by Ellie Messe
The urge to puke almost renders me useless as he continues grabbing at her, “Ryan, give me your fucking arm!" His voice cracks, tears escaping down his bearded chin.
“Parker.” It’s all I have to say before he takes her from my lap.
"I'm sorry," Parker whispers into her hair. “I love you, I’m sorry.”
His right arm comes around her stomach, capturing her uninjured wrist and holds it against her hip, while his legs wrap around hers keeping her pinned and unable to move.
"Don't!" She cries.
“I’m sorry.” I tell her pulling the soaking sleeve of her ripped shirt away. Kaylan grabs her forearm, prying it away from her body and into his lap. “Why is her sleeve split like that?”
"I need a towel or something!" Kaylan yells, wiping at the stream of blood racing down her arm. I stand up looking for a towel when his breath catches, "Call an ambulance!"
Josh is already on the phone when I turn to him. His panicked eyes trained on Haley. Parker orders me to catch Haley as he starts to stand. Her body falls limply onto mine, as I pull her closer to me. Yanking the black tee from his back, he leans over Hales to hand it to her brother. Kaylan takes it from him, holding it to her arm as she lays motionless on the floor.
“Hales.” I say, brushing her hair away from her face. “Hey, look at me.”
Her eyes follow Parker as he pulls a LAN line from one of the service boxes overhead, her face shows no recognition of my voice. A familiar feeling of horror breaths down my neck as I try to get her attention, “Hales, I’m gonna need you to look at me, okay?”
Her eyes lazily fall to me as Parker wraps the cord around her forearm, I hug her as tight as I can when she screams in pain before going completely silent.
Gently shaking her, her limbs jostle gently.
“I love you.” She breathes shakily.
Her eyes close.
Her breath quiets.
Her head lolls.
And I go deaf.
I watch mouths move but no sound enters.
Red and blue lights reflect off the metal service door beside me.
People move all around me.
Parker pulls Haley up to his chest. His shoulders heaving violently as his mouth moves in rapid sways as if he’s yelling at her.
Kaylan falls back, his blood-stained hands crossing over his face as his body bucks with emotion.
Every breath I take is a ball of syringes. Inhaling the jagged points deep into the tissue of my lungs, exhaling a rush of blood and misery.
I watch through a haze as EMT’s rush into the room.
I feel someone pulling me back but I’m rooted to the spot. I’m paralyzed. In fear, pain, a sense of deja vu.
Some sort of mask is placed over her face while two others raise the stretcher, pulling her into the alley.
I feel nothing as I follow them outside; not the asphalt under my feet, not the heart in my chest, everything is numbed by the agonizing rip of my heart as they cart my best friend away.
An EMT, puts his hand on Parker’s chest while shaking his head. His words slowly travel through the white noise of my head telling him he can’t go with her.
“That’s her husband.” I hear myself say but don’t feel the words leave my throat.
The EMT looks back at Parker who nods. He lets Parker climb into the back of the ambulance, catching his eyes when he looks back, I nod. Silently telling him I’ll meet him there as the doors are shut.
I watch the ambulance pull away and I don’t know what the hell to do.
Chapter Forty-Four
Emma
Waiting at the bar, I tap my glass waiting for Drew to emerge but he never does. In fact, no one does. The other bartender disappeared down the hall with Parker and I haven’t seen either of them since.
“Hey.” I lean forward catching a dark-haired bartender’s attention. “Do you know where Drew is?”
“They’re tied up in the back. Looks like you’re going to have to find your own ride home.” The way she says it makes me feel like a whore.
“Well, can you let him know that I’ll get a ride with my cousin?”
She sighs, looking around before giving me her full attention, “Drew’s not one to settle down, alright? Sure, he’ll give you one hell of a good night, but in the morning it’s done. He isn’t looking for a girlfriend or anything else.”
“Wow, okay.” I say, trying to understand this random person who apparently knows nothing, “I’m his roommate, he was my DD.”
