Chapter Thirty-One
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
DRAVEN
O livia walks out the entrance to the ER with a coffee in her hand and turmoil on her face.
Her eyes are rimmed in red.
Something’s happened.
Standing, I brace myself for whatever news she’s bringing me.
“What is it? What happened? How is Kins? Can we see her yet?”
She shoots me a look like I need to chill the fuck out. Pressing my lips together, I open and close my fists in agitation. Olivia opens her mouth like she’s going to talk but changes her mind, like she’s not sure how to tell me what she knows.
“Fucking spit it out, Olivia.” She’s killing me, making me imagine the worst.
“McK’s not here.” She sniffles before rubbing her nose.
What?
“What do you mean she isn’t here? Where the fuck is she?” My head is fucking spinning, trying to make sense of what she’s saying.
“She just called me. They transferred her to Park Hospital a little while ago.”
“I’m gonna fucking kill somebody!” Before I can take one step back toward the entrance to the ER, Royce and Atticus are on me.
It takes both of them full-on bear hugging me on both sides to keep me from making any type of forward progress.
“Get the fuck off me!” I see red, yelling so loud I almost don’t hear what Olivia says next.
“Draven!” Teeth grinding, I look at her. “They found a tumor in her brain.”
I immediately stop fighting. My world plunges into a silence so loud, it feels like my eardrums could explode. It’s so thick I could drown in it.
What did she just say?
Royce and Atticus loosen their hold on me now that I’m not struggling against them. My legs give out, and I fall to my knees on the sidewalk. Quickly, each of them grab me underneath my arms to help hold me up.
“She needs us, Draven. Both of us. We have to leave, now. ” Her voice fails toward the end, and I watch as she wipes the tears from her eyes. “Give me your keys.”
Holding her hand out, she waits expectantly.
“No, you’re not just taking my car…” What is she even talking about right now?
“I know that. I’m driving us there because I don’t think you’re in any condition to do so.”
“We’ll lead the way.” I hear Royce speak from beside me before they make sure I’m steady on my feet again.
I hand my keys over to her, agreeing that I’m too blinded by dread to safely operate a vehicle right now. I need to make it to Kins in one piece so I can do everything in my power to see to it that she stays that way, too.
* * *
I spent the drive over here trying not to assume the absolute worst.
It was nearly impossible.
Olivia was quiet the majority of the trip.
It’s like she also needed that time to let the news of what McK told her to set in. I’m surprised she has any nails left with as hard as she was gnawing on them the whole way over here. She’s as scared as I am.
Stepping off the elevator, we head through the waiting area to the first person we see.
“Can I help you?” The nurse sitting at the desk doesn’t look up from her screen.
“We’re here for McKinsey Caraway.” I tap the surface of the counter as I speak, my nerves working in overdrive. “She was transferred here from Gettysburg a little while ago.”
Finally giving us her full attention, her eyes grow wide as though she’s taken back by our imposing presence. I look between us—three tough-looking guys in leather and Olivia who looks like she could probably hold her own in a throwdown.
She sure isn’t too scared to argue with me.
Her and McK are like birds of a feather.
“Um…” Shaking her head to refocus, she looks up Kins’s room number before giving us directions. “Only one of you is allowed in at a time, though.”
“Thanks for the suggestion.” Already making our way to the elevators, I refuse to turn back, my words echoing down the hallway.
I find myself taking a deep breath as we approach McKinsey’s room. I’m fucking nervous. I don’t know what this is going to mean for us—for her. But what I do know is I will be there for her every step of the way.
As long as she wants me to be.
There was a reason she called Olivia and not me.
I don’t know what’s going through her mind, and I refuse to be mad at her for making that choice if that’s what she felt like she needed to do. But if she didn’t want me here, I doubt Olivia would have told me shit.
“Draven,” Atticus stops me just before I enter her room. “We’ll wait out here.”
I nod to him before my eyes meet Olivia’s.
“I will, too.” Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Olivia looks more nervous now than she has this whole time. “That way you guys can talk for a few. Alone.”
I study her, wondering if she knows more than she told me earlier. But I don’t wait around to find out. I have to see McKinsey.
When I walk into the room, Kins has her eyes closed like she’s sleeping. I creep quietly around to the far side of the bed then lean over to give her a kiss on the forehead.
Opening her eyes, they quickly fill with tears.
“Hey.” I grab her hand and press the back of it to my lips. “How are you feeling?”
She closes her eyes again, fighting to hold back sobs that sound so painful they cut through us both.
“What are you doing here, Draven?” Her eyes remain closed, like she can’t look at me.
“Kins, what…? What’s going on?” Her demeanor puzzles me, causing even more concern than previously. “How could you think for one second I wouldn’t be here?”
