira’s side and fell to her knees next to her. Keira’s eyes fluttered open.
“Take care of the kitten,” she murmured, passing the small animal to Delaney before groaning. “I hurt.”
“Just stay still, Keira. It’s okay. An ambulance is coming. I’ll take the kitten.” The tiny creature trembled in her hands. “I’ll stay right here.”
“You know her?” a woman asked.
“She’s a friend of mine. She, ah, goes to the private school. Keira...” Delaney swore. “I don’t know her last name. She has a brother and a grandfather.”
Her brother! Delaney had to call him. Only where was Keira’s phone?
She looked around and realized the girl’s backpack was still next to her chair in the lobby eating area. Before Delaney could figure out what to do, Luzia ran out with Delaney’s purse in one hand and Keira’s backpack in the other.
“Are you going with her to the hospital?”
Delaney hesitated for only a second before nodding. “I’m going to call her brother to meet us there.”
Delaney dug for the phone while a man yelled he would go tell someone at the school that one of their students had been injured. Delaney found the phone just as an ambulance pulled up.
She scrolled through the short contact list, then, despite everything, smiled. Right under the As—Asshole Brother.
As the EMTs began to work on Keira, the girl called out. “Delaney, don’t leave me.” She looked at the guy helping her. “She’s my sister and she has to come with me.”
“Sure. No problem. Now tell me where it hurts. Can you move your toes? Not your legs, just your toes. We’re going to stabilize you, then get you to the hospital.”
“I can move my toes and it hurts everywhere.” Tears seeped out of the corners of Keira’s eyes. “Delaney!”
“I’m right here. I’m calling your brother to let him know what happened.”
“Don’t bother. He won’t care.”
The tears came faster now and she started to sob. “It hurts. It hurts. Make it stop.” The sobs turned into screams.
Delaney’s own eyes burned as she pushed the button on the phone. Pick up, pick up, she thought frantically. The kitten stayed perfectly still, huddled against her chest.
“Hello?”
“Are you Keira’s brother?”
“What? Yes. Who is this?”
“A friend of hers. Look, she’s been hit by a car. She’s conscious but I don’t know how badly she’s hurt. They’re taking her to the hospital. Hold on.” She turned to the EMTs who were loading Keira on a stretcher. “Which hospital?”
She repeated the information to Keira’s brother. “I’m going with her so she won’t be by herself. I have the kitten, too.”
“Kitten. What are you talking about? Who are you?”
“Delaney, don’t leave me!”
She saw that Keira was in the ambulance. She ran toward it. “I have to go. I’ll meet you at the hospital. Hurry.” She ended the call and started to climb in the back. One of the EMTs protested, but Delaney stared him down.
“She’s a kid who was just hit by a car. Give us both a break, okay?”
He nodded and helped her inside. Delaney sat close to Keira.
“It’s going to be okay,” she told the still-crying girl. “I’m right here.”
She shrugged out of her sweater, folded it up and put it in her tote, then settled the kitten on top of it. “Once I know you’re taken care of, I’ll see to our little friend here. Do you trust me to do that?”
Keira nodded, even as she cried. “It hurts so much.”
“I know, sweetie. I’m here.”
The EMT in the back started an IV, then the sirens came on and they were moving. Delaney knew what was next—the hospital, where the sounds and smells would bring everything back. She mentally braced herself for the onslaught, even as she hung on to Keira’s hand. For all she knew, she was all Keira had.
* * *
Malcolm barely glanced in his rearview mirror before performing an illegal U-turn. He’d been on his way to the company’s SoDo warehouse when he’d gotten the call about Keira. As he calculated the best way to get from here to the hospital in morning rush hour traffic, he pushed the button to activate his Mercedes’s voice control.
“Call home.”
“Calling home. Landline. Dialing.”
Seconds later he heard ringing. Carmen picked up. “Hello, Carlesso residence.”
