Chapter 47
FORTY-SEVEN
Hours ticked by as we sat in the hospital waiting area, desperate for any news about Theo. With each passing minute, our anxiety only grew, unsure of what was going on behind the scenes.
When we met up with Calla, all she knew was that he’d lost a lot of blood and had been rushed into surgery. The doctors were trying to repair the damage inflicted by the knife, but they wouldn’t know how bad it was until they opened him up. They promised Calla they would update her on his state, but the last one had been hours ago. Now, she sat off to the side of the surgical waiting area, staring at the blank space on the wall.
Devyn was right at her side, holding her hand, even though Calla never said a word. On the other end of the room, Gray stood watch, his eyes never traveling far from the two sisters. Opposite them, Cole sat in one of the chairs with his head against the wall, Alex curled into his lap like a kitten. Her eyes were closed, but they opened every time someone shifted, on high alert for any news .
In our own set of light blue linoleum chairs further down, Adam and I were side by side, staring off in the direction of the surgical hallway. There was barely any sound, just the quiet voices of the nurses fluttering through the halls. Given the late hour, no one else was in the waiting room, so our group took up most of the chairs. Vending machines and a coffee bar sat against the far wall, but none of us even glanced in its direction, too worried to think about food.
Adam’s hand curled around mine, holding it tightly in his lap. He hadn’t let go since we’d left the office park, holding onto me like he was afraid this all was an illusion. I couldn’t blame him. After only minutes with Theo, my stomach was in knots, terrified about what would happen to him, the guilt of being unable to help sooner weighing on my chest.
I couldn’t imagine how Adam felt.
But he was locked up just as tightly as Calla, barely saying anything to any of us. The police tried to speak to him, but given the extent of his ordeal, they agreed that he should get checked out by medical personnel before giving a statement. As one squad car drove away with Eloise locked in the back for processing, Adam and I went in another, letting them drive us to the hospital. Behind us, everyone else piled into Cole’s truck, sticking with us every step of the way.
The thirty-minute drive to the hospital was horrible, every minute making my anxiety grow in my chest. Even though Adam was safe at my side, the impact of the day’s events was far from over.
Once we arrived, Adam reluctantly let the staff check him over, declaring he had a concussion but no other significant injuries. While I almost crumbled at the relief, Adam’ s face only tightened, as if he felt guilty that he wasn’t the one who was grievously injured.
“This wasn’t your fault,” I whispered, dropping my head on his shoulder.
Adam sighed, his eyes turning red as he glanced down at me. “That’s what I keep telling myself, but everyone is in this mess because of me. Theo’s hurt because of me. Calla…” His voice cut off. “I just need to know he’s going to be okay.”
I nodded, hating that I didn't know how to help him. None of us knew what would happen when Theo got out of surgery, and even though I refused to think of the worst possible outcome, it was lurking in the back of my mind, making my stomach swirl with fear.
All I could do was hold his hand and pray we all made it through.
“Calla…” Cole called out, shifting Alex out of his lap. He nodded to the doors to the surgical wing, where two doctors were heading in our direction. Calla exhaled slowly, Devyn’s grip tightening on her hand.
When they crossed through the doors, Adam closed his eyes, but I held fast, trying to give him the strength to get through whatever came next.
As the first doctor approached Calla, a slow smile formed on his face, “Your husband is going to be fine.” He continued speaking, but none of us heard anything else. We were too busy breathing loud sighs of relief. Calla collapsed into her sister’s arms, sobbing at the news. Devyn held her tight, whispering quiet reassurances in her ear.
The doctor waited, pulling off his skull cap and running his hand through his hair. “Mr. Ayad’s still sedated, but he should be waking up any minute. If you’d like to see him…” We all stood at once, but he just shook his head. “I’m sorry, on ly family right now. The rest of you can visit in the morning.”
“They are our family,” Calla said, shaking her head. “Please…” Her voice cracked as she looked up at him. “Can they please stay?”
The doctor sighed and looked at their partner. The other doctor just shrugged, so they nodded. “I don't see why not. The rest of you can wait out here. Only two people in the room at a time. He’s going to be groggy and medicated, so try not to get him too excited.”
Calla looked at Devyn, and she nodded, both of them following the doctor through the automated doors. The silence that followed their exit could have been cut with a knife. Exhaustion ached deep in our bones, and we were the ones watching from the outside. I had no idea how Adam was still functioning.
I turned to him, softly wiping away the tears that gathered in the crease of his eyes. “Theo’s going to be okay.”
“Yeah…” he cried, rubbing his eyes on his thumb. “Thank god.” He chuckled, and it brought some lightness into my chest. When Adam shut down, I was terrified that he would never recover, that Eloise would have taken my beautiful, kind man and traumatized him into a shell of himself. But with that one light laugh, my fear started to dwindle. “I’m going to give that guy the biggest fucking raise.”