Her face pulls back in shock, the blue strands of her hair straying with the motion, “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I thought you were one of his fans.” She laughs lightly, “Yeah, I can tell him if I see him. Haley got hurt, him and Parker went to the hospital.”
“What?” My stomach bottoms out.
“I don’t know anything other than that.” She shrugs. “Josh is tied up with the cops and hasn’t told us anything other than the ambulance took Haley to the hospital and the guys followed.”
“Okay, thanks.” Leaving my glass on the bar, I push through the sea of sweaty bodies to the couches Lynch and the guys are currently occupying.
“Hey,” I say gathering my coat off the sofa, “I need you to take me to the hospital, something’s happened.”
“Everything alright?” Lynch says standing up.
“I don’t know. I hope so.”
“Yeah, alright. Which one?”
God, that probably would have been a good question to ask, “I have no idea. Probably the closest.”
Lynch doesn’t question me further or try to slow me down as I race to his bike, sliding my helmet on as he mounts his bike. I have no idea why I feel the need to make sure Drew’s okay. I don’t know Haley, I barely know his family, but the urge to be there is too strong to stop myself.
Wasting no time, he pulls out of the parking lot, racing down the lanes of traffic until he pulls up to an Emergency Room entrance minutes later.
“You want me to park?” He asks as I slide off.
“I don't know.” I say honestly, handing him my helmet.
“Go find out what’s happening and let me know. I’ve got no place to be.”
I nod, turning and jogging into the building.
My eyes search for any member of the Hayes family but I find none. Approaching the counter, I wait for the bored attendant to look up.
“I’m looking for Haley...Hayes,” Shit, I hope that’s her last name. “She came in an ambulance from the HEAT nightclub.”
She types away on the computer, “I don’t have a Haley Hayes. Are you sure she was brought here?”
“No, and I’m still new to the area, I don’t even know where the other ones are. Her last name might not be Hayes. Do you know if you have a Haley here?”
“I don’t.”
Blowing out a breath, I pat the counter, “Thanks.”
Pulling out my phone I walk back outside to call Lynch when I see the familiar silver dodge parked cockeyed in a handicap spot. Jogging across the parking lot, I peek through the driver’s window. Drew’s hat is on the passenger seat; they’re here.
Instead of calling Lynch, I try Drew but it goes straight to voicemail.
“Emma?” A female voice calls behind me, twisting I see Maria pause at the entrance. Josh stops beside her looking over at me.
“Hey.” I jog back meeting them.
Maria’s eyes are red and swollen, her cheeks still damp with tears. “Do you know if she’s okay?”
“I don’t know.” I say truthfully.
“Are the guys here?” Josh asks, pulling Maria along to the entrance.
“I don’t know. I just got here and the lady said they hadn’t admitted a Haley Hayes. I didn’t see either of them in the waiting room”
The automatic doors prove to move too slow as Josh turns sideways to make it through faster. He walks to the same desk, letting go of Maria’s hand to talk to the same attendant I did.
“I’m looking for Ryan Hale, she was br
ought in by ambulance.”
“Are you family?”
“I’m her father.”
“Take the double doors, third hall on your right.”
“Thank you.” Josh accepts whatever badge she slips through the hole under the glass and walks to the double doors. I follow silently behind as they rush down the hall on auto pilot. I don’t know if I should be tagging along but neither of them seem to mind so I keep going.
Taking the third hall we hit a dead end. Double doors without a handle face us. Josh looks around before pressing a black button nestled against the wall.
“Patient?”
“Ryan Hale.” He answers, holding up a badge for the camera nestled in the corner.
After a moment a loud click echoes down the abandoned corridor, Josh pushes it open waving Maria and I through. Unlike the hallway, this section is full of medical supplies and scrub wearing nurses rushing back and forth. Josh doesn’t waver his speed until he takes a sudden right turn.
“What’s the word?” I hear him ask.
Turning the corner, I see him talking to Parker who looks miserable.