“Carmen, it’s Malcolm. Someone just phoned to tell me Keira was in an accident.” He hesitated before saying she’d been hit by a car. He had no idea how bad things were or what was going to happen. “I’m on my way to the hospital right now. Please call the school and find out what they know. And don’t tell my grandfather until I get to the hospital and figure out what’s going on. He’ll get upset.”
“Keira? At the hospital?” Carmen’s voice was thick with tears. “No. Not that little girl. Is she all right? What happened? She was fine this morning.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I find out what has happened. Can you call the school for me?”
“Yes, of course.” Her voice broke. “I will pray for her. She’s so small. She must be afraid. When you see her, tell her I love her. Tell her I’m praying for her.”
“I will,” he said, wondering if it was physically possible to repeat that Carmen loved her. He’d managed to avoid that particular word for years now. “I’ll call as soon as I know anything.”
“Yes and I’ll let you know what the school says.”
“Thank you.”
He hung up. What had happened? How on earth had Keira been hit by a car? She went over to the building’s coffee stand every morning, but she knew enough to use the crosswalk, didn’t she? They’d never talked about it. He’d just assumed...
Of course she knew, he told himself. She was twelve, practically thirteen. Kids were mature these days. They knew things and understood how the world worked. She would be fine. She always was. She took care of herself and—
He gripped the steering wheel harder, as he silently swore. Powerful, ugly guilt swamped him. He recognized the symptoms because he had a lot to be guilty about. His grandfather and now Keira. She was a kid and while he wanted to be there for her, he honest to God didn’t know what to do with her. So he made sure she had what she needed and did his best to avoid her. Carmen seemed to pick up the slack, but was that enough?
He’d meant to do more, had wanted to get to know her, only he hadn’t known how and he was still so angry with their father. Jerry’s betrayal haunted him like a taunting ghost and in the end it was easier to avoid anyone who looked the least bit like him. It was easier to avoid his half sister, to tell himself she was doing just fine in her room at the opposite end of the hall.
He pushed the thoughts away. They weren’t helpful right now. Later he could indulge in a little self-loathing but until then he had to focus on the problem at hand.
He arrived at the hospital in record time and found parking by the emergency entrance. At the information desk, he gave his name, Keira’s and said he was her brother. The receptionist entered the information into her computer.
“She’s here,” the woman said. “Room 47. Through those doors, then follow the signs. They’ve taken her to get some X-rays, so she might not be there.”
He pushed open one of the swinging double doors and was assaulted by the smells and sounds of a busy hospital. There were dozens of exam rooms, each filled with patients and families. Medical personnel hurried from place to place, patient charts in their hands as a calm voice requested Dr. Herron call extension five-two-three. Orderlies moved equipment and in the distance, someone was screaming.
Malcolm felt his gut tighten as he followed the signs to Keira’s room. He hoped to hell she hadn’t been left alone. She was too young, and she had to be terrified, assuming she was conscious. He came to a stop as he realized he didn’t know how badly she was injured.
Guilt later, he reminded himself and started walking again. He turned another corner and saw room numbers in the forties, then found forty-seven. The door was open and the bed was empty. He started to leave only to realize there was someone else in the room. Someone who—
The woman turned and stared at him. Her green eyes were wide, her face pale. Under any other circumstances, her expression of surprise would have been comical.
“Delaney? What are you doing here?”
“I could ask the same thing. Oh God! You’re the asshole brother? No. It’s you? Keira’s your sister?”
Half sister. Only he didn’t say that. “How do you know her?”
“She gets a hot chocolate every morning. We’re friends. I take my break and we talk.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand. You’re her brother? But you never talk to her. You walk into the building at the same time, but it’s like you’re a stranger. I never imagined you even knew her. What’s with that? She’s your sister and you don’t say goodbye.” Tears filled her eyes. “She’s a little girl. You’re supposed to say goodbye.”
