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 couldbring 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.
