‘Any news?’ Darren asked, jerking his chin towards Andrea.

Jill shook her head.

*

Darren

Darren nodded his thanks as Sage placed the beer down in front of him and then climbed onto the stool next to him.

‘I really appreciate you coming with me,’ he said. ‘That was intense.’

‘I hardly did anything to help.’

Sage had accompanied him to the hospital but she’d had to wait outside ICU while Darren visited Andrea.

‘Yeah, but knowing you were there . . . it was nice.’

They had headed straight to a pub after leaving the hospital.

‘What was it like in there?’ Sage asked.

‘Surreal. She’s hooked up to so many machines. She looks . . . she looks terrible.’

‘I’m so sorry.’

‘And meanwhile there’s Mum, convinced that she’s going to wake up any minute. Mum has this wicked scar now, too. All the way from her forehead to here,’ said Darren, tracing his finger down his face to his ear. ‘It’s because she wouldn’t let them patch her up properly on the night of the accident. Kept batting them away, telling them to whack a Band-Aid on it and leave her alone.’

‘She sounds tough.’

‘Yeah, I guess she is.’

‘You know what’s funny?’ said Sage. ‘I thought things with you were already complicated enough when I found out you were in love with your ex and planning to donate sperm to her. And then I worked out I’d reviewed your book and I was like, fuck. But now . . . man, your family drama is off the charts.’

Darren snorted. ‘Yep, that’s us.’

‘Sorry,’ Sage added. ‘I’m big on using humour to deal with bad situations, but you can tell me to shut up if you want.’

‘No way.’

Darren had called Sage at 4 am on Christmas morning. She’d answered the phone groggily. ‘Darren, I know you love this dog, but trust me, he’s fine.’

‘That’s not why I’m calling.’

He’d gone on to tell her about the accident. About giving his sister-in-law CPR. About losing his brother. About finding Violet. He’d talked and talked while Sage listened in silence, letting him get it all out.

Eventually he said what he really needed to say. ‘Sage, I like you. I really fucking like you. And I don’t care if you hate my writing. Ever since I met you, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head, and I think —’

Sage had cut him off, stopped him from letting the emotions from the accident carry him away. ‘It’s okay, Daz, I understand. You’ve been on my mind a lot too. Let’s talk properly at dinner.’

Now, as they sat up at the tall bar table with their beers in front of them, Sage reached out and touched his hand. ‘Hey, every family has issues, right?’