Chapter 22 ~
Rory ~
A loud buzzing fills my ears. My eyes blur as I open them in a desperate attempt to slave off the darkness threatening to drag me under.
Tires skidding on the gravel breaks through the endless buzz of the ringing in my ears.
I press my hands against the dashboard and push myself up. My vision flickers when I struggle to lift my head.
Through my unfocused gaze, I spy Alec’s phone on the dash. It takes a few tries for my hand to grab hold of it. I press the glowing red circle on his home screen, praying that it wasn’t damaged in the crash.
As a wave of pain washes over me, I nearly black out, Alec’s phone tumbling to the ground.
“Angel?” Mason says weakly from the backseat.
“Mase.” Relief has me stretching my arm behind the seat. It’s a few seconds later when Mase’s hand clutches mine.
“S’ Alec…?” Mase’s words slur but I understand what he’s asking me.
I turn my head. Alec’s slumped against the steering wheel, blood on his forehead, tilted towards me. His door’s caved in. The window’s smashed. Alec was closest…
I pull my hand from Mase, my hand reaching out for Alec but he’s too far away.
“Alec. Alec!” No matter how many times I cry out his name, he doesn’t wake or even move. My fingers brush his shoulder in an attempt to wake him.
“Rory, just stay still, baby. I can’t–” Mase’s words are cut off when he groans, pain lacing his voice.
“Mase?” I question. Silent answers me. “Mase!” I whimper.
Please answer me…
A lone tear trickles down my face.
It hurts…
Dizziness befalls me again but I don’t have the strength to combat the blackness that trickles into my vision like stars before taking me away.
Luc ~
The monitor beeps as Rory’s chest rises with steady breaths. I’m afraid to look away, fearing that the second I do, she could leave.
Jace is sitting beside me clutching her hand like a lifeline.
Mason woke up a while ago. He’s still a little out of it because of the drugs he’s on but he’s sitting up and as pale as a sheet.
We’ve been at the hospital for five hours. It’s about two hours from our house—where we had planned on arriving tomorrow.
Fuck. My throat tightens. I rest my forearms on Rory’s hospital bed, brushing my fingers across the side of her bruised face.
The doctor’s voice echoes through my head.
“She’ll be okay. She’s got a concussion, three stitches lining her forehead and some minor injuries that were causing her some discomfort so she’s been sedated. She’ll most likely sleep the rest of the day.” The young doctor clasps his hands in front of him.
“Your friend however…he has multiple serious injuries. Being on the side with the most impact, he has a punctured lung, a broken arm and upon arrival, he sustained a brain bleed which is why you were unable to see him until now.”
Dominic makes a noise that sounded like a half sob. He’s holding Alec’s hand tightly—the one not in a sling.
“Please, do not be frightened. It was only small and he is mostly likely to make a full recovery with time,” the doctor reassures us. “He was lucky. Very lucky.”
Mason had woken by the time the doctor came in. He has similar injuries to Rory as well as a black eye since the back seats of Jace’s mustang don’t have airbags.
We still don’t know what happened.
Dominic, Jace, Maverick and I are sitting around the living room table when there are multiple loud beeps as all our phones go off.
My chair screeches back when I see the alert.
“That’s Alec’s app alert.” Jace looks up at me, wide eyed. Maverick and Dominic are doing the same.
“Shit.”
We clamber into the nearest car and took off. Maverick is furiously typing on his phone.
“Turn here!” Maverick orders.
We screech around the corner, the back tires sliding out.
We’re forced to stop when we see Jace’s mustang in the middle of an intersection looking like it had been hit by the truck.
My heart stops.
“Fuck, no, no, no.” Maverick repeats over and over. He doesn’t even wait for Dominic to stop the car before he’s running towards Jace’s beaten up ‘stang.
He opens the back door first—it being the closest door to him. Maverick drops to his knees, his hands straining to undo the seatbelt and free his brother. Mason doesn’t wake when Maverick shakes him.
Jace and I chase after him—Dominic right behind us.
I rip the passenger side door open. “Rory!” I bark.
Her eyelids fluttered weakly but she doesn’t move. I look through the car to Alec, sagged over the steering wheel, unconscious.
I feel around for my phone but I must have left it in the car.
“Dominic! Call a fucking ambulance,” I shout, unable to hold back the terror in my voice.
I heard Dom talking to someone as he rushes around to Alec’s side.
“Alec!” Dominic has to pry the door open with the small crowbar from the RAM in order to get to him. His hands roam over him, checking for injuries.
“I think his arm is broken.” Dom’s voice wavers.
I turn back to Maverick and see him trying to get an unconscious Mason out of the car.
“Maverick!” I rush to stop him and he barely looks up. “You don’t know what injuries he has. You can’t move him.”
Maverick’s hands still and my head whips back around to Rory.
“Butterfly? Baby?” I push down the absolute terror coursing through me seeing three people I care about injured and unconscious, not knowing what to do.
Rory groans, her eyes glazed as they flicker open. “Luci?”
“Oh, fuck. Guys, Rory’s awake!”
Jace drops straight to the ground beside me, relief evident in his face.
I direct my attention back to her. “Hey, Butterfly. What hurts, sweetie? Can you tell me?”
“Mmm, my head hurts. Is Alec…? Alec! Mase!” Rory cries out. Her eyes flutter closed again.
“Rory?” I said cautiously. “Rory!” I nearly crumble to the ground when her head falls back, unconscious again.
“Guys, Alec’s barely breathing!” Dominic shout. I check Rory is in an alright position before running around to the other side of the car.
Jace stays with Rory, telling her everything will be alright.
My fingers replaced Dominic’s on Alec’s pulse. It’s weak. Too weak.
“The ambulance is here!” Mason shouted.