Suddenly, Olivia is there. “She’s probably just tired. Maybe still a little confused. She was the same way when we were on the phone earlier.”
The two of them look at one another, having an entire conversation between them while I stand here feeling like an interloper.
Olivia’s eyebrows look like they’re firing off warning signs.
Kins looks like she’s both angry and relieved at the same time.
What the fuck is going on?
McKinsey finally looks at me before covering her face with her hands.
“I’m so sorry…”
“Fuck, Kins…” Cupping her cheek, I can’t stop my own tears from falling. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. God, when I saw you lying there… I was so fucking scared.”
Dropping onto my knees next to her bed, I enclose her hand in both of mine. She reaches for me, rubbing her thumb over my knuckles as though I’m the one who needs consoling.
Nobody speaks, letting her tears flow. Olivia stays in the room, and honestly, I’m glad she’s here. Kins seems a little less agitated with both of us nearby.
After McKinsey’s crying stops and a few moments of calm pass, she speaks, sounding like she wants nothing more than to start over.
“Hi.” She squeezes my hand.
She looks so fucking adorable yet sad at the same time. I’d fucking kill to crawl into that bed with her and tug her close to my side.
“Hi, Kins. I missed you.”
“Same. I’m really glad you’re here. Both of you.” She turns to Olivia who flashes her a wink and a smile.
“How are you feeling?” Standing again, I reach behind me to scoot a chair closer to the side of her bed without letting go of her hand.
“I don’t know.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Numb, I guess. Dr. Bennett said I had a seizure caused by the tumor.”
I shake my head in disbelief, questioning if there was something more I could have done to prevent this from getting so out of hand.
“The team here is off deciding how to proceed. And I’m scared shitless because no matter which way they go, the fact remains that I still have a growth inside of me. A terrifying, egg-sized menace that stands to threaten my very existence and future.”
“Listen… Let’s try to stay in the present and not think too much about what could happen from here. Okay? We know something is coming, but we don’t know that it’s that big of a threat yet. Let’s not waste time fearing the what ifs.”
“Man, she’s really rubbing off on you…” Olivia snickers, and I’m grateful for it.
I’m not sure how to keep Kins from spiraling. I don’t even know where half of what I said just came from. Maybe Olivia is right.
“I just… Waiting sucks.” McKinsey groans.
Everyfuckinthing about this sucks.
“Well, at least we’re here now to help you pass the time.”
“Are you the armed guard?” The three of us turn our heads toward the pleasant voice coming from the hallway outside.
My eyes land on a doctor as she walks into McKinsey’s room, shuffling through papers in a patient file.
“Looks like you’ve got quite a crowd here, finally.” She looks between the hallway and me and Olivia. “Hi, I’m Dr. Reeves. It’s nice to meet you.”
McKinsey narrows her eyes at me, so I explain. “Royce and Atty are in the hall.”
“Oh.” Her eyes grow wide, understanding what kind of message the club being here may send to everyone.
A threatening message not to fuck around with this patient or her health.
“Do you have any new information for us?” I turn my attention back to Dr. Reeves who addresses McKinsey directly.
“We’re going to get you in for an endoscopic biopsy around five-thirty this evening. You’ll receive general anesthesia, so no food or drink until after the procedure is over. We’ll go in through your nasal canal and sinuses to take a sample of the tissue. It’s a relatively quick procedure.”
“How long will we need to wait for the results?” It’s the most important question, and I need an answer now.
“It can take a few days. You’ll remain here under our care the whole time where we can monitor you and the tumor. If you’ve already had one seizure from it, chances are good you could have another.”
My attention shifts back to McKinsey, and I watch her eyes ping pong around the room as she struggles to remain calm.
“Is there anything you can do for her in the meantime? Something to help keep the seizures at bay?”
“We’ll be administering medications to her while she’s here. One of those will be an anti-seizure medicine. She’ll also receive pain medication, anti-nausea. Things like that.”
She smiles at Kins. She’s a hell of a lot more personable than that fucking Dr. Bennett.
“There are some risks to this procedure, just like any other. They’re minimal, but here is a paper for you to read over and sign, giving us consent to treat.” McKinsey takes the paper from her but doesn’t look at it. “I’m assuming one of you will be staying here with her overnight?”
“I will.” I can’t get the words out fast enough.
“This chair folds out.” She gestures to the chair I’m sitting in. “I’ll have some bedding brought in for you.”
“Draven,” Kins calls to me. “You don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine staying by myself.”
“I know you will. But I won’t be.” My eyes stay glued to hers until her features soften again. “Listen, you have too much else going on to worry about whether or not you’re inconveniencing me. I’m here, Kins. And I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”