What the fuck just happened? One minute I’m sitting down watching my wife’s ass sway across a stage and the next there’s a loud boom and everything crumbles. People started running away, but me and my guys started running towards what was happening. Security held us back as long as they could until the evidence of the accident became too much. We all run in and start throwing the fragments over our shoulders trying to get to the people caught underneath. I’m so thankful we are in the back of the stage and not the front. From what I can tell looking around and hearing the screams, there are a lot of people up front hurt.
My phone starts ringing and I know without answering it, who it is. James has a sixth sense about his children and no doubt by now this has hit the news. I need to find her. My heart is racing so hard I hear it in my ears. I’m scared to death and do the only thing I can think of.
“Raven! Sparkle, can you hear me?”
Nothing.
“Rave! Answer me! I need to hear your voice to find you!”
Nothing.
If I thought I was scared before, I’m now terrified.
“Jay! Can you hear me?”
Nothing.
By this time, Cooper and Blake are by my side pulling shit and throwing it to the side. I look around, and Nate has a guy he’s helping to a chair.
“Jay man! I need to get to y’all. Call out, and I’ll find you.”
Nothing.
“Dec, don’t lose it. We need to think.” Blake yells over me.
If he wasn’t my best friend, I might murder him. My fucking wife, my life, is under this shit, and I can’t find her. Then it hits me–their phones!!
I pull out my phone and motion for him to grab his. I tell him to call Jay, and I call Raven. If their phones aren’t crushed maybe, we can hear them and get close.
We call each phone five times while digging through and trying to be quiet enough to hear the ringtones. Each time Raven’s voicemail answers, my heart hurts hearing her. Cooper is beside me on his knees throwing anything in his way.
I hit send again and finally hear something. I motion for everyone to stop and the sounds is coming from our right. We all forge through the fucking pieces, and I almost lose my shit when the sound is right under us.
I start digging deeper calling Raven’s name while Blake screams for Jay. I feel a piece of wet cloth in my hands and go to throw it behind me until I notice it’s soaked in blood. Bile hits my throat, and I swallow praying to God.
“They’re here!” I scream. “Someone is hurt! Call for help now!”
Nate is the closest to the back, so he runs for help while the rest of us pull and dig. The first thing I see is blood everywhere. Raven’s dark hair is spread out, and her shirt is ripped. Jay is laying half on top of her and not moving. Her hand is covering a gash on his neck, and their eyes are closed.
“No, no, no. I’m here open your eyes. Raven! We’re here! Jay, Man open your eyes!” Panic sets in and I make enough room for me to scoot in beside her. When I find her arm I immediately go to her wrist and feel her pulse. It’s beating hard, but she still hasn’t opened her eyes.
I find Jay’s wrist and can’t find a pulse. I think I feel a small beating every few seconds but nothing consistent. When I look down Raven’s eye’s flutter and she takes me in.
“Yeah, baby, I found you. Medical help is on the way. Hang in there with me.” I beg her, but she looks to her side.
“Dec,” she rasps. “Please don’t let him die.” Then her eyes close again.
In my heart, I know it may be too late.
Chapter 52
Saved Each Other
The paramedics had to pry Raven from my arms when we arrived at Vanderbilt. She never woke again, and they were talking to each other about shock, concussion and possible internal bleeding.
Jay was taken immediately into surgery, and the outlook wasn’t good. He lost a lot of blood and had a possible spinal fracture from the way they fell.
Ella was on clinical rotations when the first group arrived, and she talked to an administrator about having our own waiting room. It doesn’t take long for the room to fill with family, friends, and label employees.
Everyone that comes in has the same scared look and question, ‘what happened?’ I repeat myself so many times, I want to scream. Mike makes a call to Jay’s parents who can’t get here until tomorrow morning. He assures them we are all here for him and will give updates as we can.
Looking around the room at the scene, I have an eerie sense of déjà vu remembering the hours following Raven’s rescue last year. Not knowing what Christie had done to her or if she was in pain was hell. But this is absolute torture.
The hospital waiting rooms are overcrowding with people waiting on the status of their friends and families. I watch several doctors approach those waiting and give updates. Reactions have been encouraging and heartbreaking. I pray ours will be the encouraging kind.
“Family of Jay Stevens?” an older woman wearing a white coat asks out group.
“Yes,” Mike answers.
“May I speak to you privately, please?” She motions to the door and he follows her down the hall.
When he rejoins us, his face is unreadable.
“Jay’s out of surgery and the good news is he did not fracture his spinal cord. If he recovers, there is a slim chance of paralysis. He does have a concussion, but that’s only a minor problem. His collarbone is broken. His brain is swollen and the activity low; that coupled with the loss of blood has the doctor keeping him in a medically induced coma. Once the swelling starts going down, they’ll try to wake him up. Then we’ll know the extent of the damage.”
No one says anything and I try to absorb the information. Jay could be permanently brain damaged because he was protecting Raven. I should have been the one with her. She already said she didn’t feel good, and instead of taking her myself to get something to eat, I sent my friend. Now both he and my wife were in the hospital, and I was perfectly healthy.
