Broken Dreams(129)

He finally looked over at her when she trained her Sig at his head. “Thomas, so help me god, if you don’t get your arse over here, I’m pulling the goddamn trigger!” Everyone had a short fuse and a hair trigger. With careful strides, he walked over to Sophie. She was leaning over Henry, trying to keep him comfortable, hoping he didn’t change.

“Wha’?” he said.

“I want you to take Elaina’s gun and clear the house. We need to get everyone inside as soon as possible.” Nick had laid his mother down beside Elaina. He was checking for a pulse, and listening for breathing.

“Is she alive?” Sophie asked, trying to be as tender as she could. She had near zero experience in being soft, caring, or even compassionate with anyone besides Henry.

“Barely. Keep an eye on her please, Claire. I’m going to go with Thomas, just in case. And if this fucker,” Nick kicked Kellan in the side, “even thinks about moving an inch, pistol whip him again. Just stay out of his reach. I’ll fucking kill him if he lays a hand on you. I don’t give a shit what Henry wants.” Claire nodded. She was a little surprised by Nick’s comment, but then she remembered that he called her ‘My Claire’ and told her she was beautiful back at the convenient store.

Nick checked his Sig, and grabbed the gun Elaina had been carrying and gave it to Thomas. Nick looked at saw that both guns were empty so they went to the truck to reload.

Claire scooted over to Maria, Nick and Elaina’s mother. She grabbed her hand and tenderly rubbed it. Maria was chilled, and her breathing was shallow. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were sunken into the sockets. Claire started pulling out all of the intravenous connections Kellan had put in Maria’s arms, and bandaged her as best she could. She could see marks around Maria’s mouth where there had been a gag. She realized Nick must have removed it before he brought her out of the cellar.

Maria had played the maternal role in Claire’s life after her parents passed away in the car accident. She tried to be subtle about it because Claire never wanted to acknowledge their death. It began to hit Claire that she could be losing the last maternal role model she had left in her life. She held Maria’s hand and kissed it.

“Oh, please, Mrs. Cooper. Please, don’t die on us. Elaina needs you. Nick needs you. I need you,” she whispered, and tears formed in her eyes. “We should have listened to Elaina and tried to find you sooner. I’m so sorry.” Claire broke down.



***



Thomas stood quiet as a mouse while Nick searched for more bullets in the trucks. All the packs were empty of magazines, except for the one in Henry’s bag. He realized that they never grabbed enough when they left to find Elaina. Plus, they used a bunch while they were looking for her.

“Shit,” he growled to himself.

“Wha’s wrong?” Thomas asked.

Nick laughed. “Oh, Thomas. You’re just one funny little fucking prick, aren’t you?” Thomas stepped back a little. He feared he was about to get bit. “‘What’s wrong’.” Nick laughed again, talking to himself. “He asked what’s wrong. Wow.” Nick whipped around and grabbed poor Thomas by the shirt collar. “You want to know what’s wrong? Do you? Do you really want to know, or are you that fucking stupid? Are you?”

Thomas’ lips trembled. He couldn’t speak. Fear was rushing over him like a wave.

“Answer me!” Nick screamed in his face.

Sophie came running over. “Nick! Nick!” She grabbed him by his arm. “Stop it! Leave him alone.” He grumbled. “Nick. Please.” Nick let him go with a slight push, and Thomas fell backward to the ground. “Control yourself, damn it! I know how you feel. You are angry at everything and everyone. I understand, but you need to clear out the house so we can get your family inside! Your mother is dying, for god’s sake!”

Sophie tried to say it quietly, but it didn’t come out that way. Nick looked down in shame, then swallowed his anger. He held out his hand to Thomas, offering to help him get up. He accepted, only because Sophie was standing right beside him. It was a change in pace, but he was certain she wouldn’t allow Nick to attack him.

“I’m sorry,” Nick whispered.

“Now, tell me what the deal is.”

Nick held up the clip, waving it at Sophie. “Last one,” he said.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.” Sophie checked her gun. It was half empty, as well. She suspected most were that way, if not completely empty. They had spent a lot of bullets trying to reach Elaina.

“I will get this sorted out. Just clear the house, and be fully aware of what we have left.”