“He’s your fiancé?”

“We’re to be married on May sixth,” I replied, holding up my four-carat ring, as if it were proof enough. With its size, it should be. “And what of Sheri Mathews? Jason Jones? Felix Bouvier? Vivian Blanchard?”

For a few heartbeats, Dr. Jacobs appeared conflicted. Then, he said, “Sheri Mathews is in critical but stable condition. Jason Jones suffered minor injuries, but he is also in surgery. We expect him to make a quick recovery. Felix Bouvier’s right arm and rib cage suffered damage. He’s in surgery now, and we’re concerned about internal bleeding. Vivian Blanchard has some minor bumps and a concussion.”

“And Tim Williams? Their driver, Mack? I admit, I don’t know his full name.”

“Tim Williams expired from his injuries en route to the hospital—as did the bus driver, Kevin McIntosh.”

“And Phil?” I breathed, once more crushed beneath the weight of losing people I’d known and loved.

“Philip Deveraux suffered a broken femur, pelvis, and ribs on the left side of his body. He’s in surgery, and from what the X-rays show, the breaks were clean. Pins will be used to stabilize his pelvis and femur, and his ribs are taped up. It appears as though his sheer size and musculature saved him from much more serious injuries.”

“And Xavier? You said he didn’t suffer,” I said quietly.

Dr. Jacobs looked uncomfortable. “He was killed instantly, Dr. MacGregor. Your brother, Connor, identified the body and confirmed that it was Xavier Johnson.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“Philip should be out of surgery soon. Once he is, I’ll allow you to see him.”

“Okay,” I said softly.

“I will come and get you when Philip is situated.”

“Thank you.” Turning on my heel, I opened the door to the small waiting room, greeted by the combined wretchedness of Connor and a heartbroken Alys.

“Alys?” I asked, keeping my voice soft and soothing.

Sniffling and wiping her eyes, she pulled herself from Connor’s arms. “Yeah?”

I needed some space to clear my head, to focus, and to bring myself into a calm and rational frame of mind. “I’m going to grab us all some coffee and give Lili a call, see if she and Lewis can come out here.”

“Okay.”

Connor’s eyes met mine. The wealth of anguish pouring from them was enough to drown me.

No matter what, he loved X. Even with Alys between them, he never found fault in his brother for loving her the way he did. If anything…he had understood.

“I’ll be right back.”

Phil

No pain. No light. No sound. No music. No laughter. No Baby Girl. Nothin’.

I’m not anywhere. But I’m still…here. Everything is telling me that here, in this black canvas of timeless space, is what true freedom is like.

I ain’t free without my Baby Girl.

It’s soft, cool and warm at the same time, open and endless. There’s no up, no down, so whatever way I’m falling is the right way to go, I guess.

I just need my Baby Girl.

“You need to be ready,” said a voice, both alien and familiar.

“For what?”

No answer. Falling again.

No fear. No happiness. Just an existence. A place to rest.

But from what? Why do I need to rest?

“Just relax. There’s nothing to rush to right now.”

A woman’s voice.

One I should trust? I don’t know how I feel about that voice. It’s not my Baby Girl’s voice, and I trust her more than anyone.

Where am I?

“Safe. I’ll look after you for now while I can. Once you go back…”

Back where?

No answer.

This is self-preservation though. It has to be. Otherwise, what is this place? There is literally nothing here!

“No regrets.”

No regrets? Who said that? That ain’t the same voice.

“No. No regrets.”

What the hell is goin’ on? I know that voice!

Hmm…I could get used to this…

“Don’t you dare.”

The other voice again. The first voice.

“…our children will define love…”

Somewhere, I remember hearing…before dying, life flashes before one’s eyes. Bursts of light blaze through this timeless space, and I can’t help wondering…

“…you’re the reason I wake up happy…”

Joy. I feel it. Blowing up through me, whatever body I have because I don’t see it and I don’t feel it.

Baby Girl, my other half…

“…and fall asleep, feeling loved and safe…”

My only love—my past, present, and my future. Her voice fills me, stretches beneath my skin, as my heart fires up, filling with intense heat, love, and passion. It’s pain, and it’s brilliant!

“…I can no longer remember my life before you came into it…”

I’m comin’, Baby Girl. I’ll go through all sorts of hell if I have to.

“…never want to imagine life without you…”

You don’t have to. I’m comin’. I’ll always come when you call. I can remember now. I feel you. I always feel you. I can remember…

“…marry me…”

“Kenna!”

Kenna

After ten minutes or so of searching and asking around, I found the coffee hub in the hospital. It gave me the time to call Lili, update her, and beg her to come to Saskatoon.

“Lewis is booking us the next flight out,” she assured me. “There’s a Radisson there. Is that where you’re all booked?”

“I think so. Lili, this is a complete mess. I don’t—”

“You don’t have to, Kenna. We’re on our way.”

“Alys—”

“Just hold on until we get there. I’m packing as we speak. Our flight leaves in three hours with a stopover in Seattle. We’ll be there sometime tomorrow. I’ll call you when our plane gets in, okay?”

“Thanks,” I whispered brokenly.

“I love you, and we’ll be there soon.”

“I love you, too.”

Hospital personnel, even the ones who worked behind the counter of the coffee stand, must have an understanding of misery. The guy took my order for three double-shot lattes and didn’t bat an eye for the torment etched into my features.

“Anything else?”

“No, thanks,” I replied.

I hurried back with my cardboard carrier to the small waiting room.

Alys must’ve cried herself dry for the moment. Her swollen face was red and blotchy, her eyes puffed into slits. They were so red that her irises appeared to be green, not hazel.

“Lili’s on her way,” I told them.

Alys nodded. “I…I don’t know what to do. I should call his parents. Do I arrange the funeral? When do I have to look…” She swallowed hard, her face quivering with impending weeping.

“You don’t have to worry about any of it right this minute,” I told her.

“What about the others?” she whispered.

I cleared my throat, and the sound made her eyes jump to mine.

“Tim and Mack didn’t make it.”

“Oh…”

“Sheri is in critical condition…” I gave Alys and Connor the information Dr. Jacobs had given me about everyone.

Alys’s breath exploded out of her chest.

“Do you want me to call X’s parents?” Connor asked her.

Alys shook her head. “No. It should be me.”

“I’m here for you,” he softly told her. “I’ll be with you when you do, all right?”

She nodded before burying her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook with her repressed sobs until she couldn’t hold them back anymore.

Sweet, loving, kind, caring Alys…I wished she could’ve gone her whole life without knowing this sort of pain. One of us really needed to call Mama Sally.

Alys’s pain was even more significant than what even I had experienced. She’d lost her love, her husband. Her life partner, the man she had devoted herself to, was gone. If I had lost Phil, I’d be as good as dead.