It feels like hours since we left the party. Aiden's father has been gone a while now and it's quiet here in the hospital waiting room. Now all we can do is wait. Normally I relish the little quiet time I get, not tonight. In the eerie dim lighting of the waiting room with it's antiseptic smell and hushed voices, the quiet is too loud. I can't think straight and wonder if any of this would have happened if Aiden had just done what his dad wanted to begin with.

Rationally, I know that none of this is his fault but I can't help those thoughts from creeping in.

It's the middle of the night, everyone in Aiden's family is still here, piled against each other, some sleeping, some playing on their phones. Blake has been quietly conferencing with Jake and Grace, probably over Georgia's condition. Matt and Emma have been in another corner with Cade doing what I assume to be putting out any fires that Adam has caused with the business problems. Above it all, we are all wearing the same expression of tired concern. All of us are worried about Georgia.

No one has said a word to me but I've stayed for Aiden. He made a point to pull me aside to reassure me that he wants me here but his father's words are still with me. Am I holding Aiden back from succeeding in his career? Do the others feel the same? From what Landon, Sawyer and Harper have said about the financial crisis they're in, Aiden is better off without Leighton. Seeing the same look in Chloe's eyes, I wonder if she feels the same.

I'm not sure what to think and Aiden hasn't said much since his father was escorted out in handcuffs. His mom certainly hasn't exactly warmed up to him or me. But then Aiden has all but ignored her. Almost like he knows something but isn't sharing. Keeping a tight grip on my hand like he's afraid of me running away, Aiden's focus is on his conversation with Matt. I only hear bits and pieces, none of it involves me so my eyes wander around the room landing on his mom who is sitting directly across from me just watching.

Her light blue eyes are almost crystal clear as her gaze in my direction is icy cold. She's cool as a cucumber watching me. No fidgeting, no worrying her fingers on her purse or wrap but she sits content and reserved with her emotions. I don't know if I would be this controlled if I just watched my husband go off in cuffs and my mother in law of more than twenty five years is in the hospital because of him. I would think I'd be more upset and worried about my family. She hasn't said a word, she hasn't shed a tear.

The other women around me have cried, comforted their children and held on to spouses or children or parents. Each one, from Hunter to Jim have shown sincere love and care for their family. Chloe Bradford just sits, back stick straight, her eyes void of emotion and focuses on me.

All I can do is brace for her attack and try not to upset the rest of the family in the process. I'm more concerned with Aiden and how he's handling this. He's so quiet and has drawn himself inward as if it's all he can do to hang on. I can't leave him knowing that thin thread of control could snap at any time.

"I need a drink." Aiden mutters more to himself than me.

Needing an excuse to get out of Chloe's gaze, and wanting to help anyway I can, this is the perfect excuse to get me out of the room for a few minutes. "I'll get it. Do you want soda or coffee?"

"Soda, thanks babe." Aiden leans in and kisses my check. Just as I start to get up he tugs on my arm bringing me back down in my seat. "Hey, I'm sorry our date got ruined. I really wanted to dance with you and show you a good time."

"It's okay. None of this is your fault, I won't believe that. I just hope Georgia will be okay." Giving his hand a squeeze, I can feel the hot gaze of eyes on me. I need to get away from here for a few minutes and out from under the microscope.

Grabbing some change from my purse I head down the hall to the vending machines. As I approach I hesitate my steps. This is where Adam gave me his ultimatum. Eyeing the machine and the elevator, my options are in front of me once again. Stay or go, but I would have to live with my choice.

"Feel like running away and never coming back?" Blake strolls up behind me getting me to jump at the sound of his voice. His low chuckle eases some of the strain I'm feeling. "Don't worry, you aren't alone with that thought. We've all considered running away at least once."

"I've never felt like this until tonight. Even now I don't think I could run from Aiden. I get the feeling he'd send out the National guard to find me." I joke but Aiden's determined to keep me by his side.