“I don’t know. They won’t tell us anything.”
At the word us I look around, spotting Drew sitting on a bench with his head in his hands. Dried blood coats his hands and arms, stains coat his blue t-shirt.
Josh approaches the desk while I sit down next to Drew, rubbing his shoulder, “Hey.”
His head lifts, haunted eyes land on mine. The unmistakable agony residing inside them breaks my heart, I choke on a cry hugging his shoulder into my chest. “I’m so sorry.”
He doesn’t speak, he stays completely still while I hold onto him. Parker continues to pace, watching Josh talk to the male nurse behind the desk. He’s handed a clipboard and moves to sit on the other side of Drew, pen in hand.
“A doctor should be out to talk to us soon.” He says, never taking his eyes off the forms.
“God.” Josh groans while Maria curls around Parker telling him it’ll be okay. “Is she allergic to anything?”
“No.” Drew says from under his hands.
“Does she have any history of illness?”
“No” Parker and Drew say at the same time.
“Is she on any medication?” They both answer no, “Even for her ribs?”
“She’s too stubborn to take anything.” Drew says, pulling his head up and taking a deep breath.
“She took Tylenol before we left.” Parker adds.
Drew’s hand falls against my leg, squeezing my knee as he watches Josh write.
Everyone is so quiet you can hear every sound as the pen scrawls over the forms.
“Ryan Hale.” Someone says from our left. We all look in his direction as he approaches. “I’m Dr. Chalce, Ryan’s surgeon. She’s okay.” He says, making a point to look at each of us in turn. “She was given a unit of blood to replace what was lost, we’ve stopped the bleeding and she’s stable. During the attack, her left wrist was severed deep enough to cause damage to the wrist flexor tendon.”
“What’s that?” Parker asks.
“The flexor tendons are strong smooth cords that connect the muscles of the forearm to the bones in the fingers and thumb.
“What does this mean?” Maria questions, “That she doesn’t have use of her hand?”
“The damage appears to be minimal but I won’t have a definite report on the injuries until I’m able to get a closer look. We’ll make an incision in the palm of her hand and repair the damage. After that she’ll be kept in a brace, keeping the hand bent,” He demonstrates by bending his fingers towards his wrist, “designed to hold the hand securely in position to prevent excessive movements that could cause the tendon to rupture while it’s healing. After a flexor tendon repair it is quite common for some fingers not to regain full movement and with the extent of her injuries there is the possibility of median and ulnar damage, restricting the movement of her fingers and thumb.”
“When can we see her?” Drew asks from his seated spot beside me.
“She’s currently being prepped for surgery; it’ll take forty-five minutes to an hour. She’ll be moved to recovery and from there I’ll come out and talk with you some more and see when we can get you back to see her.”
“So, she’s okay though?” Josh asks.
The middle-aged doctor smiles, nodding as he speaks, “She’s going to be just fine.”
“Thank, God.” Maria sags into Parker as his arms wrap around her. Josh nods watching the doctor retreat while Drew sits motionless beside me.
“She’s okay.” I whisper, rubbing his back. “Everything’s okay.”
“Why was she outside?” Parker asks, as if he can’t fathom the idea of her being there.
“No idea.” Josh answers, returning to his seat, to eye the documents on his clipboard.
“I asked her to get me a drawer,” Drew speaks with remorse, “I don’t know what happened but she wouldn’t have been back there if it weren’t for me.”
“It’s not your fault.” Maria chastises him quickly.
“That’s why she was back there.” He bites.
Parker shakes his head, looking down the hall. “It’s not on you, Drew.”
“Who else is it on?” He yells, standing up.
Josh is quick to follow, “Drew.”
“What? If I didn’t ask her, she never would have been back there.”
“Look at me,” Josh orders, Drew’s eyes fall shut before he complies, “She was outside, Drew. The last time I checked the drawers weren’t kept there. We don’t know why she was outside, but it wasn’t because you asked her to refill whatever it was. When she wakes up we can attempt to get something out of her, but it wasn’t your fault.”
