The nurse looks down at her computer and sighs. “I’m afraid the doctors are still working on her. If you’d like to have a seat in the waiting room, I’ll have someone update you as soon as possible.”
I look at her pleadingly. “Can you at least tell me if she’s all right?”
“Are you family?”
Fuck. “No.”
She sighs, glancing from side to side before leaning in. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, so if anyone asks, you know nothing.”
I nod.
“EMTs responded to a call of an opiate overdose. When they arrived, she was unresponsive and not breathing. They managed to get her heart beating again and had to give her multiple doses of Narcan. Right now, she has the best doctors we have working on her. I can promise you, they’ll do everything they can.”
Everything goes quiet, except for the ringing in my ears that becomes deafeningly loud. Just then, a doctor moves a curtain for a second to step out and I get a glimpse inside. Tessa lies in the bed, looking completely lifeless except for the subtle beeping of the heart monitor. There are tubes coming from her mouth and nurses on both sides of her are working tirelessly.
I’m going to be sick.
“Just have a seat in the waiting room, Mr. Hawthorne,” the nurse at the desk says kindly, and I realize I never told her who I am.
“Thank you for your help, and I’d appreciate it if my being here is kept under wraps.”
“Absolutely. Let me know if you need anything at all.”
I walk away and head toward the waiting room. How I’m expected to just sit and wait without completely losing my mind is beyond me. Just as I’m about to turn the corner, however, a familiar voice causes me to freeze.
“She has to be okay. She has to.”
Another person exhales heavily. “Easton, sit down.”
“I mean, they got her heart beating again. That’s a good sign, right?”
I know I can’t sit in there. He’s the reason she had access to these pills in the first place. I’m sure of it. And judging by the way he looked at me the other day, I’m sure he’s not my biggest fan either. All putting us in a room together will do is cause a fight, and I don’t want to get kicked out of the hospital.
I turn around and walk away, knowing I’m going to have to find somewhere else to wait. Meanwhile, I pull my phone from my pocket. There’s no way in hell I’m going to be somewhere further away from her, without a way to see what’s going on. I press speed dial three and wait for an answer.
“The fuck you calling me this early for?” Colby barks, like I just woke him up.
“I’ll explain everything later, but I need the name and number of the IT guy you use to delete pictures off girls’ phones.”
“Ooh,” he coos. “Did Asher get himself in a bit of a pinch?”
I shake my head even though he can’t see me. “Not even close. I’ll explain everything later, I just need his info and I need it now.”
AFTER PLACING THE PHONE call to a guy who solely goes by Sketch, it only takes a few minutes before I’m texted a link to a secure server by a blocked number. I click it and a window opens. Just like that, I’ve got access to the security camera placed right outside Tessa’s room. Thank you Sketch.
I SPEND HOURS STARING at the camera feed and willing her to wake up. To have some kind of response. To give the doctors something to go off of so they stop walking out of her room with grim looks on their faces.
The coffee shop near the front lobby, where I’ve decided to take up temporary residence, fills with people trying to get something to eat before heading to work or visiting patients. I stay in the corner booth, keeping my attention focused on my phone. The sun peeks out from behind the building across the street and shines right in my face. I realize it’s almost ten in the morning. It’s been six hours, and we still don’t know anything.
Just then, an alarm starts going off and doctors rush in, flooding her room. I can’t stay away anymore. I need to know what’s going on. Standing up from the table, I toss my empty cup into the trash and sprint out the door.
The ICU is chaos, with people running around and scrambling to grab the things they need. The nurse I spoke to before comes out of her room, seeing me standing there with a panicked look on my face. She glances back for a second and sighs.
“I tried coming to find you before but you weren’t in the waiting room,” she tells me. “I have to help your friend. Go wait there and I’ll come talk to you as soon as I can.”
My friend. Doesn’t she realize she’s so much more than that? The word friend is something I would use to describe Griffin, or maybe even Colby on a bad day when he’s pissed me off enough to drop him down from brother status. But Tessa? She deserves so much better than friend. Girlfriend, Fiancée, Wife…Lover even, but not friend. Definitely not friend.
Everything in my brain is foggy as I walk into the waiting room. I completely forget about the reason I didn’t come wait here in the first place until I turn the corner. Easton’s eyes land on me and his brows furrow.