"He would and if he didn't Ma would. She likes you. If anyone gives you shit, just tell one of us. We're just a phone call away but no pressure." He smiles and gives me a wink before he drops his own change into the snack machine. "I remember when I was about ten. I was so pissed at my dad for not letting me go to the field to play football with everyone else. Said I needed to work on my math." Shaking his head he laughs to himself. "I was gonna teach the old man a lesson and run away from home, see I didn't like math."

He leans against the wall next to the machine and tells me his memory. "I packed up a bag of all my necessary belongings. Football cards, cleats, my favorite stuffed animal and the necessary twinkies."

I laugh at his list and he nods, joining in when I acknowledge his impressive list. "Those sound pretty important for a ten year old."

"You have no idea." Blakes concedes. "I had my worldly possessions in a backpack and figured I'd go live with Viv and Alan. I knew they wouldn't force stupid math on me and I cut out. Hauled my ass down the street and turned right, went a little further and turned right again. Kept going, turning right every time I hit an intersection. Got all the way back to my front yard where Viv and my Mama were sitting on the front porch drinking lemonade waiting for me to come home. Emma, pretty as a picture, was sitting on the steps with them. She got up and poured me a cup, brought it out to me. She said there were cookies inside her mama baked if I was planning to stay."

"I'd say lemonade and cookies were a pretty good incentive to stick around." I agreed with him, it's hard to bypass a cold glass of lemonade at ten muchless homemade cookies.

"Yeah, but the best was having Emma take my hand and lead me inside. I think I fell for her that day." Blake pops open his drink as the bubbles fuzz out the top. "My Mama never got mad at me for running away, only made sure I knew what I would be missing if I left. I didn't want to run away from my family again."

It was a nice story. A tid bid of the life of Blake Bradford that I'm sure very few ever got to hear. Because of that, I was honored that he chose to share it with me. I'm not sure why he did but it was a memory not just of him but his family that I got a peek at.

"I know how Aiden feels. That nagging feeling to want to run from a situation you don't know how you got into." Blake said, choosing his words carefully as I put in my coins and selected a soda for Aiden then one for myself. "I've been there many times, especially in this family. Let me explain a little of the dynamics that you may not know. I don't think even Aiden is completely aware of it all yet but he's beginning to see some of it."

He gestured to a bench away from the rest of the family for us to sit down. Joining me, he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees and prepared to open up about his family. I don't believe Blake has been really open with the press about his private life so the look of anxiety on his face I know is authentic.

"Adam has spent his entire life wanting to please our dad, Mike. He worked hard in school, got good grades, busted his ass at sports although he was shit on the field. Our dad watched and criticized every little thing. When I came along, I screwed around, half assed my way through school because I never had to study to ace a test. It all came easy for me, especially football and Dad saw it. Dad played favorites with us and would play us against each other every chance he got. Adam's resentment grew every day." Blake looked so regretful thinking about this. His eyes stayed on the floor and his expression was grim.

"I'm sure your dad was proud of both of you." I can't imagine a parent not being proud of their kids.

"To an extent he was. But with our dad it was always about wanting more. Better grades, better form, more money, more women, more booze, it was never enough for him." It was then I realized this wasn't a sad memory but a bad part of the Bradford family. "Adam tried his best to prove himself and in doing that, he followed down Mike's footsteps. At first it was little things, pushing at Aiden on his school work, leaning on him on football. He pushed business school and leaned hard. Aiden doesn't care about business not yet. He's an amazing quarterback and is going to be drafted in the first round." Blake proudly says knowing this is a big deal for Aiden.

"Aiden has become resentful of his father's pressure and behavior, he's placed some distance there when Adam started pressuring him and has wanted to keep clear of his dad. Not that I blame him, Adam's behavior has gotten worse. He keeps wanting more, a lot more. Mistresses, gambling debts, bigger planes, bigger homes, bigger debt. When Ma put him in charge of BE, we wondered if it was a good idea. That's when Ma, Viv and Alan agreed to put Emma in charge of Drake Construction. It was a safeguard to make sure he couldn't take everything they'd built and destroy it. Adam also had to report to the board of directors for anything major he wanted to change. He tried to go around them many times. Ma found out every time, just as she was finding out about the mistresses and gambling. Ma has always found out what we were up to. No one could keep a secret from her. When she started having trouble with her health, she wasn't as quick to find out things. Adam's gotten away with too much now."