Drew scoffs, shaking his head when his eyes land on something, turning his features deadly. I follow his gaze to a guy in a gray hoodie walking towards us. His blonde hair is pulled away from his face, showing a striking resemblance to Haley.
Drew steps forward and for some unseen reason I stand and step in front of him to keep him planted.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” He growls, the vibrations of his words flow through his chest, rattling against my palms.
“She’s my sister.”
“Who almost died!”
The guy looks away, brushing the fallen strands away from his eyes, “She okay?”
“She’s in surgery.” Parker says before Drew interrupts, “No thanks to you.”
“I got there as fast as I could!”
“So, you knew?” Drew says stepping forward, making me all too aware I’m about as useful at holding him back as a wet paper towel. His heart thunders against my palms.
“Parker told me she showed back up, wanting to know how she got busted up. I knew if she came back, they were going to come for her.”
“Did you talk to the police?” Josh asks, making me aware his close proximity to Drew.
The guy nods.
“Leave.” Drew’s words are pure venom. “All you ever bring her is pain, she was fine until you showed up.”
“No she wasn’t! You have no idea what hell waits for her!”
“Enlighten me then!” Drew roars, “I’m so sick of all the fucking secrets!”
“That’s not my place.”
“Fuck your place!" Drew takes another step, my boots squeak against the floor as I’m pushed back. “She almost died, Kaylan!”
As if noticing me for the first time, Drew captures my hands off his chest and gently pushes me to the side.
“If I find out you played a part in any of this, I’ll fucking kill you.”
“Fuck you, Drew! I’ve been trying to protect her since the beginning! It was your lack of letting go that brought her back!”
“My lack of letting go?!”
“Of course, we didn’t let go!” Parker yells, moving to Drew’s side, “I warned you that if anything happened to her, you’d pay tenfold.”
“Boys.” Josh warns, grabbing each of
them by the shoulder.
“And who’s care was she in when this happened, huh? Cause it sure as shit wasn’t mine.”
Drew sags briefly before regaining himself.
“Maybe if you would have shed some light on all of this, we would have been able to protect her!” Parker yells, making me shrink. These men are as scary as they are beautiful.
“If you don’t break it up, I’ll have you removed.” A nurse scolds from the hall entrance.
“Go save someone’s life.” Drew calls down after her.
“Andrew, that’s enough.” Maria’s mom voice has me wanting to behave, eat my vegetables, and brush my teeth all at the same time. “We’re all worried about Haley, we don’t need to make this situation any worse.”
“You need to leave.” Drew says to Kaylan with a pointed finger.
“No dice. That’s my sister.”
“That you abandoned.” Parker adds on an angry breath. “Twice.”
Kaylan shakes his head angrily before walking a few feet down the hall. He sits down on the other side of the nurse’s station, resting his head on his folded arms.
“We all need to calm down.” Josh comes up stealing my view of Kaylan. “The surgery won’t last long, let’s just have a seat. Once we all put eyes on her this will be over, we’re all angry over the events of tonight and justifiably so, but acting on it isn’t going to do anything but get you removed from the hospital.”
Parker pulls away first, slapping Drew’s shoulder as he turns around. Once Drew tears his glare away from Kaylan he grabs my hand pulling me back over to our seats.
“Are you okay?” I ask softly, watching Drew play with my fingers.
He shakes his head before pulling in a deep breath, “How did you know?”
“One of the bartenders at HEAT said Haley got hurt and that you and Parker were here.”
“You didn’t have to come.”
Rejection settles into my stomach, “Do you want me to leave?”
He shakes his head quickly, “No, I don’t want you to leave. It’s just you don’t know her and I can’t imagine this is how you wanted to spend your night.”
“Little did you know, I happen to love waiting in hospitals.” His lips twitch into the smallest of smiles.
His blue eyes raise to mine, “I’m sure.”