Page 161 of Broken Saint
“What?” Brax asks innocently. “West is still naked,” he points out in an attempt to change the subject.
“Yeah, we’re all still aware of that,” Leon mutters, taking his seat again and pulling Macie with him.
“You can’t hook up with Colt’s doctor,” Peyton says, ignoring Brax’s attempt at a subject change while West finally pulls some clothes on.
“Why not? As far as I see it, if she gets some proper downtime, some…” He wiggles his brows. “Relaxation, then she’ll be a better doctor.”
“Jesus,” Kane mutters, scrubbing his hand down his face.
“I’m all about helping my boy.”
“And it of course has nothing to do with the fact she was hot,” West mutters.
“Oh, was she?” Brax asks in a faux-shocked voice. “I didn’t notice.”
A ripple of laughter floats around the room, but no one feels the joy in it. We might have had good news, but until we see him awake and well, we’re not going to relax.
The girls do three more coffee runs while we all sit there waiting, none of which I drink.
I can’t. My stomach is too twisted up with anxiety and fear. Every time I swallow some, I’m sure I’m going to vomit it straight back up on the floor.
I sit beside West, his hand gripping mine tightly and his knee bouncing uncontrollably as he tries to get a handle on this situation.
I want to help, but I don’t know how to when I’m also falling apart at the seams.
My skin feels too tight for my body. Every inch of me aches as if I’m the one in a hospital bed. And my heart…fuck. The pain is unbearable. The fear from those first few moments when he didn’t get back up, the sight of them giving him CPR…it won’t leave me.
I might have heard from the doctor that he’s stable, but until I see it with my own eyes, I’m not going to be able to let go of it.
“Does anyone want something to eat?” Letty offers.
Unsurprisingly, the guys all agree, giving her a list as long as her arm to get from the shop on the ground floor.
“Ella?” she asks, turning her eyes on me.
The knot in my stomach tightens further.
“N-no. I’m okay. Thank you,” I say quietly.
Her eyes hold mine, but thankfully, she doesn’t push it. Instead, she stands, tugging on Kane’s arm so he can help her.
“We won’t be long. I’ve got my cell if?—”
The door opens and the nurse who accompanied the doctor earlier steps into the room.
“Can we see him now?” West says, jumping to his feet and pulling me with him.
“Yes,” the nurse confirms.
It’s everything I’ve wanted since the moment we were told he was stable, but instead of feeling relieved, I’m even more terrified than before.
“We’ll be back with updates,” West says in a rush before tugging me toward the door as the nurse backs out of the room again.
We follow him down the hallway toward the signs for intensive care.
Each and every one makes the tears that are cascading down my cheeks run faster.
This is wrong.