"If she knew what he was capable of, why would she put him in charge of the company?" The question came out without a thought. I would never put someone like that in charge of a billion dollar company.

"He's her son, her first born. Ma thought maybe if he held the seat after dad's death, he'd settle some. For a while she was right and Adam was awesome with the business. He's smart and savvy in business but he always wants more than he has." Blake rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. The load he carries is weighing heavy on him. "Aiden hasn't looked up to Adam in a long time. He's been more like my son then he is Adam's. My brother has always been resentful and felt rejected because of it. It put me in an awkward position but I couldn't leave the kid hanging. Aiden needed me, so I was there. Always."

"He loves you. He loves all of you. I've never seen a family as close as yours is." It's true, every word. I envy Aiden the big family he has. It was always me and dad. As much as I love how close we are, I've always wanted siblings and aunts, uncles, cousins. I never had that.

"I think he loves you too. Or he's heading that way." My eyes dart to Blakes instantly. Wide and apprehensive, I look into his eyes to see if I heard him right. "Adam hurt Aiden and Chloe with the cheating and lying. She managed to keep a lot from Aiden over the years but as he got older, he's caught on. Aiden's not stupid, he saw more than he ever let on. Recently he talked to me about it all. I didn't lie to him. Nothing I'm telling you is a secret from Aiden. I just think he's a little gun shy when it comes to committing to someone. I was, with good reason, and I didn't know half of what Mike had done back then and Aiden knows all of that and more."

"You think Aiden is afraid to tell me how he feels because I might hurt him?" I wonder now just what his family thinks of me.

"No, I think he's afraid he might hurt you. It seems to run in the Bradford blood. I can honestly say that I've hurt Emma more times than I'd like to admit. Not on purpose, but before we got together, I ran away from her because the idea of getting closer to her scared the shit out of me." Blake laughed softly at himself. "I was an idiot. Unfortunately, this idiot sees himself in your idiot. Aiden is so much like I was, it's scary. My advice to you is be patient and honest with him. He'll come around. If you need to talk to anyone on how to handle him, you talk to Em. She's got the best experience with the Bradford idiot gene."

"And if the honest hurts him? I don't want to hurt him but I know sometimes honesty is painful when the person doesn't want to hear it, especially when it's about themselves." I know too well what honesty can do to a person when it hurts too much.

"Let me ask you this, are you falling for him? As in the big L?" I laugh just because this is a grown man and he's using the "Big L" for love.

"I think so, yes." An honest answer on this is easy.

"Then be honest with him and you won't hurt him." Blake assures me. "And don't let Adam frighten you off. My brother can be a dick, but he's smart enough to back down to Ma once she says her piece to him. Trust me as soon as she's able and Grace lets her, Ma is going to rip him a new asshole for his bullshit."

"Speaking of Georgia." Turning around at the soft sound of a female voice, Emma comes around the corner to us and takes her husband's hand then looks at me. "She's awake and wants to see you and Aiden."

Shaking my head, Emma doesn't give me much of a choice as she hauls me to my feet and nudges me down the hall. towards the waiting room. Blake only laughs as I try to dodge her and scoops the soda from my hands, letting me know he'll hold on to them until we come out.

"Don't worry, Riley. Ma just wants to be sure we're all on the same page." He assures me with humor in his eyes. "In other words, she wants to be sure she's getting her way."

"And if I object?" Stopping briefly to look over my shoulder to Blake who suddenly has humor in his eyes.

Emma takes my hand, pulling me along. "No one objects to Georgia for long. She'll only talk you into it."

We walk into the waiting room where Aiden looks up at the three of us a bit confused as to why Blake and Emma are laughing. Chloe however, gets to her feet and steps in front of me. Standing directly between Aiden and me, her frozen expression still hasn't thawed.

"I want to talk to you." Chloe says quietly so Aiden doesn't hear.

Emma does, and Blake tilts his head like he's confused by her attitude. Emma not wanting anything to get in the way of me talking to Georgia, nudges me over to Aiden. "You can talk to her after Riley and Aiden go in to see Georgia. She's waiting for you."

