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COLE
When the SUV pulled up to the hospital, we got out and took off for the entrance. The slow movement of the electric doors irritated the fuck out of me, and I wanted to put my foot through it. But that would only land me in the ER. I needed to get to him and find out what was going on.
Thankfully, Simon’s husband, Jackson, stood inside the ER lobby door waiting for us. “Hey,” he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. He leaned in and spoke calmly to me as he steered me down the hallway. “He’s in surgery. Let’s go back here. There’s a private waiting room where we can talk.”
I wasn’t going to ask how he knew that because I didn’t care.
Jackson pushed through the door into a private room with a round table and at least ten chairs. He sat down and motioned for me to do the same.
“Like I said, Patrick’s in surgery. Simon is back there getting more information.”
“What happened Jackson? Was he conscious when they brought him in?” I was terrified of what he was going to say.
“No, not that I know of. It was a bumpy ride in here.”
The door swung open and Simon walked in. I shot out of my chair, desperate for any news.
“Simon, how is he? When can I see him?”
“Cole, calm down before you pass out. Sit down. Now take some deep breaths.”
“Simon! I need to know how he is!”
His palms landed on my shoulders. “You can’t help him if you’re in the ER yourself. So sit down and do as I ask. Then I’ll tell you.”
Reluctantly, I sat down again as the shaking started. Adam walked up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders, transferring some of his comfort to me.
“I need you to breathe.” I did as he asked, but the air going in was causing my chest to tighten. Adam squatted down behind me and wrapped me in his arms from behind my chair.
“Tell me, please. How is he?”
“He’s in surgery. The doctors suspect some internal bleeding and some head trauma. On top of that, he has a broken left arm that’s going to be surgically repaired.”
“They said his heart stopped. I need you to be honest with me, Simon. Is he going to die?”
Simon put his hand on my arm. The warmth radiating from him felt like a branding iron. “He’s in remarkable physical condition. Anyone else might not have fared as well as he did. As far as his heart goes, the impact of the crash alone could have caused his tachycardia, which means the beat is irregular. The electrical shock stops the heart, so it can pick up and start over. It’s not uncommon, but we’ll know more after the surgery. Dr. Sanchez was going to scrub in to repair it.”
Okay. That made sense to my foggy brain.
“What about his head?”
“They ran a CT, and time will tell on that one. Neuro is closely monitoring the intercranial pressure. When he wakes up, we’ll know more. After surgery, he’ll go up to the ICU.”
I bent forward and put my head in my hands. The terror of this situation rose from inside of me, and I released a gut-wrenching sob. Adam shifted in front of me and got on his knees to offer comfort. It reminded me of Patrick in San Francisco.
I don’t know how long it took for me to finally release all the pent-up emotions and agony rolling inside me. We moved up to the surgical waiting room to wait for news about how he was doing. I paced and looked out the window for what felt like hours as I replayed our life over in my mind, and the conversation in the hallway after the concert. The door opened and closed a hundred times, but I wasn’t mentally in that room. My heart and mind were with Patrick.
“Do you want anything? Water, soda, something to eat?” Adam was the best brother I could have ever hoped for.
I shook my head slowly. “No. I just want to hear some news.”
“I know. I do too,” he said with a quiver in his voice. He was struggling as much as I was. Patrick was a brother to him, too. So I grabbed him in a tight hug, and we both just hung onto each other. We’d been best friends since we were eight years old.
When I pulled away, I looked around the room for a clock. “What time is it?”
“Almost three. Mom and Dad should be here soon.”
How long had we been here?
