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Chance stared at me, but his expression was unreadable. “I remember when we were stoned in high school—”
“Which time?” Jace asked, chuckling.
“The time Holden got all serious on us and mentioned that he felt like something was wrong with him. He’d never felt complete.”
“Oh shit. I’d forgotten about that,” I muttered.
“Of course, you did. We were all stoned.” Jace grinned at us. “We had some fun days.”
I gently squeezed Brynn’s hand, mentally hearing her soft laugh as we reminisced. “It was a strange feeling, one that I’ve had most of my life. It’s hard to explain.”
“In that same high-as-a-kite conversation, you also mentioned that you didn’t have any memories from the ages of three to five.” Chance’s gaze narrowed as if he were pondering the world’s problems. “Your memories, Holden.” He didn’t finish. He didn’t fucking have to.
A long screeching beep filled the room, and I froze. “Brynn?” I shook her shoulder as nurses and doctors rushed into the room.
“Code Blue!”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“What’s happening?” Chance yelled as we were ushered into the hallway.
“Get out of the room please!” A nurse said, her tone nonnegotiable.
“Coming through!” Another nurse flew past us and straight to Brynn.
“Please wait outside,” someone said before she closed the door on us.
“She’s dead,” I whispered, disbelief and agony warring inside of me. I glanced at Zayne as I sank to the tiled floor and covered my face with my hands.
Jace knelt beside me, and he rested his forehead on the wall. “Come on, Brynn. It’s not your fucking time yet.”
Chance paced the hall, his fingers locked behind his head. A tear landed on his black tennis shoe.
Jesus. What just happened? My shoulders shook as a sob choked me—Brynn’s laughter, her smile, her big heart … never again. A low groan escaped me as I quietly fell apart. She was only twenty-one. She was too full of life and too young to die. I clenched my hands into tight fists, suppressing the scream that clawed its way up my throat. How the fuck was I supposed to tell River that Brynn was gone? She’d lost too much already. We all had.
Jace sat down and pulled his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth. He buried his head as his own tears escaped. Our best friend was gone. Forever. I’d never talk to her until the early hours of the morning again. She wouldn’t see River in her wedding gown or throw her a bachelorette party.
The sound of the door broke through my grief, but I didn’t dare glance at them. I couldn’t look at the team that had failed Brynn. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t their fault, but I hated them. I hated the treatment that killed her. I hated this goddamned hospital.
“Guys?” a soft female voice said. “We got her back. Brynn’s alive.”
I nearly gave myself whiplash from turning my head to see who was talking—a doctor. A small smile eased across her face. She tucked strands of salt-and-pepper-colored hair into her ponytail.
I scrambled to my feet and gave Jace a hand up. My legs wobbled beneath me as I took a step forward. “She’s alive?” I repeated to make sure I hadn’t been hallucinating. With the stress I’d been under, it wouldn’t surprise me.
“Yeah. We’re monitoring her closely. The reaction was pretty bad, but if she makes it through tonight, then our girl has a fighting chance.”
“Can we?” I pointed to the door.
Her expression softened. “She needs to rest. There are a lot of studies that show that a person in a coma can hear everything that’s said. I think under the circumstances, she shouldn’t have any visitors.”
“Can we see her before we leave?” Realizing my nose was running, I swiped at it with the heel of my hand.
“One at a time. Talk to her, tell her she’s going to make it and for her to get some rest. That’s it. Nothing else.” Her dark eyebrow arched at us.
“Promise,” we said in unison.
“There’s a hotel less than a mile away. Be sure that we have all of your phone numbers in case we can’t reach you. Feel free to check in every few hours, too.”
