My knees go wobbly but I find myself by his side, like I’ve teleported. My brain has frozen. ‘You’re alive,’ is all I can say.

He squeezes my hand. ‘Hope I didn’t give you a fright.’

‘Adam!’ My grandmother leans in to kiss him on his forehead. ‘What happened, dear? Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine, these are just for show.’ He touches his chest.

‘Anything broken?’ my grandfather asks.

‘No.’

‘Serious injuries? What does the doctor say?’

I bite the inside of my cheek and stare at the spot on his face where the bandage is. They’ve shaved off half his beard—so the bandage can stick properly, I guess.

‘I’m strong as a buffalo,’ he says.

I let out a sigh, and the tension in the room seems to ease a little.

My grandfather falls into a chair. ‘For God’s sake, Son,’ he barks again, ‘what the hell happened to you?’

‘It’s no big deal.’ My father smiles.

My heart rate is slowing down and I feel my shoulders relax.

‘What. The. Hell. Happened?’ Mike repeats.

‘Okay, Dad, settle down.’ Adam’s expression turns serious. ‘I was at Doug’s place, trying to help him out, get him back on track. But he started drinking again this morning. I tried to talk some sense into him, clearly a bad idea, because the more I talked the more he got worked up. Suddenly, he jumped up and said he needed to see someone about a loan, some shark, and grabbed his car keys. Of course, I tried to get them off him, but he pushed me back and I nearly fell down the stairs. He was so drunk by that point, I was scared he might crash, never mind get a DUI. He managed to get into his car, locking the doors from inside before I got there … the idiot. I tried to stop him reversing out of the driveway, but he sped up, skidded around, and then nicked me with the back of the truck. Hard enough that I flew into the trash cans. End of story.’

‘He hit you with his car and nothing’s broken?’ Mike asks.

‘A few bruised ribs.’

‘And your face?’

‘Will heal in a few days.’

‘Teeth okay?’ Mike continues.

‘Pearly white.’

‘You’re one lucky guy. Where’s Doug now?’

‘Police station. Again. This time I’m leaving him there.’

‘Of course you are, dear,’ Miriam chimes in. ‘He can only save himself.’

‘I know.’

‘Does Jaxon know?’ she asks.

‘Could you tell him for me? He’s at Trent’s place. Don’t scare him, though.’

My grandmother and I pull up plastic seats beside Adam’s bed and sit together for a few minutes. All I can think about is how grateful I am he’s alive. And how I’m not ready to leave him like this and fly back to Australia. It feels like we’re just starting.