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My eyes blink as the world continues to spin. I feel the darkness taking hold of me. Silence greets my ears until finally I close my eyes, my body falling numbly as I allow the shadows to swallow me whole.
22
RACHEL
I burst through the hospital doors, looking around at the yellow walls and the pristine white marble receptionist desk. I’m barely aware of Lucas and Hunter standing behind me as I rush towards the woman standing behind the desk. As soon as Alex called Lucas, informing us of Seth’s injury, I dumped my sign and called for the nearest taxi. Traffic had been terrible. It took us forever to get the hospital, andI worried Seth would wake up in pain or feeling all alone.
“Bonjour,” she starts, looking alarmed as she glances between us.
“We have a friend who was just admitted here,” says Hunter.
“Seth Garcia,” I rush out, tears prickling my eyes while I watch the receptionist type at her computer. “His name is Seth Garcia. He was in the marathon.”
The woman nods while pushing back her dark curly hair. “Yes, he was admitted less than an hour ago. He’s on the fourth floor in room 411.”
I turn on my heel and run towards the elevators in the back, barely hearing Lucas’s low, “Thank you.”
I should have known something like this was going to happen. He was training too hard, barely eating anything. One of us should have talked to him weeks ago about his training. I stab my finger at the button over and over again, shifting from foot to foot while I watch the numbers displayed on the elevator lower.
There’s no point in blaming myself now. What’s done is done. Now I just hope nothing terrible has happened to him.
As soon as the doors open, we rush inside, my small body shoved between Hunter and Lucas. Lucas doesn’t say anything while Hunter wraps an arm around my shoulders. We still haven’t been on speaking terms since our fight days ago. I don’t know if we will ever be the same.
Although, right now I can’t gather the strength to care. Not when Seth is lying in a hospital bed injured.
“It’s going to be fine,” says Hunter while pressing his lips against my brow. “He got injured while running. These things happen all the time. It’s not like he got hit by a car.”
I nibble on my bottom lip while listening to Hunter.
“I mean, you should have seen me mysophomoreyear. I got three concussionsanda broken nose. My shoulder is still all fucked up. These things happen.”
“But this shouldn’t have happened,” mutters Lucas.
I lift my gaze, flinching when I see his dark scowl. Even with the school colors covering his face, he still has the ability to look absolutely terrifying when he’s pissed off.
“Seth should have known better. He over trained.” Lucas shakes his head. “And for what? All to win a stupid marathon.”
My hands fist. “You know nothing,” I breathe, my voice trembling. I swallow the lump in my throat while trying to stop myself from crying. I blink away the tears, trying to remain in control of my feelings. “He needed to win.” I hiccup and swipe the tears from my eyes, feeling both stares on me. “Coach gave him a grant, telling him he had to bring back the trophy if he wanted to come.” I feel myself breaking. A sob is demanding to escape my lips. I wipe my eyes again and sniff. “This is all my fault.”
“Don’t say that,” says Hunter while pulling me towards him.
I nuzzle my face into his chest, clinging onto him and allowing his warmth to swallow me.
“It’s not your fault,” he whispers into my hair before kissing the top of my head. “Seth knew what he was getting himself into. He should have been more confident in himself.”
The elevator dings and I push myself away from Hunter, wiping my eyes while turning towards the opening doors. Before I can catch Lucas, he’s already stalking into the hallway with his back facing me. Hunter and I follow him out and I instantly look for 411, finding Alex standing on the opposite end of the hallway. He’s still wearing his number 30 pinned to his chest. Worry etches his brow, andhe holds up a hand, waving awkwardly.
“Hey,” he says as we stride towards him. “I was just heading to the vending machine for some crappy coffee.”
“How’s Seth?” I ask while stopping in front of him. “Is he okay?”
Alex grimaces. “His foot is fucked.”
I grind my teeth to keep myself from crying.
“Do you know what happened?” Asks Lucas.
Alex nods. “I was running alongside him. He was doing pretty well, but after the 30K marker I heard something snap. Next thing I know, Seth is on the ground, screaming and crying while clutching his foot.” Alex chuckles while shaking his head. “The bastard still wanted to continue. Honestly, he probably would have won if he hadn’t been in such bad shape. What the hell has he been doing to himself?”
