Page 105 of Before You Fell

His face falls for half a second, as if he thought I might have walked out of that room with the words we have all been waiting to hear. That she woke up. That she is going to be okay.

Instead, I bring nothing back.

I walk over to the coffee vending machine to get Elise a coffee, even though we both know she doesn’t really want one. But it’s an excuse for me to walk back into Willow’s room and sit beside her again before anyone decides I’ve already had more time than I deserve.

I press the button and wait as the machine does its thing—grinding, hissing, and taking its sweet fucking time.

The elevator doors open behind me.

I turn and instantly regret it.

Damon steps out in a dark suit, sunglasses tucked in his top pocket. His lip is split and bruising shows around his jaw. He has changed clothes, which means he went home. Slept. Showered. Put on a fresh suit so he could come to a hospital and talk about money while Willow hasn’t opened her eyes.

Jax stops pacing.

Cruz pushes off the wall.

Jett lifts his head.

Even Graham turns from the window and the expression on his face suggests Damon might have picked the wrong fucking waiting room.

Damon takes in the room. The guys. Graham. Me. Then he walks straight toward us.

“Phoenix, we need to talk.”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“I know it’ll piss me off.”

His jaw clenches. “The local launch cancellation is everywhere. Fans waited for hours. The press is calling it a meltdown. The label wants a statement within the hour and they want confirmation that the world tour is still moving forward.”

I just stare at him. He takes that as permission to keep going.

“Statements have been drafted. You need to be seen leaving the hospital composed. No more punches. No more disappearing. We get you cleaned up, issue a message requesting privacy for Willow, reassure everyone that the tour is still moving forward, and salvage this before it buries the entire album cycle.”

I don’t say a word. The fucking audacity of this asshole. Willow lies unconscious fifty feet away and this prick is worried about an album cycle.

Damon meets my gaze. “You’re the frontman of one of the biggest bands in the world. You don’t get to vanish just because you’re upset.”

Upset. As if that is what this fucking is.

I take one step toward him.

Jax straightens.

Jett gets up from his seat, wondering if I need to be hauled off this asshole the moment I let my anger out on him.

Cruz moves without thinking.

Even Graham’s attention is honed in on me, watching what I do and say.

Every muscle in my body wants to put Damon on his ass again. I can already imagine my fist connecting with that smug mouth of his. But I don’t. Not because he doesn’t deserve it, but because the second I do, security will drag me out of this hospital before I ever get back to Willow.

“Fucking cancel it.”

Damon frowns. “What?”