Page 192 of Fame & Chaos

Relief crashes through me so hard.

“He’s not completely out of danger yet,” she continues carefully. “But they found the bleed. As long as nothing else major comes up during surgery, he should be okay.”

I bury my face against her shoulder while she hugs me tightly.

“I know how much he means to you,” she murmurs. “And watching you react when he came through those doors told me everything I needed to know.” More tears spill down my cheeks. “You love him. That’s obvious.” I close my eyes tightly. “When he wakes up,” she says softly. “You two need to sort this out. Because clearly he makes terrible decisions without you, and without him, you’ve been miserable.” A watery laugh escapes me through the tears. “Sometimes it takes something huge like this…” Kenzi whispers, “… to make people realize what’s been right in front of them the whole time.”

I nod weakly while wiping my face. “Can I watch the surgery?” I ask quietly.

Kenzi shakes her head immediately. “No chance. But maybe you should call his family.”

Hux, Macy. Dee, Colt. Oh God.

“Okay,” I whisper. “Sorry, I completely lost it.”

“Hey.” She squeezes my hand firmly. “The man you love nearly died. You’re allowed to fall apart a little.”

She stands and helps me to my feet, shakily. My knees still wobble badly, but she keeps an arm around my waist while guiding me toward the staff lounge.

Pulling my cell from my pocket, I stare down at the screen for a long moment before opening Hux’s contact for the first time in years.

***

Macy and Hux come rushing through the emergency room doors, spotting me almost instantly.

I stand on shaky legs as Macy throws her arms around me so tightly it nearly knocks the breath from my lungs.

“Oh, sweet Indi,” she says emotionally while holding onto me. “It’s so good to see you. How is he?”

She pulls back only long enough to move straight into Hux’s arms while he wraps himself protectively around her shoulders.

“Hi guys,” I say softly, trying to keep my composure. “I’m sorry it’s under circumstances like this.”

My throat tightens, but I force myself into nurse mode. “He’s still in surgery. There was a complication with an arterial bleed, but so far, the splenectomy is going well. The wound on his head’s stitched, and the abrasions to his leg are superficial and should heal fine—”

“What about his kidney?” Macy interrupts immediately.

“It’s okay,” I reassure her quickly. “They checked it. His transplanted kidney is functioning normally.”

“Oh, thank God,” Hux breathes, squeezing Macy tighter against him.

“Can we see him?” Macy asks hopefully.

I shake my head gently. “Not yet. He’s still in surgery, and then he’ll go into recovery for a few hours.”

Emotion suddenly swells in my chest looking at them standing here together after all this time. These two people who loved me like family, even after I disappeared from their lives all that time ago, without a word.

Sure, Hux eventually found me and made sure I was okay financially, but he never knew the full truth. He never knew I spent weeks sleeping in my car before I found somewhere safe to stay. If he had known, he would have dragged me home himself.

And if I am honest? Maybe he should have.

“Indi.” Hux’s quiet voice pulls me from my thoughts as he steps closer.

“Yeah?”

“We love you. You know that, right?”

My eyes instantly sting with tears again.