A/N – And the next chappie is up! Thanks to all my loyal reviewers, all the reviews I get still make my day! Thanks also to Kim and Jenn. Please keep reading and reviewing!
Bright and Ephram made their way down the hallway in silence, both their thoughts tangled in the mess that Colin's sudden surgery had caused.
"Hey Ephram," Bright said suddenly, "I'm happy for you and Amy."
Ephram smiled, "Thanks."
"But this sorts screws it up, doesn't it?" Bright continued bluntly.
Ephram nodded.
"Yeah, just a little," he responded sarcastically.
"I'm sure that it'll work out, Ephram, don't worry." Bright clapped a hand on Ephram's shoulder supportively.
"Thanks, man." Ephram said quietly, "I sure hope so."
They walked the rest of the way in silence. As they got closer to Colin's room, they distinctively heard someone crying.
"Laynie," Bright whispered, walking faster.
Ephram sped up too, but was a little nervous to meet Laynie again. They had parted on alright terms, but things had changed and he was finally with Amy. How would that affect Laynie?
Sure enough, Laynie was sitting outside Colin's room, sobbing uncontrollably. Bright ran to her and took her in his arms. It wasn't romantic at all though, how Ephram and Amy's encounter had been. This was purely platonic, and looked like a brother comforting his little sister.
Ephram smiled as he neared the two, and stood without a sound as Bright calmed Laynie down.
"I'm gonna go see Colin," he said softly once she had stopped crying, "And Ephram's going to stay here. Okay?"
Laynie nodded, looking up at Ephram.
"Alright," Bright said, knocking on the door and going in, closing the door behind him.
"So Laynie," Ephram began, sitting down beside her, "You've already been to see Colin?"
"Yeah," Laynie replied.
"And how is he?" Ephram asked, looking at the floor.
"He's fine, being brave," she added, "Though when I mentioned Amy he said that things had changed between them. Any idea what he meant?"
Oh God, Ephram thought, this couldn't be happening…what could he say?
"Yeah, um," Ephram started, trying to find the words, "They broke up."
"Really? When?" Laynie asked, confused.
She had talked to her brother a week ago, and he hadn't mentioned anything of the sort.
Ephram mumbled something that she couldn't understand.
"What?" Laynie pressed, "That sounded an awful lot like 'last night'…no, don't tell me she dumped him last night! That –"
"He broke up with her, Laynie!" Ephram cut her off, fuming, "Don't you dare call her any names, she didn't do anything wrong."
"Why would my brother break up with her? He loves her!" Laynie argued angrily.
Ephram sighed, "Because he realized that she had feelings for me."
Laynie froze.
She then slowly got up, and started to walk away.
"Where are you going?" Ephram asked, quickly getting up and running to catch up with her.
"To have a chat with Amy," Laynie replied, speeding up her pace.
* * *
"So Delia," Amy started once the boys were out of sight, "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"
"I'm alright, it's just a lot to take in." Delia replied softly.
Amy nodded, "I know what you mean."
There was a silence and Delia decided to break it.
"So are you in love with my brother?" Delia asked.
"Yeah," Amy smiled, "I am."
"So when you gave me that advice, you were speaking from experience?" Delia asked, grinning.
Amy laughed, "That I was. It works, Delia, I had to take my own advice."
Delia laughed.
"Amy Abbott!" a voice yelled from the doorway.
Amy looked up, startled.
"Laynie," she replied softly, "Are you okay?"
"Why couldn't you have denied it?" Laynie asked angrily, storming into the room and standing in front of the older girl.
Delia looked on anxiously.
"What?!" Amy asked, "Denied what?"
"It was one day before his surgery! You've broken his heart!" Laynie cried, stepping towards Amy.
Ephram ran in to the waiting room, "Laynie, stop!"
"Ephram!" Amy exclaimed, "What the hell is she talking about?"
Ephram ran towards her and pulled her away.
"She's just upset," he replied, "Come on, Laynie, let's go outside or something."
"No!" Laynie screamed, "I want to talk to her!"
"Well, you're not talking right now, are you? You need to calm down," Ephram soothed, giving Amy a reassuring glance.
"Oh, what do you care?" Laynie
muttered.
"I care about you and I care
about Amy," Ephram replied, "And I don't want to see you guys getting hurt.
"Yeah well I care about Colin!" Laynie replied, "And I'm probably the only one here who does!"
"That's not true," Amy whispered, tears in her eyes.
"What? Sorry, I didn't hear you," Laynie spat venomously, "Speak up."
"That's not true," Amy repeated, "Even though I'm not in love with Colin I still care about him. Everyone here does!"
"Whatever," Laynie mumbled.
She stumbled out of the waiting room and down the hallway.
Ephram fell into a hospital chair and sighed, running his hands through his hair.
"I'm so sorry, Amy," he said, "I have no idea what got into her."
"It's alright," Amy replied quietly, "I understand where she's coming from."
"Amy?" Bright asked, standing in the doorway. "Are you going to go see Colin before they take him into surgery?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Amy replied, slowly getting up.
"Do you want me to go with you?" Bright asked.
Amy nodded, and Ephram couldn't help feeling hurt.
"Ephram," Amy said, walking towards the place where he was sitting, "You just rest, okay? You've been through a lot."
She gave him a quick kiss and then left with Bright.
Ephram sighed, This was going to be a long night.
