Aria
“Serfina.”
“Yeah,” she replied.
“I lied earlier. I didn’t know Sebastian was with Hayden.”
We were on our second bottle of wine and had gone through most of her wedding plans. I was excited for it. It was going to be such a beautiful day. My heart sank. I no longer saw it happening with Sebastian and me.
She wrapped her arm around my shoulders as I sat there looking at my sleeves. “I kind of guessed that.”
A single tear fell from my eyes, and I wiped it with my hand.
“I’m so confused with it all. I don’t understand what’s going on with him, and when I ask, he says it’s work, but I know there’s something else. I can feel it.”
“You guys need to talk.”
“That’s what we were meant to do tonight, but instead he didn’t show up.” I took a gulp of my wine.
She let out a sigh. “Sebastian is … complicated. He struggles to open up, but that’s no excuse for him to treat you this way.”
“I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
“I know you love him, and he loves you, but if he won’t talk to you about everything, how can you move forward?”
“I thought I knew him, but recently, I’ve been questioning if I really do.”
She took hold of my hand and squeezed it. “What do you want to do?”
I paused for a moment, wondering what I truly wanted. I’d thought I’d known. I’d thought he was it. The one.
“Honestly, if he carries on this way … I don’t think I can stay.”
“Aria, you need to do what makes you happy. If he can’t be honest with you, then you need to decide what you want moving forward. And if it’s not Sebastian, I’ll always be here for you.”
“I need cake,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
She let out a soft giggle. “Me too.”
I slowly stood, holding my arms out to steady myself.
I didn’t think I’d had that much. I wasn’t sure if I was spinning or the room.
It didn’t matter. I was going to get that cake, and I’d sit there with Serfina, eating it all.
I made my way to the door and bumped into the door-frame, and I heard Serfina giggling.
I turned back, and she was now lying on the pillows, laughing to herself. I couldn’t help but join in.
As I reached the kitchen, I ran my hand over the wall to try to find the light switch.
Finally, I clicked it on, and my eyes strained, blinking a few times at how bright it was. When they finally adjusted, I let out a scream at the man standing in front of me.
Within seconds, Serfina was next to me, a baseball bat in her hand. Where the hell did she get that? “Who the fuck am I beating?”
“Aria, Serfina, calm down.”
It was Logan.
I placed my hand over my heart. It was beating so fast, I didn’t think it could ever go back to normal.
“Logan, what are you doing here?” Serfina asked.
“Put the bat down,” he told Serfina, and she leaned it against the wall.
“Where did you even get that?” I asked her.
“Sebastian keeps it in the cupboard by the front door.”
How did I not know that?
“Is Sebastian with you?” I asked, confused as to why Logan was in the house.
He took a step closer to us. “Aria … Serfina.” Our names shook from his mouth. “There was an accident.”
“What?”
Serfina took hold of my hand and squeezed it. My eyes drifted down to it, then to her face. Her other hand covered her mouth, her own eyes wide with shock.
“Sebastian and Hayden are at the hospital.”
Sick rose to my throat, and I swallowed hard, pushing it back down.
“No, you’re mistaken.” I shook my head, dismissing his words.
“I’ve come to take you both there.”
Sebastian and Hayden were in an accident.
Sebastian and Hayden were in the hospital.
The hospital wasn’t far, but the drive felt like a lifetime. The whole journey had been in silence. Neither Serfina nor I could bring ourselves to ask the questions we should have. We were too afraid of the answers.
We followed Logan through the hospital and reached the ICU. A doctor walked out, and Logan grabbed him.
“This is Hayden Lyon’s partner. His next of kin.”
“Serfina Costello?”
“Yes.” The single word shook.
“I worked on Hayden when he came in. He’s in critical condition. His lung was punctured. If an ambulance hadn’t been called when it was, he wouldn’t have made it. The next forty-eight hours are crucial, but we have every reason to believe he will pull through.”
Serfina nodded. As the doctor left, Serfina’s body gave out, and Logan and I grabbed her arms to steady her. She covered her mouth with her hand, taking in deep, shaky breaths to try and calm herself.
“He’s going to pull through. I know he is,” I tried to reassure her.
The truth was, I didn’t know anything.
“Go,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Go and see Sebastian. I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
I could feel the tears pooling in my eyes.
“I promise I’ll be fine.” She hugged me tight. “I’m sure Hayden’s mum will be here soon.”
“I’ve already called her,” Logan confirmed.
Serfina gave him a small smile and sat down on the chairs, exchanging a few words with a man I hadn’t met before.
“I’ll take you to the room,” Logan said.
He led me out of the ICU and around to a ward where there was a private room. Outside sat a row of chairs, and two men were there. I’d seen them before—when Sebastian had come to rescue me.
“He’s in there. They had to sedate him, so he may not be awake yet.”
“Sedated for what?”
“He was quite agitated when he arrived and didn’t want to let the doctors treat him. They thought it was best to keep him safe.”
I paused for a moment, looking at the door, unsure what I was going to see on the other side.
I took a deep breath, and my hand shook as I grabbed the handle, pulling it down and entering. The room was dimly lit with just enough light for the doctors and nurses to see what they were doing.
Sebastian lay on the bed, his eyes closed. All I wanted was to see those bright blues looking back at me. My heart sank all over again. He looked vulnerable, fragile, and that was something I’d never seen in him.
An IV drip connected to a cannula on the back of his hand, and nasal prongs sat gently on his face, giving him oxygen. The monitor to the side bleeped away to itself, with leads trailing to the small pads attached to his chest.
I sat in the chair next to the bed and took hold of his hand.
It felt cold against mine. I gently pushed the loose bits of his hair back from his forehead.
A few scratches covered his face, but they looked superficial rather than anything else.
My eyes drifted down to his right shoulder, where reddish marks had appeared, from what I could only think were from the seatbelt.
I loved this man more than life itself, and I couldn’t bear the thought of living in a world without him in it. I couldn’t believe I’d even been considering leaving him earlier.
Knots formed in my stomach at the thought. He’d been by my side through so much in my life, and whatever he needed, I would be there for him, too.