TOBY
Stella and Seb are climbing out of her new Porsche when I fly into the hospital car park not all that long after leaving a concerned looking Jodie in the hallway of her house.
She begged me to let her come, but I’d long since shut down after hearing Stella’s words.
The only focus in my mind was getting to Mum, to find out what was happening.
Pure blood-chilling fear raced through my veins as I drove like a wild beast through the city to where I know she’s going to be lying in a hospital bed.
I stupidly allowed myself to believe that after everything she’s been through, she might be okay. That her days of hospitals, treatment and generally being miserable were over. Clearly, I was wrong.
“What’s happening?” I bark as I sprint to where they’re waiting for me.
Stella is pale as she clings to Seb like he’s a lifeline, and it does little to help the panic rising within me.
“We don’t know. Dad rang seconds before I called you to say that she was in an ambulance and coming here. She passed out, but that’s all he could tell me.”
“Fuck,” I bark, scrubbing my hand down my face. “Why the fuck are we standing out here then?”
Storming past them, I head toward the doors that will lead up to Accident and Emergency.
Heads lift the second I storm inside, but I don’t pay them any mind as I search the mass of people for Galen.
He jumps up the second he sees me, his face wrecked, his eyes bloodshot and his hair a fucking mess. He looks nothing like the put-together man I’ve become used to over the past few months.
“Toby,” he calls as he starts moving closer to me.
The second he’s in touching distance, he shocks the shit out of me by pulling me into his arms, squeezing me hard enough to hurt as his entire body trembles in fear. The kind of soul-shattering feeling I more than share right now.
“Dad,” Stella cries from behind me. Galen releases his hold on me and pulls her into our embrace.
Despite the situation, having both of them here, having their arms around me makes it so much more bearable. Previously, I had to deal with Mum’s illness with only the support of my aunt Penny and the cold and twisted fuck who called himself my father.
I know that was my fault. I could have told the guys what was happening. I could have had their support as she faced treatment and dealt with the side effects of it all, but I knew that if I opened up, they’d dive deeper into my life, and quite frankly, shit was bad enough without them learning the truth. I figured that we could all only fight one battle at a time, and Mum was the most pressing of those issues.
“What do you know?” I ask when Galen finally releases us.
Stella sniffles, and I fight not to look over at her as she lifts her hand to wipe a tear from her cheek. If I see her falling apart, then I already know it’s going to break me.
“Nothing,” Galen says, his voice deep and raspy as he fights with the emotion clogging his throat. “They took her straight through when we got here and I haven’t heard anything since.”
“Jesus,” I mutter, taking a step away from the two of them and marching toward the reception.
“Toby,” Stella calls. “There’s nothing you can do. Just give them time.” But despite knowing her words are true, I can’t stand the idea of being useless, so I continue forward and interrupt the person talking to the woman behind the desk.
“I need to know what’s happening with Maria Ariti,” I demand, ignoring the protests of the woman who was halfway through explaining whatever her issue is.
“I’m sorry, sir. If you could just—”
“No, I need to know what’s going on. Can you get a doctor?”
“Sir, please—”
“Toby, bro. Just chill out, yeah?” Seb’s voice cuts through my desperation, and his warm hand lands on my shoulder. “Just let them do their job.”
“But—”
“I know, man. I fucking know.” His other hand wraps around my upper arm, and after apologising for my rudeness, he drags me away and into a quiet corridor that leads to a set of double doors.