A couple of hours later, Calla finally emerged, a large smile covering her face. She’d washed up somewhere, all the blood and carnage from the night now erased from her skin. She came up to us, lightly shaking Adam awake from where he slept on my shoulder. “Hey,” she whispered, trying not to wake everyone else around us. “He’s asking for you.”
Adam nodded, wiping his hand down his face as he stood. He glanced back at me, then over to Calla. “Can Tori come with me?”
“Of course.” She grinned. “Just…be warned. He’s on some very heavy pain meds, and they’re making him a little more… vocal than normal.”
Adam’s brow furrowed as he took my hand, following us down the hall. When we reached the room in the ICU, Calla motioned for us to head on in. “If he asks, I’m going to get one very, very small cup of coffee. No more than eight ounces, I swear.”
We nodded as we stepped inside. While the room had the same pastel tones as the waiting room, the air in here felt much more sterile. Machines beeped from Theo’s side, various tubes and wires attached to his body. In the middle of the bed, Theo smiled up at us, his face tired but very much still with us. I let out a sigh of relief, so happy to see some color back on his face. As much as I tried to stay strong for everyone else, seeing him so pale would probably haunt me for the rest of my days. If I hadn’t spoken to him, I would have thought he was already dead, looking more ghostly than alive when I left him behind.
He smiled brightly at Adam. “God, I am happy to see your pretty face.”
“Right back ‘atcha,” Adam sighed, stepping up to take Theo’s hand in an awkward handshake-fist bump. He pulled up a chair, his eyes looking down at his friend’s bandaged side. “How are you feeling?”
“Not feeling much of anything,” Theo chuckled, but the sound felt forced. “Luckily, she had terrible aim, so she missed anything vital. Should be good as new after a couple of weeks.”
Adam cleared his throat, nodding along with his friend’s words. “Theo… I’m so sorry you got involved in this. It should have been–”
“If you finish that sentence, I’m going to make Calla hit you.” He motioned to his middle. “I don’t have the best range of motion right now. Otherwise, I’d do it myself.”
“It’s my fault.”
“No,” Theo said. “It was that psychotic bitch’s fault.” He grimaced as he tried to sit up, and I reached over to help him. “I don’t hold you accountable, not even for a moment. If anything, I blame myself.”
He cleared his throat, his face contorting with pain as he tried to reach out and grab his water cup. I jumped up, holding it out for him as he sipped through the straw. His eyes met mine, filled with kindness and gratitude. “Thank you, Tori. For coming to rescue us. I don’t know if I’d be here right now without you.” He turned toward Adam. “Without both of you.”
Adam shook his head. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Bullshit,” Theo hissed. “You fought like hell, Adam. Stop beating yourself up over what happened. You couldn't have known what she was doing. We’re both here; we’re both alive. That’s what matters.”
Adam just stared at him, taking in his words. Because as much as anyone else could try to say them, Theo was the only one who was there during the whole ordeal. I reached out and squeezed Theo’s hand. “Thank you, too. If it wasn’t for your hunch, we never would have put the pieces together.”
He smiled so wide, he looked like a different person. Calla was right; the meds were definitely kicking in. There was no sign of the usual grump who wore his frown like a badge of honor—or maybe surviving the night had given Theo a new outlook on life. It didn’t matter. I was just relieved to see him and to know he had many years left with his wife at his side.
His eyes started to drift closed just as Calla knocked on the door, softly looking down at Theo. He pulled open one eye just enough to scowl at the cup. “That better be decaf.”
“Sure,” she smirked. “Whatever you want to tell yourself, sunshine.”
Theo grumbled something under his breath as he drifted off to sleep. Adam squeezed my hand as he stood, making room for Calla at his side. But before she sat, she walked up to Adam and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you for bringing him back to me.” She reached out and placed her hand on my cheek. “Both of you.”
Adam shook his head. “He would have done the same thing for us.”
She smiled as she let go, settling into the chair next to Theo’s bedside. As her fingers trailed through his hair, Adam took my hand and led me out into the hall. When we exited the ICU, he pulled me into his chest, letting out a long exhale. “I can’t believe he’s going to be okay.”
“Believe it,” I sighed into his chest. When I pulled back, I brushed my thumb over his cheek, hating the defeat still in his eyes. “We all are.”
Adam leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine. “It’s going to be a long road, trying to get back to normal after everything, trying to remember that I don’t have to look over my shoulder anymore.” He smiled softly at me. “That’s not what you signed up for, Tori. If this changes things….”
I lifted to seal my lips with his. As I pulled back, I whispered, “This changes nothing. I’ll always be yours, Adam. The hard times don’t scare me as long as I know we’re in them together.”
He smiled, the first one I’d seen all day. “Gotta admit, I really like the sound of that.”
“Good, Rice. Because you’re stuck with me for a long, long time.” I reached down and intertwined our fingers. “C’mon. Let’s go home.”