Present day…

Celia

I sat in the cramped ICU room and watched Graham sleep.

I had to decide what to do. My biggest concern was paying back the loan shark Graham went to. How would I pay back one hundred and fifty grand? As if that wasn’t enough to worry about, I needed the money to fund my room at Kirkland House. At fourteen grand a year, it was expensive. I'd have to find another part time job if I wanted to stay.

Graham’s breathing was slow and deep. I watched him, fearing that something would go wrong and he’d go into a coma or cardiac arrest, but he seemed stable enough.

I needed a drink, my mouth was so dry from anxiety about Graham. I left the ICU room and found that Mark was still waiting in the alcove.

"How is he?" he asked when I plopped down beside him.

"He's sleeping now, but he was okay. He told me to go to Hunter."

Mark nodded. "His best friend from his MBA?"

"They were friends from the time they were in middle school. Best friends until a few things happened and now they're officially enemies. Our families are enemies."

"He's rich," Mark said. "His family's got lots of money."

"It's dirty," I said and ran a hand through my hair, which had fallen out of my makeshift bun. "Besides, there's no way Hunter will be happy to see me, even if I'm begging on my knees."

"That's a lot of money to pay back," Mark said smiled sadly at me. "Maybe you need dirty money to pay back dirty money. He might charge you less interest that the usual loan shark. Better terms since you're old friends."

"I don't know…" I sighed and went over to the vending machine in the alcove. I reached into my bag and removed some quarters to buy a bottle of water. It fell into the bottom of the machine with a heavy thud. I took the bottle and sat back down beside Mark.

"I have to figure out how to pay for my room at Kirkland House," I said and opened the lid to the bottle, taking a big drink. "Or find a room to rent. Oh, God, when Spencer finds out Graham lost my trust fund…"

Mark nodded. "Spencer's not likely going to step in and save the day."

"He couldn't afford to anyway," I said and imagined how much Spencer would freak when he learned what Graham did. Mark knew our family dynamics well enough from being Graham's business partner. "It's not like they have thousands lying around even if Spencer was willing to help, which he won't be."

Spencer was the new DA and while he had a nice income, he couldn't just pull up one hundred and fifty grand on short notice. He'd probably disown Graham when he found out what he did with our inheritances.

I shrugged, numb about what to do. "I can get a second job."

"And go to Harvard Law?" Mark said doubtfully. "Graham said your scholarship was based on your grades. Can you keep them up and work two jobs?"

"Looks like I'll have to."

We sat in silence for a few moments.

"Loan sharks are dangerous, Celia. They'll kill Graham if he doesn't pay up," Mark said quietly. "Maybe you should go to Hunter."

"I know they're dangerous," I said and shook my head, although that was starting to seem like our only option. "He'd laugh in my face."

"I thought you and Hunter…" Mark said, his voice trailing off suggestively.

I turned and made a face at him. "You thought what?" but I knew what he meant. Hunter and I had a thing once upon a time. Or should I say, I had a thing for Hunter.

"You and Hunter hooked up. At least, that's what Graham told me. Spencer freaked." He raised his eyebrows.

"Graham should keep his mouth shut."

I frowned, remembering back almost four years to the one night – one amazing night – with Hunter before all hell broke loose between Spencer and me. Between Spencer and Graham.

I never saw Hunter again until his brother's funeral last year, and even then, I didn't say a word to him. He never once met my eyes when I stood off to the edge of the crowd gathered for Sean's funeral. I didn't have the guts to go up and give my condolences, so I only observed from afar. Even Graham didn't have the balls to go to his former best friend in person, sending a card instead.

Hunter hated us both.

"Hunter hates me for good reason."

"You broke his heart?"

I shook my head. "No," I said and made a face. "It's because of me that Spencer went after his family. Spencer's a nutcase, in case you didn't realize it. He had a vendetta against the Saints, and made them pay. It's because of Spencer that Sean died. It's because of Spencer that his uncle's in prison."

"I never met Spencer," Mark said and leaned back in his chair. "But Graham's told me a lot about him. And you."

"We're the family from hell," I said and drank down half my bottle of water. We had such a nice life before my father died. Then some drunk driver went down the wrong side of the freeway and hit my parent's car head on. My dad died and my mom was disabled. Spencer worked with my Dad and he just seemed to take over and my mom was so damaged physically and emotionally that she let him.

I looked at my bottle of water and wished it was something stronger. I needed a drink at that moment, but that would wait until I knew Graham was out of danger. Then, Amy and I would go out to a bar and get drunk.

"Well, I've got to get back to work," Mark said and stood up. "Tell Graham to take it really easy and not to worry about work. I've got things covered at the office."

I stood up and Mark gave me a brief and awkward hug. Then he left me alone with my worries.

I went to the nursing station once more to find out more about how Graham was doing.

"When can he go home?" I asked the doctor.

"We'll do another CT tomorrow and see how he is, but he's regained consciousness and seems to be okay in terms of his function. We'll know more tomorrow morning after the CT but you can expect he'll be in ICU for at least another twenty-four hours. Maybe on the neuro ward for a few days and then rehab."

"Thank you," I said and went back to my brother's side to start my vigil.

* * *

I spent the rest of the afternoon at Graham's side but when eight o'clock came around, I decided to go home. Graham had woken a couple of times during the afternoon, but he was sleepy and the pain meds they gave him made him doze with not much to say.

I kissed his unbroken cheek. "I'll be back tomorrow morning. You sleep now and get better, okay big brother?"

"Call Hunter," he whispered.

"I will," I said and squeezed his hand. "You sleep now."

He moved his head just slightly, enough to signal yes, and then he went back to sleep.

On my way out of the hospital, I texted Amy and she was there in twenty minutes to pick me up. I stopped in the cafeteria and picked up a bag of chips to eat for my dinner. Finally, Amy drove up.

"How's Graham?" she asked when I got inside the passenger seat.

I told her what happened, including the loss of my entire inheritance. She was suitably horrified.

"Oh, my God, Celia. As if Graham being beat up wasn't enough. What are you going to do?"

"I have no idea. I need to find one hundred and fifty grand, and fast."

"Jeeze," she said and we sat in silence for a moment. "Now what?" she asked as the car idled. "What do you want to do now?"

"Get drunk," I said, feeling like I could cry.

"My exact thoughts. Where to?"

"The Brass Lantern and quick," I said. I was exhausted but on edge at the same time. "I need a drink or three."

"The Brass Lantern it is," she replied and off we drove.