Chapter 26
Anika
All the girls said waiting is the hardest thing to do. They all hate it. They never know what’s happening or if everyone will come back in one piece. The doctor is here on standby, from what Ivy has told me. She stays close to me but not too close that it’s uncomfortable.
I pick at the hem of my shirt as I stare at the door. It’s been hours since they’ve been gone. Hours. My stomach churns at the thought of what might be happening. I can’t think straight.
I need him. That’s all I can think of right now is how much I need him. The door opens, and my heart leaps, but it’s just Ellie coming in. She glances around and then rushes toward me, pulling me into a hug.
“Have you heard anything?”
“No, nothing. The girls said we just have to wait for them to come back. If they come back,” I say.
“They’ll come back, Anika. He will.”
“I’m scared, Ellie. I’ve never been this scared in my life. Not even when we were locked in that basement.”
“Everything is going to be fine. He’s going to be fine.” I let her words settle me slightly. I don’t know, though. I don’t know that he’s going to be okay.
Each minute that ticks by is the longest minute of my life.
Ellie and I found ourselves at the bar amongst the other girls with a drink in our hands.
This is what hell has to feel like. It’s that stirring feeling in the pit of your stomach from the unknown.
It’s the burning that you feel from the inside out. The butterflies that don’t stop.
Every noise we hear, I look to the door, but it’s nothing. A few of the guys that stayed back wander in and out, and each time I'm about fly out of my chair to see him.
But it’s never him.
After hours and hours, the door opens again.
We all look up as Kal walks in with a few guys behind him.
My eyes sweep over them, but none of them is Patch.
Ellie grabs my hand and holds it tightly in hers as a few more guys filter in.
They’re covered in blood, some with wounds.
The doctor rushes toward them, ready to get to work, as I look at their faces.
Where is he? Where are the other guys? I know there were more of them when they left here.
Everly sniffles next to me as she looks for Storm, who is also missing from the group. Maddie’s on her feet, running to Kal. He hugs her and whispers something in her ear. She nods her head before Kal turns to look at me. There’s a look in his eyes. One that I don’t recognize.
I shake my head as he gets closer, not wanting to hear it. He can’t tell me he didn’t make it. He can’t.
“Don’t say it,” I tell him when he’s closer to me.
“It’s not lookin’ good, Anika.”
“What does that even mean?”
“He was stabbed multiple times. He lost a lot of blood,” he says as my heart shatters in my chest.
“Where is he?”
“I’ll take you,” he says.
“Where? Where is he now?”
“He’s at the hospital. This isn’t somethin’ we couldn’t fix here,” he tells me. My chest tightens at his words. I look to Ellie and back to Kal.
“I need to see him.”
“I know you do. Come on,” he says. Ellie follows along behind us, knowing I’m going to need her support now more than ever.
We all climb into the truck, and Kal pulls out onto the road. My heart must beat a thousand times a minute as I watch out the window. I should expect the worst-case scenario. That’s what Kal has said, but I tune him out.
The ride doesn’t take long, and before I know it, we’re outside the hospital.
“I can’t do it.”
“What?”
“I can’t do it. I can’t see him dying,” I tell Kal. His hands come to rest on my shoulders, looking me in the eye.
“He saved you once, yeah?” I nod my head. “Now it’s your turn to save him.” His words wrap around my heart and squeeze.
I nod my head and let him lead me inside and up to his room.
The nurses give us strange looks, but I ignore them as Kal motions for me to go inside.
I’m not ready. I wasn’t prepared to see the man who is always so strong lying in bed like that.
Tubes and wires come out of multiple places, and machines beep and chime.
I feel sick to my stomach as I step closer to him.
Grabbing his hand in mine, I see the bruises and busted knuckles. Tears stream down my cheeks as I look at him. He looks so peaceful in his sleep.
Kal walks into the room and stands on the other side of the bed, looking down at his friend.
“What happened?”
“He went crazy when he saw the guy who raped you. He lost it.”
“And then what?”
“The guy had a knife. They were fightin’, and somehow he managed to stab him multiple times,” he tells me as my heart breaks.
“Where?” I managed to ask.
“His sides, his chest. The one to his chest, they had to operate on. Repaired his-” before the words can leave his lips, the machines begin to go crazy. Things beep, alarms sound. But the one noise I will never forget for the rest of my life is the sound of him flat-lining.