I help Dominic carefully get Alec out of the car and into his arms as the EMT’s rush over.
I quickly explain the situation to them as Dominic clutches Alec’s lifeless body to him.
The EMT direct Dominic to lower him onto the stretcher where he’s quickly loaded into the ambulance. Dom isn’t not happy to release Alec but he does it.
“Go with Alec.” I rush out to Dominic before they could leave. I saw the absolute horror and fear swirling in his eyes before he takes off after the ambulance.
Another ambulance arrives moments later. Rory and Mason are looked over and loaded into the back of the second ambulance.
Since only one person can go with Rory and Mason, we send Maverick. He’s Mase’s immediate family and he’s the most likely to get an update as soon as he gets there.
I walk around the car, seeing the direct impact of something having driven straight into Alec’s side.
Jace and I get out everything of value from his mustang, including Rory’s knife in a sheath I hadn’t seen before.
Jace calls a tow truck for his mustang and arranges for it to be dropped at his parent’s house.
We get in Dom’s RAM and drove an hour to the nearest hospital.
When we got there, we find out that Alec had gotten a brain bleed on the way here and was rushed straight into surgery for that and his collapsed lung.
Five hours later and Alec’s out of surgery but not completely out of the clear. It was a small bleed but there’s still a chance of it growing or his lung collapsing again but the doctor seemed optimistic.
Dominic hasn’t left his side. He hasn’t eaten–only drunken water when we shoved it down his throat. It’s like he’s half there—half not. When he sees me looking at him, Dom wipes his eyes with the collar of his shirt.
Maverick’s attempting to distract Mason. He’s awake but not really able to contribute much to the conversation. I’m not sure if it’s the drugs or shock.
The hospital grows dark eventually but Rory doesn’t wake.
The nurse tries to send us home but how could we leave?
We put up a pretty big fight and the nurse decides it isn’t worth trying to kick us out.
I feel bad, she’s actually pretty nice. When she finds out we weren’t leaving for anything, she makes the bed up beside us so we can take turns sleeping.
Jace’s asleep in the chair on the other side of Rory’s bed, still holding her hand.
Mason made Maverick stop obsessing over him and sleep so he’s in the bed.
Dom’s asleep on the floor next to Alec’s bed, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He’s been quiet but if any of us say something to him he snaps at us. And we get it—we’re all cranky bastards.
I can’t sleep without Rory. I can’t sleep with my brother in the hospital bed beside hers after fighting for his life.
Fuck. Don’t go down that path, I chastise myself.
I start thinking about what Rory might want if she wakes up. Food maybe. Water. Although there may only be certain foods she can eat. No, that can’t be right.
Fuck, I don’t know.
The doctor didn’t say anything but she hasn’t woken up yet.
Normally, I’d ask Alec. He’d know.
I look over at my brother’s pale face, bruises covering his face, arm in a sling. I swallow and cast my eyes away. Fuck.
Careful not to wake anyone, I ease myself out of my chair. When I get to the door, I hear someone whisper shouting.
“Hey! Wait for me!” Mase swings his legs over the side of the bed.
I hurry back to him before he can do something stupid and hiss, “You’re not coming.”
“Where are you going?” He ignores me, snatching a pair of sweats from the bag of clothes we bought when we got here. I’m forced to look away when the gown comes up and he shuffles the sweatpants on. There are some things a brother just doesn’t want to see.
“I am going to get Rory some water for when she wakes up. You are staying here.” I scowl.
“Mmm, I could use some food. Surely, you wouldn’t deprive a bedridden brother food?” Mase pouts.
“For fucks sake.” I groan before remembering we’re supposed to be quiet.
I raise one finger to my mouth, telling him to be quiet and we sneak out of the room.
We pass one nurse who gives Mason the side eye but thankfully doesn’t say anything. I’m pretty sure the bastard is not supposed to be up and moving around yet.
After going to a few wrong floors, we eventually find the cafeteria. The night guy there gives us two burgers and a couple bottles of water.
“Mmm. For hospital food, this is pretty fucking good,” Mase says around a mouthful of food.
Despite the bruising from slamming face first into Jace’s interior leather, he looks good.
The hospital gown does a good fucking job reminding me where we are.
“How are you?” I can’t help myself.
Mase groans and waves off my concern like it’s misplaced. “Maverick already won’t leave me alone, don’t you start now, Luc. I’m fine.”
His hand moves to his stomach as he speaks, scratching some invisible itch. A grimace on his face as he does.
He repeats it a few times and I lose my patience.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Mase sighs. “I’ve got bruised ribs from the seatbelt. They hurt like a bitch.”
My face turns grave. “The doctor did not fucking tell us that,” I growl.
“I told him not to. Maverick’s already hovering over me like a mother hen. They’re not that bad.” He scoffs down his burger.
“Hey,” I demand. “You don’t get to not tell us shit. We’re a family. If Maverick wants to hang off you and check your vitals for the next ten years, you’re going to fucking let him.”
“Fine,” Mason sulks. “I just don’t want you guys to worry about me. Alec’s the one who nearly died.”
Fuck.
“Hey,” I say a little softer. “Just because your injuries weren’t life threatening, doesn’t mean we were scared as shit. Alec already has Dom fretting over him and he’s not even awake yet. Do you think we should not care about Rory to spend all our time worrying about Alec?”
“What? No!” Mase looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. Then he deflates. “Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.” I grin at his reaction. I stand and place my hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently.
“Come on. Let’s get your ass back in bed.”
When we get back, we face the brutal wrath of Mase’s concerned brother.
“Where the hell have you been?” Maverick growls.
Dominic and Jace scowl behind him, clearly not happy that we disappeared without telling anyone. Mase and I turn and blink at each other.
Oops.