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Jay got out of surgery a few hours ago, and there is no change. Raven begs her nurse and the night doctor to let us in to see him. She explains we are his family until his parents arrive. It takes some convincing, but with the tragedy today, the staff is a little softer than usual. Raven agrees to a wheelchair, and we go to his room.
The room is barely lit, and the sounds of machines fill the space. Jay has several bandages around his upper body and tubes coming out of his nose and throat. Even knowing what we do, he still looks peaceful. Raven starts to cry silently against his bedrail. She grabs his hand and moves it to her face. She whispers quietly to him, thanking him for saving her.
Blake and Cooper sneak into the room behind us and watch silently with somber expressions on their faces. Nate waits by the door with Mike and I urge Raven to say goodbye. She leans up to kiss his cheek and then I wheel her back to her room. I help her into bed and set up the food that was delivered. She tries to refuse it, but I make her eat at least a roll and the fruit.
“Can I come in?” Mike asks opening the door slowly.
“Hey, Mike, you okay?”
“RJ, I should be asking you that question. I talked to Robbie, so I know about your injuries, but I wanted to see for myself.”
“I’m fine, worried about Jay and a little sore, but I’m going home tomorrow.”
“That’s what I hear. I wanted to tell you guys what’s being reported about the incident today. In all actuality, it was a small discrepancy that led to this disaster. What triggered the support pole to cave was the pressure pushing against it. Once it fell the rest was a chain reaction. Fans should have never been allowed that close at an outdoor festival. Security wasn’t tight enough, and the crowd got over excited. So far they have confirmed six deaths. The event organizers are in trouble, but it’s too soon to speculate what will happen to them. There’s a lot of finger pointing right now, and the police are working through it. I want you guys to know this has never happened and never will happen again to my clients–”
“Wait–are you trying to apologize to us?” Raven interrupts him.
He nods his head.
“Mike, we love you. This is a family. You have no reason to apologize. This has nothing to do with our relationship with MJ. There’s no way you would ever put us in danger to promote Sayge, and I can guarantee no one thinks that. You are as affected here today like us. We have a friend in serious condition down the hall.” She stops talking and raises her arms to him. “Come here now!”
She hugs him tight, and his body relaxes. She sniffs a few times and kisses him on the cheek. He pulls away and comes to me. I give him a one arm hug, and he promises to keep us updated on Jay.
When we’re alone, I strip down to my boxers and crawl in next to Raven being careful of her hip. I lay her head on my chest and draw patterns with my fingertips on her back.
“Dec, I know I had a bad feeling today. I couldn’t pinpoint a reason, but I think it was intuition.”
“For the rest of our lives, we will follow your intuition. But I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I love you to death and would do anything for you. But twice since we’ve been together I have been in the waiting room of this hospital worried shitless about you. Let’s try not to come back until we’re having our kids.”
“Okay honey, I’ll do my best. Love you too.”
I sleep like shit dreaming about the image of her falling, but it helps that I can squeeze her and know she’s safe.
Chapter 53
Graduation
Raven
It’s been two weeks since the accident and one week since Jay woke up. He was extremely disoriented, and it took a while for him to understand what had happened. Once the brain swelling went down, and the doctor weaned him off the heavy drugs, it took two days for him to wake fully. The doctors explained his injuries, and he would stay in the hospital for at least another few days. Between his parents, coworkers, and us, he had a barrage of visitors daily. When he was released, his parents got him home and planned to stay for a few days.
As far as we can tell, there was no brain damage. Jay was a little slow to answer questions, but he was completely aware of his surroundings and remembered the accident. Each time I’ve seen him, I’ve cried and hugged him tight. Logically, I know it’s not our fault but I can’t seem to shake the guilt he was with me instead of with the other guys. Then I think of how scared I was when he wouldn’t wake up.
Declan has become almost unbearable with my recovery. Everything started to feel better within a few days, and I was basically back to normal, but he hovered. He scheduled all his meetings and rehearsals around my school schedule so he could drive and pick me up. When we’re at home, he insists I sit or l down and rest.
I’ve finally talked him into letting me go to the library tonight to study with my friends for our exams next week. He and the guys are going to The Steamroom to hang out for a while. They aren’t scheduled to perform but may play a set for the crowd. TJ actually asked if Sayge would schedule one more show before we left in a few weeks for New York. They will play their last show the weekend after our celebration party.
Since I no longer need a bodyguard, Declan drops me off and walks me to my friends at our normal table. People all around us stare at him in recognition, but he doesn’t pay attention. He kisses me deeply before leaving. He gets approached outside the library by a group of girls, and I watch him signing some notebooks. He winks at me when he is done and gets in his truck.
“How do you handle it Raven? All the attention and the fans all the time?” Mari asks.
“For now, I consider it practice. Once we go on tour, I’m prepared for it to get worse.”
“I’d be too insecure for that. All that temptation would freak me out.”
