CHAPTER 32
Summer
We reach the hospital in minutes, Dex driving like a man possessed, riding the bumper of the ambulance, barreling through red lights, his hand leaning hard on the horn. My entire body vibrates with adrenaline, fear, shock.
We’re the first ones through the ER doors, but of course the nurses can’t give us any information. Rules. Always rules.
Lily, Josh, Jude, Jace, and Grace burst in seconds later, breathless, tear-streaked, panic written on every face.
“Summer!” Lily rushes toward me, arms open, but I flinch back like her touch might shatter me.
“I’m so sorry,” I choke out, my words breaking apart.
Lily’s face folds into confusion. “What are you talking about?” She steps closer, her hands trembling slightly at her sides.
“It’s my fault,” I whisper, the words ripping themselves open into a sob. “He got shot… because of m…mm…meee…” My knees nearly give out. Lily catches me anyway, pulling me fiercely into her arms.
“Oh no. No.” Her hand cups the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair with fire in her eyes. “Don’t you dare say that. There is only one person who pulled that trigger, and it wasn’t you. Do you hear me?”
“He threw himself in front of me,” I whisper, voice small, like a confession.
Lily’s throat bobs as she swallows hard. She nods slowly. “He did. Because that’s who he is. My boy is strong. He’s a fighter. He’s going to make it.” She hugs me again, our tears soaking into each other, raw and relentless.
Half an hour drags by like an eternity.
Lily presses against me, her hand wrapped tightly around mine.
Josh paces in tight circles across the room, a storm contained within his chest. Dex lingers outside, cigarette smoke curling from his tenth at least, each inhale sharp with anxiety.
Jude and Jace sit frozen, eyes fixed on the blank wall as if the paint itself could answer their questions.
Grace leans into Caleb’s shoulder, soft, muffled sobs breaking through.
The doors slide open and Asher hobbles in on crutches, his cast still firm around his leg.
“I heard…” he whispers, voice trembling.
Josh crosses the room in five long strides and pulls him into a rough, desperate hug. When Asher pulls away, his eyes land on me. He limps over, lowers himself into the chair beside me, still wincing with each movement.
“He’ll make it,” he murmurs, voice breaking. “He has to.”
Another half hour passes. More people flood the waiting area, Ethan’s entire firehouse crew, neighbors from town, local business owners. Like the courtroom, the space fills with bodies, prayers, fear, and whispered names.
Then Cas strides in, jaw clenched, color drained from his face. He hugs his mother first, then turns to me, his hand brushing mine briefly.
“Sorry,” he mutters. “I had to make sure the bastard was charged and locked up.”
Penny is home with Mia. Thank God.
“Any news?” Cas asks, dropping heavily into the seat beside Dex, the weight of the day pressing into his shoulders.
“They’re still working on him,” Josh answers, voice thin, tight with fear, hands clenching and unclenching in his lap.
◆◆◆
An hour later, the ER doors finally swing open.
A female surgeon steps out, peeling off her cap. Her expression is professional, tired, but not shattered, and that alone makes my lungs move again.
“Hawthorne family?” she asks, scanning the packed waiting room.
Josh and Lily rush toward her. I follow, legs trembling.
Please…
Please, God…
The surgeon exhales, folding her hands in front of her. “The bullet passed through his upper arm and severed a branch of the brachial artery,” she explains. “He lost a significant amount of blood before he reached us. We were able to clamp the artery, control the bleeding, and repair the vessel.”
My stomach flips. Brachial artery. That’s bad. That’s really bad.
“He received multiple units of blood,” she continues gently. “The shock to his system was… considerable. He’s still unconscious, but his vitals are stable, and he should wake up soon.”
A sound ripples through the room, a collective exhale, a prayer released.
He’s alive.
My knees buckle, and Lily clutches my arm to steady me.
He’s alive.