Chapter 16 #2
A nurse hands me a clipboard with papers to fill out and asks for the next of kin. I blink at her.
“I’m not…” I stop. Swallow.
“You’re not related to the patient?”
Well, that is a loaded question.
“I am. I’m sorry, my head is a mess. I’m Cyrus’s…wife.”
The lie falls from my lips far too smoothly. I’ve spent many nights pretending that things are different between us. That he isn’t the biggest asshole on the planet. That he isn’t my stepbrother. That he isn’t trying to destroy me even now.
“Don’t worry, the doctors will take good care of him.”
I nod. “Thank you, I’ll take care of this.”
Sitting down, I fill in the form with ease. I don’t have to look anything up or leave little blank lines. I glance around and hate everything about this place.
Twice, I’ve been to a hospital, and both times a person I love died there. My mom and then Patrick, who each took a piece of my heart with them.
My hand is shaking as tears trickle down my cheeks and wet droplets drip onto the paper. I hesitate, my pen hovering over the section labeled “relation.”
Shit.
It’s one thing to lie to the paramedic in the ambulance, but putting it down on the form means it goes into the medical system.
“What the hell am I doing?” I mumble as I write wife. Wiping away the tears, I stand and walk to the nurse’s station and hand over the paperwork.
“Mrs. Vale, do you have I.D. or your insurance card?”
Fuck.
“He collapsed on stage, and I didn’t have time to grab anything, but please get started. His manager will be here soon, and he has all of the insurance information,” I say, hoping that I’ve convinced them.
She nods. “Someone will come out and talk to you after the doctors assess your husband.”
“Thank you,” I say, wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans.
The guys arrive in a wave. Vex is the first to race through the doors and run toward me, furious as a pissed-off honey badger. I immediately bristle. His eyes are hooded, lips a hard line. Ledger is next, then Ash and Eren follow. They surround me, and I roll my shoulders.
“What did they say,” Eren asks.
I shrug. “Nothing yet.”
“Fuck,” Vex growls and storms off.
“Come with us, we shouldn’t talk openly,” Ash says, guiding me over to a private waiting area. We step inside and sit down.
Eren leans forward with his head in his hands. Ledger’s phone rings before anyone can say anything.
“It’s Declan,” Ledger says, but he hits decline instead of answering.
Declan stayed back to answer questions and do damage control. Why does that always come first? Can’t we make sure Cy will be okay before anything else?
“Are you sure those pills aren’t ecstasy or molly?” Vex asks. He sounds annoyed as he steps into the room to join us.
I glare at him.
“No, they aren’t,” I bite out.
“How do you know? He’s been avoiding us all day. He could’ve taken anything, and none of us would know. Plus, he had at least one beer before we went on stage. Maybe he had more than that.”
Vex is right, but I don’t care. Old habits die hard, and protecting Cy seems to be one that I can’t quit. I stand up and get in Vex’s face.
“Don’t throw around accusations until we have the facts.”
“I’m surprised you care at all with the way he’s treated you over the years,” Vex says and crosses his arms. “Are you still obsessed with him?”
Smack!
My hand stings, and heat flushes my cheeks. I just slapped Vex. I instantly feel bad about it, but right now the anger is burning too bright inside of me to care. His hand goes to his cheek as his eyes narrow. Vex looks as shocked as I feel.
“I wasn’t obsessed. And I’m acting like a friend. You know, like how you’re supposed to be acting? But you’re too busy being a dick to see that your friend could still die. Cyrus surviving is what’s actually important.”
Vex schools his features. I really don’t think he expected that reaction from me. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure where it came from myself.
“I am being a friend, just a realistic one. We’ve been here before, Haven—twice to rehab, four times getting his stomach pumped cause he never knows when to cut himself off.
There were multiple other times when he didn’t show up to practice or was late for the start of a concert.
You weren’t here. We were. We’ve lived through this hospital nightmare, and I’m really fucking tired of the poor Cyrus bullshit.
This is my life and band, too. He’s fucking things up for all of us,” Vex snarls at me and then marches out once more.
“Don’t mind Vex. He gets like that when he’s scared, or angry, or happy,” Ash says, and I look at him. “Any emotion, really. It’s hard to tell.” He smiles, and I give him a small one in return for his effort.
My phone rings, and I groan when I see Declan’s name. He is a persistent ass. I put him on speaker.
“Declan?”
“We can’t have any leaks. Write down the name of everyone there, and I mean nurses, doctors, and anyone wandering the fucking halls. I need NDAs signed immediately. This can’t become a press frenzy. Haven, do not speak to anyone without looping me in first. Fuck this is a mess.”
“Go to hell, Declan,” I snap. “He’s not a product.”
“Wrong. The band is a product owned by LG Records, and right now, Cyrus is a fucking liability if this gets out.”
I glare at the phone, wishing I could wrap my hands around his throat.
“Then maybe you should have paid more attention when he was falling apart in front of you!”
Declan barks a bitter laugh.
“Please…Haven, we’ve all seen it. Cyrus refuses to do anything about it because he’s in denial. We’ve offered to get him help, but it’s to the point where we’ve all but given up.”
“What kind of help are you talking about?”
“Therapy, rehab, you name it,” Declan answers.
A car horn blares in the background, telling me he is on his way.
“I don’t know if that’s what he needs,” I say.
Not that I have any proof other than a gut feeling.
“Oh yeah, and how would you know that? Did you get a medical degree that I don’t know about?”
“Fuck, that’s enough! It doesn’t matter right now,” Ledger growls, standing. “All that matters is that Cy is okay. We can fight about everything else later.”
Ledger is right. I slump into my chair, arms crossed, and stare at the door.
Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.