“Dec, I know that look on your face. This is not your fault. There was a horrible accident that can’t be explained right now. There are trained people looking into what the hell happened to that stage. No one could have known it was going to collapse. From what I’ve heard around the hospital today, five people died. We’re lucky. Our loved ones are alive.” My dad puts his arm around me.
“Mr. Collins?” a nurse asks from the doorway.
“Yes.” Both my dad and I answer.
“I’m looking for the Mr. Collins married to Ravenel.”
“That’s me.” I raise my hand.
“Your wife is asking for you. She’s awake.”
Jenna gets up too, but James stops her. I promise to come back as soon as possible and give them an update.
Raven is sitting up in the hospital bed watching the door for me. There is no longer blood all over her, and her hair is on top of her head in a wet bun. She wearing a hospital gown, and there are cuts and bruises visible on her arms, but otherwise I wouldn’t believe I dug her from under a stage a few hours ago.
I rush to her and gently pull her head to my chest, kissing everywhere I can.
“Honey, I’m fine. Really, I’m probably going home tomorrow.”
“Sparkle, I was so fucking scared. You will never know what it was like to watch that stage collapse, and you fall.”
She leans back and pats for me to sit with her on the small bed. “I’m fine. When I fell I hit my hip pretty hard, and it’s bruised. My ankle is twisted, and I have a bruised kidney. Other than a few scrapes, that’s it. Jay saved me. How is he?”
I tell her what we found out and watch her face pale. Tears fill her eyes, and she leans into me sobbing.
“He practically saved my life Declan. He braced against me to protect my fall and then used his body to shield me.”
“Baby, you may have saved his life too by clotting the knick in his neck. He could have bled out.”
“We saved each other.”
“
Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“I want to see him when they get him to a room.”
“We’ll see what the doctors say. Now, you ready for company? I think your mom is about to slip out of her skin with worry. Everyone is out there, but I can keep it to a few visitors at a time.”
“Yeah, but will you do me a favor? They washed out my hair because it was covered in blood, but they’re going to let me take a real shower later. Can you go home and pack me a small bag?”
“Don’t really want to leave you. I’d also like to talk to your doctor when he comes back by.”
“Who’s here?”
“Practically all of Nashville, but specifically all of our friends.”
“I’ll get one of the girls to do it.”
I nod my head in agreement and kiss her lightly before going to get her parents. Her family and my dad go in first, and we all wait for the doctor to come back by. He confirms what Raven told us and tells us she needs a few days of bed rest. Her kidney will probably cause the most discomfort but if we keep her still, it should heal soon.
Our parents leave and others come in and out mostly to see for themselves Raven is okay. When Finn comes in, panic is all over his face. Even though it kills me, I give them a few minutes alone.
Kendall and Harper go to our house and pack us both a bag to stay at the hospital tonight. They grab some extra shirts for my band too. We are all staying until Jay’s parents get here tomorrow.
Jay got out of surgery a few hours ago, and there is no change. Raven begs her nurse and the night doctor to let us in to see him. She explains we are his family until his parents arrive. It takes some convincing, but with the tragedy today, the staff is a little softer than usual. Raven agrees to a wheelchair, and we go to his room.
The room is barely lit, and the sounds of machines fill the space. Jay has several bandages around his upper body and tubes coming out of his nose and throat. Even knowing what we do, he still looks peaceful. Raven starts to cry silently against his bedrail. She grabs his hand and moves it to her face. She whispers quietly to him, thanking him for saving her.
Blake and Cooper sneak into the room behind us and watch silently with somber expressions on their faces. Nate waits by the door with Mike and I urge Raven to say goodbye. She leans up to kiss his cheek and then I wheel her back to her room. I help her into bed and set up the food that was delivered. She tries to refuse it, but I make her eat at least a roll and the fruit.
“Can I come in?” Mike asks opening the door slowly.
“Hey, Mike, you okay?”
“RJ, I should be asking you that question. I talked to Robbie, so I know about your injuries, but I wanted to see for myself.”
“I’m fine, worried about Jay and a little sore, but I’m going home tomorrow.”
“That’s what I hear. I wanted to tell you guys what’s being reported about the incident today. In all actuality, it was a small discrepancy that led to this disaster. What triggered the support pole to cave was the pressure pushing against it. Once it fell the rest was a chain reaction. Fans should have never been allowed that close at an outdoor festival. Security wasn’t tight enough, and the crowd got over excited. So far they have confirmed six deaths. The event organizers are in trouble, but it’s too soon to speculate what will happen to them. There’s a lot of finger pointing right now, and the police are working through it. I want you guys to know this has never happened and never will happen again to my clients–”
“Wait–are you trying to apologize to us?” Raven interrupts him.
He nods his head.
“Mike, we love you. This is a family. You have no reason to apologize. This has nothing to do with our relationship with MJ. There’s no way you would ever put us in danger to promote Sayge, and I can guarantee no one thinks that. You are as affected here today like us. We have a friend in serious condition down the hall.” She stops talking and raises her arms to him. “Come here now!”
She hugs him tight, and his body relaxes. She sniffs a few times and kisses him on the cheek. He pulls away and comes to me. I give him a one arm hug, and he promises to keep us updated on Jay.
