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.
38
Sebastian
Iblinked a few times, my eyes blurred as I tried to focus them. The light in the room was dim, but it still managed to make me wince as I pulled my right hand up to block some of it out. Pain ran through my head as I tried to figure out where I was.
As my eyes gained focus, I caught a glimpse of a tube attached to the hand I was holding up. I turned it over—a cannula was taped to it. I turned my head at the monitor bleeping away next to me, lines with a steady rhythm covering the screen.
I looked over at Aria sitting on the chair next to the bed. She held my left hand, and her head rested on top. She was fast asleep. I slowly moved my right arm over, a sharp pain hitting my ribs, and I sucked a breath in. I’d felt that before, in my fighting days. They must have been bruised; the pain wasn’t enough for them to be broken. I pushed past it and stroked her hair out of her face. The touch of her warm skin ran through my icy cold hand, and it heated me from the inside out.
Then, flashes of images clouded my mind, one after the other, like someone was pressing the projector button too quickly to make it all out as they started to blur together and came to a halt on the last one.
Hayden.
The car crash.
Memories of the trauma bay, me trying to fight everyone off to get to the room next door where Hayden lay on the bed, being resuscitated as they rushed him out to what I can only guess was the theatre. Then security pinned me down, and the doctors told me they were sedating me to be able to assess my injuries safely.
Knots pulled tightly in my stomach as acid rose to my throat. I didn’t even know if he was alive. I needed to see him. I needed to know.
I sucked a breath in through my teeth as I shifted to sit up. I needed to get out of this room. The movement woke Aria at my side, and she jolted up.
“Sebastian, stay still,” she said, placing her hands on my arm.
“Where’s Hayden?”
Her eyes met mine, and they glazed over as she tried to hold her tears back.
“Where’s Hayden?” I asked again, my voice louder this time.
“Sebastian …” My name shook out of her mouth.
I ripped the cannula out, pulled the oxygen from my nose, and removed the pads from my chest. The monitor started beeping rapidly. I threw my legs off the bed to stand, and Aria rushed around, grabbing my arms. I didn’t fucking care how much pain I was in. All I cared about was seeing Hayden.
“Sebastian, please calm down. You need to stay in bed,” she begged.
The door burst open to a doctor and two nurses. Pulling the pads off must have alerted them that I apparently didn’t have a heartbeat anymore. They stopped, looking over at me.
“Mr Knight, I do not want a repeat of the trauma bay,” the doctor said sternly.
“Then I suggest someone tell me where the fuck Hayden is.”
“He’s in the ICU,” Aria said, barely a whisper.
“I want to see him.”
“Mr Lyons is currently in critical condition with a punctured lung. He has a ventilator helping him breathe, and we’ve sedated him to keep him comfortable. The next few days are crucial, but we are optimistic,” the doctor explained.
Aria placed her hand on my cheek, and I looked down at her. “You need to get back into bed and let the doctors do their jobs.”
I let out a heavy breath and sat back down. The nurses came over to put everything back on, and the doctor stood by my bedside.
“You were lucky with your injuries. Nothing serious, just bruised ribs. We’ll keep you in for another few hours to monitor your vitals, and if they stay clear, you can go home after.”
“We’ll go see Hayden when they discharge you,” Aria offered.
