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And then there was only excruciating agony as my arm was twisted until a sickening snap filtered through me. I screamed over and over until the darkness I’d finally been waiting for enveloped me completely.
Mind.
Body.
And soul.
Chapter 25
Aiden
It wasn’t like Ash to be late. He’d texted me an hour earlier to say he was going to be home in twenty minutes, so I wondered what the hell could be keeping him. Early on in our relationship, I’d tried to recognize any time my behavior was stifling or controlling. I never wanted him to compare me to his abusive ex or think I was in any way keeping tabs on him. But how did I reconcile that with the need to make sure he was okay?
I tried texting him with a casual Let me know when to pull food out of oven, but there was no response.
After ten more minutes, I couldn’t help but call him. No answer. At that point, I began truly worrying. How long would he expect me to wait before freaking out?
I finally couldn’t help myself. I texted Emily to ask if she knew what was keeping him.
I’m on my way up north with Lamont. Ash should have been out of there an hour ago at latest?
I’d forgotten about their anniversary plans, so I quickly responded, No worries. I’m sure it’s fine. Have fun!
And then paced some more.
Since I wasn’t letting my phone out of my sight, I tried to busy myself by flicking through social media accounts to check on all of my clients. When I got to Bomber Flynn’s account, I saw major activity going on.
Bomber’s in the hospital!
Bomber Flynn out for next season?
What’s wrong with Bomber?!
#PrayforBomber
There was a blurry photo of Bomber in the emergency room with blood on his shirt. My heart began hammering. Fuck. Regardless of what was keeping Ash, I needed to get down to the hospital and figure out what the hell was going on with my largest client.
I quickly dialed Chase’s number before turning off the oven and bolting out of the apartment. I knew my brother was on a flight back from Los Angeles, so as soon as his voicemail picked up, I began barking out what was going on.
“Bomber at Mount Sinai Emergency Room. Heading there now. We need to spin this. I don’t know what’s going on. Calling him now.”
After hanging up, I immediately dialed Bomber. No answer.
I tried Ash again, but got no answer. All I could hope was that he was caught up at the shop or had stopped by somewhere on his way home and couldn’t hear his phone. I knew he kept it on silent during his work shifts.
By the time I got to the hospital, I was in full-on work mode, ready to deal with Bomber’s crisis— whatever that may be. I raced into the ER waiting room in search of any sign of him. I couldn’t see him immediately, so I made my way farther into the large open area and closer to the treatment bays.
As I continued to scan the busy ER for any sign of Bomber, my eyes caught on a familiar patch of red sticking out between the curtains of one of the treatment bays. My heart caught in my throat at the Star Trek emblem on the material, and I came to a jarring stop. I barely registered someone telling me to watch it before they moved around me, but I didn’t respond.
Because I couldn’t take my eyes off that swatch of red fabric.
It was just my eyes playing tricks on me. It had to be.
I couldn’t accept that it was anything else.
But even as I forced myself to move closer to the curtain, I knew it wasn’t. And I knew who that red Star Trek apron belonged to. I didn’t need to see the little plastic name tag pinned to it.
Terror weighed down my limbs as I forced myself to reach for the curtain.
“Please,” I whispered.
I didn’t understand what I was seeing at first. I wanted to believe the fact that I couldn’t find anything recognizable in the pale figure lying motionless in the hospital bed was a good thing, but I knew it wasn’t. It wouldn’t change what I already knew. That it wasn’t some fucked-up mistake as to who was lying in that bed.
I didn’t remember moving forward.
One minute I was frozen in place, the next I was standing next to the broken body of the love of my life.
The man I’d been too afraid to actually tell that he was and always would be the love of my life.
“Ash?” I croaked as I reached down to cover his right hand with mine, but stopped when I saw the splint that went from his hand to his elbow. I barely noticed my phone falling from my loose grip as I tried to find one spot on Ash’s body where I could touch his skin to make sure it was warm.