He reached for her instinctively. Tears turned into sobs. He wrapped his arms around her and held her for a few seconds, only to feel something odd between them. Something moving.
He stepped back as a small black-and-white kitten crawled out of her tote and mewed.
Too much was happening at once, he thought, struggling to make sense of the input.
A nurse stuck her head in the room. “Delaney, hon, just wanted to let you know, she’s doing great. She’ll be back in a second.” She lowered her voice. “Nothing’s broken that we can see. She’s banged up pretty bad, but so far so good. There’s still her head to worry about, but we’ll get those tests done in a little bit.” She offered a sympathetic smile. “I thought you’d want to know.”
The woman left without acknowledging Malcolm. He turned to Delaney, who was petting the kitten and easing it back into her tote.
“Why is she telling you that? How come she knows you?”
Delaney sucked in a breath. “My dad was a cop. A couple of years ago he was shot and brought here. He was in the hospital over a month. I pretty much know everyone who works here.”
“Is your father all right?”
“Yeah. He’s in a wheelchair, but he’s doing fine. He got engaged a few months ago.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m having trouble concentrating. Everything happened so fast and there was no way to stop her. She just ran into the street.”
“Why?”
Delaney stared at him. “The kitten. She saw the kitten and didn’t want it to be run over.”
Instead she’d been hit by a car.
Before he could ask any more questions, Keira was wheeled back into the room. She looked impossibly small in the bed. Her skin was a pale contrast to angry scrapes and bruises. She wasn’t moving—he couldn’t even tell if she was breathing.
Guilt merged with panic. Shouldn’t someone do something?
Delaney took one of Keira’s hands. “Hey, you,” she whispered. “Your brother is here. You should have told me his name was Malcolm. Not knowing that made for a very awkward call.”
Keira’s eyes fluttered, then stayed closed.
“You’re going to be okay, Keira,” Delaney continued. “You’re going to be okay.”
They couldn’t know that for sure, he thought grimly. Why wasn’t she awake? Wasn’t a brain injury more significant than any broken bones?
A doctor walked in. She was about five-four, with gray hair and a kind expression. “You two are the siblings?” she asked.
Delaney smiled. “Hi, Dr. Newport. This is Malcolm. He’s Keira’s brother. I’m a friend.”
Dr. Newport smiled. “You’re assuming I’ll make an exception and allow you to stay.”
“I kind of am.”
“Then I will.” The doctor turned to Malcolm and offered her hand. “Mr....”
“Carlesso. Call me Malcolm. How is she?”
“Bruised and sore, but otherwise intact.” She went on to detail the injuries Keira had sustained when she’d been hit by the car. “She’s incredibly lucky. All her vitals are normal and her concussion is very mild. Still, we’ll want to keep her overnight for observation. Just to be safe. She’ll need to stay quiet for a few days, until the worst of the pain passes. She’s going to be stiff and sore for a while.”
He glanced at Keira who still had her eyes closed. “Why is she unconscious?”
“She’s asleep. We gave her something for the pain. Even without serious injuries, her body suffered major trauma. She’ll wake up in a bit and you’ll be able to talk to her.”
Dr. Newport promised to look in on Keira before she was taken up to the pediatric floor. Malcolm excused himself to phone Carmen with an update. When he returned to the room, there was yet another nurse there, chatting with Delaney. When the nurse saw Malcolm, she hugged Delaney, then walked over to him.
“Hi. I need to get Keira’s medical history. She was pretty out of it when she came in and Delaney didn’t have any info.” She opened her tablet and looked at him. “We’ll start with the big stuff and work back. Any allergies or sensitivities?”
“Not that I know of.”
“What about major surgeries?”
“I don’t know.” He looked at the bed, then back at the nurse. “I don’t know. She’s my half sister. She moved here from Los Angeles a couple of months ago. My grandfather arranged it. Let me call home and find out if he knows anything or if she came with medical records.”
