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No.
This is not happening.
They’re going to be fine.
They’re all going to be fine.
Sam is going to be fine.
When we enter the hospital, we’re directed to the emergency room where a nurse makes the mistake of telling Annabelle Sinclair that she can’t give her any information because she’s not family.
“I don’t give a flying fuck whether you’re supposed to tell me what’s going on or not. I am his family.” Belle pushes through the waiting room doors behind the desk without looking back to see that she’s being followed by the pissed-off nurse. Declan reaches out, and without even seeing his hand next to her, Belle slips her fingers through his and squeezes. Everyone in the waiting room turns to see where the ruckus is coming from. But it’s the sight of Bash, standing in the middle of the room, that sends Belle running. She throws her arms around his banged-up body as he stands there, surrounded by our friends.
His friends.
He gently rubs her back and kisses the top of her head. “Belles, I’m okay. I’ve got a little burn on my arm and a bump on my head. It’s not even a concussion. I’m fine. They even cleared me to play in next week’s game.”
She sniffs loudly and wipes her face with her sleeve, then points her finger at him. “Don’t scare me like that again. You are not allowed to get hurt. Got it?”
“Got it.”
I glance around the room, surprised to see the faces I don’t know outnumbering the ones I do. The Kroydon University crew are all here. I recognize the woman standing by Bash’s side as Lenny Kingston. There are a few men scattered about that I’ve seen in my shop with Sam or Dean over the years. My heart sinks as I scan the room but don’t find Sam anywhere.
I move around Belle and Dec and wait for Sebastian to look up. “Bash...? They said Sam was with you.” I shift from foot to foot, chewing on my thumbnail, scared to find out the answer to my question. The one I can barely bring myself to even ask. “Is he okay? Is he here?”
“He’s in surgery. That’s all I know.” Bash’s pale face falls.
Feeling like my legs are going to give out beneath me, I drop down in the seat directly behind Annabelle. “What happened?” I look around, but no one heard me. Finally, repeating myself, I force myself to ask louder, “What happened?”
“I don’t know. One minute, we were walking to our cars, and I was on the phone with Murphy. The next minute, I was thrown ten feet backward through a glass window, and an ambulance was bringing me here.” He turns to face Dean, who looks as shaken as I feel. “Is someone with Nonna? Does she know what’s happening?”
Whatever Dean’s answer is, I can’t make it out. Belle sits down next to me and pulls my hand into her lap. I lean my head against her shoulder, as we sit there silently, taking everything in. Trying to block everyone else out isn’t working. It’s the strangest thing, but every time I look at one of the people surrounding Lenny and Bash, they look away.
Not Nattie and Brady.
Not Bash’s roommates.
But the people I don’t know.
Wait... I take it back.
I do know some of them. They must be Lenny’s family. I recognize Max Kingston. He’s the GM of the Philadelphia Kings. The football team Lenny’s family owns. The team Declan Sinclair plays for and his father coaches. I’ve seen him and his brother Becket and sister Scarlet before at the games. They all work for the Kings. They’ve all made appearances in Coach’s box. I guess the rest of them are their siblings. I remember reading somewhere there was a ton of them. “Belles,” I whisper. “What’s the deal with the Kingstons? Why are they staring?”
She leans her head against mine. “They’ve probably just never seen me quite so loud before. They’ll get over it.”
Nattie Sinclair sits down on my other side as our other friends take the seats against our backs. “I think you scared the Kingstons, Belles. They keep looking over here.”
“Whatever.” She blows them off and rubs her baby bump. Then she takes my hand and puts it on her belly and pushes down.
Something small and strong pushes back. “Belles.” I look at her in wonderment. “Was that a foot?”
Her green eyes twinkle. “Not sure yet. But I think so.”
After a little while, Bash is pulled into a separate room by a doctor, and I want so badly to go back there with him. It’s a reminder that I’m not Sam’s family. I’m not anyone’s family. Instead, I’m forced to sit tight. I don’t know if they’re talking about Sam or their dad.
Jesus, this sucks.
A few minutes later, Bash and Lenny return to the waiting room, and he tries to send everyone home. After a bit of pushback, the Kingstons take Lenny with them, but the rest of us surround Bash.
