Chapter 33
“Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.”
It was a desperate, broken whisper as I chased the ambulance that was racing Haley to the hospital. My hands trembled on the wheel, and I couldn’t breathe—not until I knew she was okay.
I needed her to be okay.
I replayed every moment after finding her, questioning if I had done enough. Was there more I should have done? Did I give the medics all the details, or miss something crucial?
When the ambulance pulled into the parking lot, I whipped in behind them. I didn’t give a shit about my half-assed park job, jumping out of my car and rushing to follow them through the ambulance bay doors.
As soon as they wheeled her in, a few nurses, along with Dr. Wileman, met them—they’d clearly been made aware of who it was. They had the lab and portable X-ray standing by as well, and leading the pack was Marie, looking ready to fight anyone who tried to get in her damn way.
The nurse manager, Michelle, and Dr. Tomblin came barreling around the corner a moment later. Their eyes went to me, then to the door that the others had just disappeared behind. Michelle moved first, going into the room.
When I heard Dr. Wileman’s voice calling out orders as the door shut, I took an instinctive step forward, but Dr. Tomblin placed her hand on my shoulder to stop me. “Blake…”
I forced myself to meet her gaze. “She–She…” My breaths sawed in and out, my fists clenched so tight my knuckles ached.
“Is in good hands,” she said, rubbing the rain-soaked sleeve of my coat. She didn’t know the extent of our relationship—no one did except Marie—but she knew we were close. “Trey called before they even left the scene to give us a heads up that it was her, and he said you’d been there. Talk to me.”
“Uh, there—she…a pneumothorax,” I stammered, not taking my eyes off the door. “I-I did a needle decompression in the field.”
“Did she have any other injuries you could see?”
“A, uh…” I gestured to my head. “A small gash on her brow.”
“Anything else?”
I shook my head, unable to think straight. “N-No, not that I could tell. Just some—some scrapes and bruises.”
“Alright. Take a breath.” She eyed my soaked, muddy clothes and shoes. “Central supply has scrubs you can change into. You should get dried off.”
“Not now. I don’t—I don’t want to go anywhere.” I raked my fingers through my wet hair. “Not until I know something.”
The minutes felt like hours as I stood there.
Five passed.
Then ten.
Then fifteen.
A storm of worst-case scenarios whirled through my head—then, suddenly, I heard my name. “Blake?”
That voice was a hammer-blow. My body went rigid, dread twisting like a knife in my gut.
I slowly looked over my shoulder to see Wes being led through the triage doors by Courtney, accompanied by both his mom and Morgan. They must have contacted her mom when they found out it was her coming in on the ambulance.
As if this moment couldn’t get any fucking worse.
“Hi, I’m Claudia Tomblin, medical director. You must be Haley’s family?”
Haley’s mom shook her hand and nodded, the worry evident in her misty eyes. “Liz Callahan. How is she?”
“They’re still in there with her, so we don’t know much yet. Why don’t we head over here?” she gestured across the hall to one of the private family waiting rooms.
While Dr. Tomblin led Haley’s mom away, Wes and Morgan stepped closer, standing beside me. Morgan looked me up and down, her frown deepening. “You’re soaking wet and muddy.”
Just then, Trey walked into the ER, carrying a belongings bag in one hand and a small duffle in the other. He stopped right in front of me. “This was from her car. It’s her purse, phone, keys—anything we could get out of there. And here’s her bag that was in the backseat.”
I didn’t even have to look at Wes to know his expression was laced with confusion as to why I was being given his sister’s things. “Were you one of the officers there?” he asked, and Trey nodded. “Where was the accident?”
“Gilded Hill Bridge.”
“What the hell was she doing over there?” Wes snapped. “She was at home when I last talked to her, which is just a couple of blocks from here.”
“Not sure of those details,” Trey continued. “But it looks like she was headed west toward town, clipped the corner of the concrete rail on the east side, and ended up flipping into that small embankment,” he explained.
Morgan’s eyes went wide at the details. Meanwhile, I stole a glance at Wes…and I saw it—the flicker of realization tightening his jaw as every puzzle piece clicked into place.
