AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sorry,” he says, a grin spreading across his face. “I’m just glad to see you’re awake. The way you went down after I saw that metal pipe hit you, I thought you might be dead. And then, when you didn’t answer to your name….”
Ignoring his comment, I start to shift to my knees, but the sound of Rico’s phone ringing from the other room makes me pause.
A frown creases his face, and he rises to go answer it. I hear his low cuss before he starts to speak. “Winter? Where are you? Are you girls okay?”
Icy fear grips my chest. If Winter’s calling Rico, she must not have been able to get ahold of me. Something’s wrong. Overwhelming anxiety crushes my throbbing chest, making it impossible for me to breathe.If these assholes attacked Winter…I can’t even bring myself to finish the thought as my vision goes red. She better fucking be okay.
With no regard for my own pain, I shove to my feet, barrelling through the doorway to the bar so I can meet Rico’s gaze. His eyes are filled with alarm as they find mine, and his lips part as if he’s about to say something. But suddenly, a wave of dizziness makes my head swim, and the ground pitches beneath me. I can’t see straight. Collapsing onto the hardwood floor, I barely get my hands out in time to break my fall before I land in a heap.
As the edges of my vision start to darken, I hear Knuckles and Dally’s distant cries and footsteps crashing toward me.
Above me, Rico shouts, “Fuck, Gabe! We need to get him to a hospital. Winter, stay right where you are. I’m coming to get you.”
The last conscious thought that crosses my mind before I fade into black is,What happened to Winter’s car? The girls must be in trouble.
I’m vaguely aware of being jostled in the back seat of a truck, though whose I do not know. Dally’s beside me, one bright-blue eye almost seeming to glow as it looks down on me with intense worry. His other eye has fully swollen shut, the purple-black bruise a stark contrast to his blond hair.
“Gabe, can you hear me?” he asks adamantly before everything fades away.
The painful flash of fluorescent lights is the next thing that wakes me. I groan and cough, tasting copper liquid on my tongue as I fight to breathe. It feels like I have a baby elephant sitting on my chest, and I grab at the neck of my T-shirt, trying to find a way to remove the weight.
“His lung’s collapsed!” someone shouts urgently as the patter of feet surrounds me.
Strong hands grip my wrists, and I fight violently, but the overwhelming dizziness consumes me once more, and I collapse weakly against the gurney I’m lying on as they roll me down a hall. I don’t have the stamina to keep struggling. Instead, I sink into the murky pool of unconsciousness once more, my hazy thoughts turning to Winter, and for once, I pray that she’s okay.
13
Winter
“Well, when can I see him?”I demand of the very unhelpful hospital receptionist who looks at me coolly.
“Ma’am, I understand you’re upset and want to see your fiancé, but he’s currently being treated by the doctor for severe injuries. Once the doctor is finished, he will come speak to you. In the meantime, please take a seat.” She gestures to the waiting room as she looks at me over square wire-rimmed glasses, her lips pressing together in a stern line.
Starla’s gentle hands grip my shoulders. “Another patient was admitted at the same time. A Dallas Somers. Can we go see him?” Her tone is tentative and calm, the complete opposite of my own.
The receptionist eyes her suspiciously for several moments before looking down at the computer before her and searching Dallas’s name. I can feel Rico tensing beside me, prepared to go to battle over it if she doesn’t let us see Dally either.
“It appears he’s finished with his treatment, but only family—”
“There you are,” Knuckles cuts her off, stepping through the swinging doors leading back into the patient rooms. “What took you so long?” He turns his attention to the receptionist, his tone full of authority. “Don’t worry. I can show them back. Thank you, miss.”
The hint of a smile tugs at my lips as the receptionist starts to object, but Knuckles grabs Starla’s wrist and starts to direct her back into the hospital before anyone can stop him. Rico and I follow, me taking quick steps to keep up with his long, intentional stride.
“They’re sticklers for the rules here. It took me forever to get permission to see Dallas. He had to demand they let me in,” Knuckles grumbles as he guides us down the long white hallway practically glowing with bright fluorescent lights.
“Thanks for coming to get us.” Starla looks immensely relieved, and I only wish I could feel that about Gabe.
Is he going to be okay? Why is the doctor taking so long to see him? And what did the receptionist mean by “severe injuries”?My anxiety is through the roof, and I can’t help but feel that something is terribly wrong. Placing a reassuring hand on my baby bump, I try to steady my nerves as I comfort my unborn child.Gabriel wouldn’t leave us to find our way through life alone.I tell myself that over and again, trying to find some sense of calm.
As we near the end of the hall, Knuckles takes a sharp left into a room, and my heart stutters to a stop at the sight of Dallas in the hospital bed. His face is completely blue and black, one eye is swollen completely shut, and his lip is taped from where it had split. The cast around his hand, all the way up to his elbow, tells me his arm is broken, and when his one functional eye turns toward us, I can tell it’s painful for him to smile.
“Hey,” he rasps. He pushes himself more upright, and from the way he flinches, I would guess his ribs are broken too.
“Don’t,” Starla insists, picking up her pace and putting out her hands in a gesture of wanting to lend assistance as she rushes to the bed. “Don’t strain yourself.”
“I’m okay,” he insists gently. “It looks worse than it is.”
Knuckles snorts. “Aside from the multiple fractures and the mild concussion, yeah, no biggy.”