Emma tilts her head motioning for us to go. Aiden gets up slowly still looking warily at his mom and her sudden attitude with me. Emma gives Aiden a little push on his back to get him moving. "Go on. You know Georgia will only come looking for you if you take too long."

Aiden takes my hand and we turn to head down the hall to the room when I heard Emma turn on Chloe. "Don't you dare start in on her. Adam is wrong and you know it. After all he's done to you, why in the world would you even think of siding with him!?"

I guess my instinct was right after all

We decided that the Bradford's have enough drama in their lives right now and took the Segler family feud to another place. Not that we needed to since Hunter and Colby decided to come out with us. Sawyer and Harper weren't far behind before Landon strolled out looking for everyone. It's not like we weren't coming back or deserted them. We didn't go that far, in case something else happened with Georgia but the back parking lot was far enough.

Roan just needs his little pity party for everyone to see. I've had enough of his attitude and his blaming everyone else for his own problem. Reese isn't his problem none of us are. He wants everything handed to him on a silver platter. None of us are going to do it. The dude needs to suck it up.

His family came here for him, not for any other reason even if they do love Georgia, but seriously who doesn't? The woman is a saint. In one way or another Georgia has affected each one of our lives. Even Roan has been touched by her.

Despite the events of tonight, Roan wanted nothing to do with his parents. This isn't going over well with Reese and Molly is crying her eyes out on Kayleigh's shoulder. And Molly isn't a crier. She's tough as steel. She learned to toughen up after being a part of baseball all these years. You'd think he'd treat his mom better. The guy's being an insensitive dick. Reese and Molly came all this way to see him and Roan won't be bothered.

It's fucking bullshit!

"Wyatt, maybe you should stay out of it..." Hunter tries to tug me back. I'm done quietly doing what everyone wants. It's time for me to put my foot down and say what's wrong here.

"Not now Hunter. I can't stand by anymore to watch Roan tear his family apart." Squeezing her hand, I step around her as Roan whispers to Lorraine. Watching her laugh and look our way she kisses the guy and takes his hand, tugging him along, away from the family. She shouldn't even be here. We told him not to bring her, but did he listen... no.

"But Wyatt...." I was no longer listening to Hunter and was focused on Roan.

"Roan!" I roared across the lot when he and Lorraine kept walking after the rest of us had stopped. He looks over his shoulder at me like he doesn't know why I'm pissed. "What's your fucking problem?! You're been a dick for too long to all of us. I'm sick of it!"

He glares at me then his dad and back at me before he turns, rolling his eyes at Lorraine and faces me. "You really want to know what's wrong, Wy? I'll tell ya. I'm beyond tired of being compared to the great Wyatt Segler and the almighty Aiden Bradford! I'm sick of hearing about how I need to play as good as you or get the perfect grades like Bradford!"

"Reese just wants you to succeed! We all do!" I reason with him but he has no intention of listening.

"He's so enthralled with you, Wyatt. The first of the new Segler's on the diamond. The Great Wyatt Segler, they've been waiting for you. You can do no wrong." Roan raged at me. I had no idea he felt this way. "I'm sick and tired of being compared to the almighty Wyatt Segler. Top baseball player, first round draft hopeful, and let's not forget about those straight A's. The Valedictorian of his class. Makes me want to puke!"

"Roan, your dad, your mom love you for who you are. Yeah, I think a lot of your dad but I look up to my own dad. Christ, who doesn't, they're role models for all of us." I try to defend not just me, what he thinks of me isn't what's important. Roan needs to fix his relationship with his dad.

"If you think so much of him, then you be his son! I'm done with this family!" Roan waves his hand at the others shaking his head and ignoring their shocked faces.

"I have parents! They're right there!" Now he's pissed me off. Molly's face is red with anger and frustration over all this and Reese just glares at Roan.

"Roan, you've got a lot of balls to talk to Wyatt this way. He's your family, your friend." Reese finally finds his voice. "He's stood by you more than anyone, you should be glad to have as loyal a friend as he is."