My clothes were wet and muddy. Trey was speaking to me as if I knew what was going on while handing me her things. Haley would have absolutely no reason to come that direction over Gilded Hill Bridge. She had no reason for being in that area at all—unless she was coming from my house.
Wes slowly looked at me, his eyes narrowing as his brow furrowed into a deep crease. His lips moved like he was trying to speak, but nothing came out except a strained, “You…”
I knew at that moment he knew—not the details, or how long, or how serious. But he understood enough. And Morgan’s face changed, surprise shifting to confirmation of something she already suspected.
As for me, I stood paralyzed, not saying a goddamn word as guilt clawed at my chest. I wanted to rip out an explanation, but I couldn’t.
I knew I owed it to him. But at that exact moment?
I shoved the guilt so far down I barely felt it, not giving a shit what Wes was thinking or feeling about it, because all I cared about was Haley and whether or not she was okay.
Suddenly, Dr. Wileman stepped out of the room. I immediately walked toward him, my mind glitching as I approached, and for a moment, his face blurred into that of another doctor in a military uniform.
“There was nothing we could have done, Pierson.”
“Haley is stable, Blake.”
“Alden didn’t make it.”
“She’s going to be alright.”
My mind focused on the present and those words he’d just said.
“She’s still out of it. We got labs and X-rays. Pneumo confirmed. I placed a chest tube. We’ve got her on fluids and oxygen. I want to get a CT and start her on antibiotics and some pain meds, but I need to get her history first.”
“She—She’s okay?” I choked out.
He placed a hand on my shoulder, eyes locked on mine as he squeezed gently. “She’s okay, thanks to you. Your quick thinking may very well have saved her life.”
A ragged breath tore from my chest as relief crashed through me, washing away the adrenaline, the terror, everything. I staggered back into the wall, let go of Haley’s things, and folded in on myself, trembling as my hands braced my thighs.
She’s stable.
She’s okay.
Dr. Wileman was called over to the private waiting room by Dr. Tomblin to speak with Haley’s mom. While Morgan turned to join her to get the update, Wes hesitated.
I slowly lifted my head to meet his steely, green-eyed gaze. He looked like he was torn between wanting to ask the dozens of questions I was sure were running through his mind and decking me.
I knew he was overwhelmed. Probably more so than I was. His sister was lying injured in a hospital bed. And he had just found out his best friend, whose house she’d been coming from when the accident occurred, had been messing with her behind his back.
I’d want to punch me in the face, too.
“Wes,” Morgan gently called out to him.
Without a word, Wes turned away from me and disappeared inside the room with his mom, Morgan, and Dr. Wileman, closing the door behind him.
Goddammit.
I wanted so badly to barge into Haley’s room to see her, but I knew I couldn’t.
Not yet. Not when things were still being done and there were others crowded in there.
So, I turned, walking through the ambulance bay and stepping out onto the covered platform, the rain still coming down hard.
I rounded the corner of the platform to the side of the doors and tucked myself into the corner.
Shock and raw relief ricocheted through my body as reality set in—Haley was alive. For a moment, I’d already started preparing myself for the worst. And the second I allowed myself to fully comprehend that she was all right...my emotions finally got the best of me.
Sliding down the harsh brick, knees to my chest, I clenched my forehead as a sob of fierce relief fought its way out.
“Fuck,” I gasped through a hitched breath as I quickly wiped my eyes and took a few deep breaths.
I was so consumed in my thoughts and my relief that I didn’t hear the bay doors slide open or the footsteps approaching from around the corner.
It wasn’t until a throat cleared that I snapped my head up to see Wes standing in front of me, hands shoved in his pockets. I pushed myself to stand, locking eyes with him—he still looked pissed, but something else flickered in his gaze.
“You, uh–” His voice broke just the tiniest bit before he cleared his throat again. “You saved her.”
His tone made it sound like more of a question than a statement, and I assumed that idea came from Dr. Wileman.
I didn’t say anything, not confirming or denying it, because I didn’t see myself as the sole reason she was okay—there were the medics and firefighters, the nurses here, Dr. Wileman himself.
It wasn’t just me.
“The doctor said she’s going to be okay. That they’re going to admit her to the ICU.”