When we’re alone, I strip down to my boxers and crawl in next to Raven being careful of her hip. I lay her head on my chest and draw patterns with my fingertips on her back.
“Dec, I know I had a bad feeling today. I couldn’t pinpoint a reason, but I think it was intuition.”
“For the rest of our lives, we will follow your intuition. But I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I love you to death and would do anything for you. But twice since we’ve been together I have been in the waiting room of this hospital worried shitless about you. Let’s try not to come back until we’re having our kids.”
“Okay honey, I’ll do my best. Love you too.”
I sleep like shit dreaming about the image of her falling, but it helps that I can squeeze her and know she’s safe.
Chapter 53
Graduation
Raven
It’s been two weeks since the accident and one week since Jay woke up. He was extremely disoriented, and it took a while for him to understand what had happened. Once the brain swelling went down, and the doctor weaned him off the heavy drugs, it took two days for him to wake fully. The doctors explained his injuries, and he would stay in the hospital for at least another few days. Between his parents, coworkers, and us, he had a barrage of visitors daily. When he was released, his parents got him home and planned to stay for a few days.
As far as we can tell, there was no brain damage. Jay was a little slow to answer questions, but he was completely aware of his surroundings and remembered the accident. Each time I’ve seen him, I’ve cried and hugged him tight. Logically, I know it’s not our fault but I can’t seem to shake the guilt he was with me instead of with the other guys. Then I think of how scared I was when he wouldn’t wake up.
Declan has become almost unbearable with my recovery. Everything started to feel better within a few days, and I was basically back to normal, but he hovered. He scheduled all his meetings and rehearsals around my school schedule so he could drive and pick me up. When we’re at home, he insists I sit or l down and rest.
I’ve finally talked him into letting me go to the library tonight to study with my friends for our exams next week. He and the guys are going to The Steamroom to hang out for a while. They aren’t scheduled to perform but may play a set for the crowd. TJ actually asked if Sayge would schedule one more show before we left in a few weeks for New York. They will play their last show the weekend after our celebration party.
Since I no longer need a bodyguard, Declan drops me off and walks me to my friends at our normal table. People all around us stare at him in recognition, but he doesn’t pay attention. He kisses me deeply before leaving. He gets approached outside the library by a group of girls, and I watch him signing some notebooks. He winks at me when he is done and gets in his truck.
“How do you handle it Raven? All the attention and the fans all the time?” Mari asks.
“For now, I consider it practice. Once we go on tour, I’m prepared for it to get worse.”
“I’d be too insecure for that. All that temptation would freak me out.”
“Oh, I have my insecurities too, but what can I do? This is his dream so I can’t really be a needy wench all the time. And besides, I get to travel around the country with him, and I love the music. The girls come with the territory.”
“Yeah and he totally loves you. You’re completely safe.”
“You girls gonna gossip all night or are we going to try and graduate next week?” Brent breaks in trying to act put out.
“Let’s get to work, if we finish this early we can grab a beer.” Kyle adds, and I nod in agreement. A beer sounds great.
A few hours later, we’re all confident in our notes and ready to leave. I text Declan we are going to a bar up the street, and Mari will bring me home. He doesn�
��t answer, so I figure he’s busy.
The bar is a very local college hangout. I recognize several people from classes the last two years. We find a high-top table in the back and order a pitcher of beer. We talk about what are plans are after graduation and I learn Brent is going to work with my dad full time. Mari and Kyle are unsure what their plans are, but both have interviews in June. They both listed their work with Sayge’s social media presence last year on their resumes and local PR and Advertising Firms have reached out to them.
My phone dings with an alert and I pull it up to see a picture of Declan onstage at The Steamroom singing. His hair is crazy wild like he has been running his hands through it. The caption reads “Better get here soon” and it’s from Blake.
“Hey guys? I know it’s not cool to break up our group thing, but you think we can take this to The Steamroom? I promise free beer.”
They agree, and we pay the tab. On the way there, I ride with Mari, and there is a clenching in my gut. What could have happened in the five hours I’ve been gone?
I lead the group through the backdoor and see all the guys sitting on the sofas in the back. For once there isn’t a horde of girls surrounding them. They look to be in a serious conversation and drunk. I stand with my friends for a few minutes until I can’t stand the suspense anymore.
“Hey, baby, you okay?” I run my hands through his hair lightly. He reacts to my touch and pulls me into his lap.
“Thank fuck you’re here. Please talk to this pussy before he completely loses his mind.” Cooper tells me.
The guys’ faces are filled with concern as they get up to give us some privacy. I cup Declan’s face in my hands. “Talk to me.”
“Raven, I wonder if going on tour is really what I want.”
“Whoa! Where did that come from?”
“Being here tonight. The crowd, the support, the comfort, all of it made me realize maybe I’ll be just as happy staying here.”
“Honey, I hate to say this but Sayge has outgrown this. Small bars on college campuses were a great way for you to start, but it’s time. You’ve got a national following now. You’ve all worked so hard and deserve the success. I actually think it’s normal to be nervous and hesitant but quit second guessing your decisions. Why now?”
Surviving Page 38