The head nurse, a dark haired middle-aged woman with a low brow, and inelegant features, guided them into a semi-private waiting room. Another family was huddled there. A teenage girl sat on the upholstered chair, leaning on a man’s shoulder. By her, a smaller child, maybe her brother, wept. Rye’s eyes met the girl’s. She’d been crying for days it seemed. As the Stokes got settled in, her and her grieving family left the room.
Will helped Angie into a chair. Dylan and Austin sat opposite their mother, sharing the same seat. Rye felt like puking, but didn’t know where the bathroom was. Besides, he hadn’t eaten since this morning. No sense in finding one.
“Mom, sit down,” he said.
His mother shook her head briskly. She would stand.
The clock on the wall had to be wrong. It couldn’t be th