I nodded. “Yeah...they’ll, uh…they’ll do close monitoring for a day or two. Once she’s stable enough, they’ll move her to a step-down unit for a few days.”
Wes glared at me for a beat, pain and confusion twisting his features. He clenched his jaw and shook his head. “Dammit, Blake...” he muttered, his voice ragged as he scrubbed a hand down his face.
When I saw his emotions start to show, my own began to resurface.
Wes was very much like me in the way that we didn’t let anyone see certain sides of ourselves if we could help it.
Seeing him lose his control over his emotions was such a rare occurrence, and knowing it was because of me made mine start to slip as well.
After a moment, he looked at me again. “What—You and Hales are—I’m gonna need you to explain because I…” He blew out a breath, raking a hand through his hair.
I didn’t want to be cliché and say “it just happened,” even though that was partly the truth. And I didn’t want to lie and say I didn’t mean to keep it from him because I’d been actively keeping it from him since that very first accidental night with her.
So I said the only thing I knew would convey exactly what this was to me.
“I love her.” My words came out just above a whisper, but there was no denying the conviction in them.
Wes’s brows rose, clearly not having expected that. “Really?”
“Yeah…” I let out a strained, wry laugh with a nod. “I haven’t—I haven’t even told her that yet, but yeah…I love her.”
“Well, shit.” He leaned against the wall to the side of me. “I mean, was it…you two working together? Or…” He was really struggling with wrapping his mind around it, and a part of me couldn’t blame him.
I decided to leave out the one-night-stand aspect because that part didn’t really have much to do with it. “Yeah, I guess. We just…got close. I found her really easy to talk to. And she helped me a lot…with everything going on.”
Wes’s brow furrowed. “Helped you?”
“I…” I rubbed the back of my neck. Apparently, this was turning into my honesty hour.
“I was struggling…with my PTSD...more than I let on. Because I was convinced that I could handle it on my own. I was ashamed and embarrassed. And Haley—God, I don’t think she even realizes how much she helped without even trying.
” His expression softened slightly as he listened to me, hearing the emotion straining my voice.
“She just…she has this way of making me feel like my old self. Of making me feel calm, and like—like everything is going to be okay.” I swallowed back the lump in my throat.
“And when my world spins too fast…she’s the only thing that can slow it down. ”
Wes’s cheeks puffed up as he blew out another breath. “Well, double shit. So…you two aren’t just—you’re not fuckin’ around?”
“No, we’re not. And we didn’t—we didn’t want to say anything until we knew exactly what it was.”
“And I’m gathering you just figured it out?”
“Yeah,” I chuckled dryly. “Something like that.”
“And if I told you I didn’t want you seeing her?”
I looked at him, and my jaw imperceptibly tensed. “I’d tell you too fucking bad.”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Good answer.” He glanced away, watching the rain for a moment. “Look…I’m supposed to do this whole big brother ‘if you hurt her’ spiel, but you’re bigger than me, and you know me…” He smirked. “So, I don’t think it’s going to have the desired effect.”
My lips subtly twitched as I released a breath, but my next words were sincere. “I-I won’t hurt her, Wes. Ever. You have my word.”
“I know.” He held my stare, then nodded. “Come on. Let’s get back in there.”
We both blew out breaths, giving one another a look before we walked back inside.
When we returned, the others were out of Haley’s room for the time being. We stepped inside, and her mom and Morgan were standing on either side of the stretcher. They looked at the two of us as if they were trying to assess the situation and possible damage, if any.
“We’re good,” Wes said.
Morgan smiled as he went to stand beside her.
Haley’s mom turned to look at me. “I heard what you did,” she choked out. Then, she pulled me down into a hug. “Thank you.”
I felt my eyes sting, and I cleared my throat with a nod as we drew back.
My eyes shifted to Haley as I moved to stand near the head of the bed.
I ignored the tubes and beeping of the monitor, staring down at her as my finger brushed against her cheek while she slept.
She had some scrapes and bruises, and the small gash on her brow line was covered.
She was going to be sore and would have to take it easy for a bit.
But she was alive.
Now, I just needed her to wake up for me.