Page 85 of Camden

“How can I fucking calm down?” I paced, gripping the back of my head, bending at the waist. I wanted to drop to my knees, I wanted to fucking cry. I never cried.

“Cam.” Rylie’s watery voice behind me had me spinning on my heel as Mason, Asher, Gray, and Porter walked through the doors. Her tear-stained face was far too pale. So damn pale. Like she had seen a ghost,or worse.

“Babe.” Mason wrapped his arms around her as a sob wracked her body.

“What happened?” I demanded an answer from anyone who could answer. “What the fuck happened? Somebody tell me something.”

“We can’t give an update to anyone that isn’t family. I’m so sorry, Cam.” Alice spoke up, her voice remorseful.

Grayson stepped forward. I had never been more thankful that he was here. “I’m her brother.”

Alice nodded her head. “All I can tell you is that she came in unconscious but stable. The doctor is looking at her now. As soon as he has an update for you, I’ll let you know.”

“Oh, my god.” Rylie closed her eyes and covered her mouth with a trembling hand like she was about to be sick. “Wait, Alice.” She stepped out of Mason’s hold and walked over to where we were standing. She laid a shaking hand on my forearm. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, before looking at Alice. “She thought she could be pregnant.”

It felt like a punch straight to my gut, knocking every ounce of oxygen from my body. “What?” I asked, just as Alice nodded her head, letting us know she would inform the doctor.

Pregnant? How could she not tell me?

Rylie’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry. She didn’t want you to find out like this.” Her shoulders shook almost violently. I wrapped my arms around her and let her cry. I let her cry for herself. For Stephanie.

I walked Rylie through the waiting room to the seats where Mason pulled her from me. When we took a seat, Noel and Haley joined us. Asher jumped up, wrapping Haley in a hug. He let her go but kept her hand braced in his as they sat down.

“What happened?” I asked Haley and Rylie, who were clasping each other’s hands so tightly their knuckles were white.

They looked at each other, Rylie nodding to Haley. “She called Rylie this afternoon. She said she hadn’t been feeling well and thought it was food poisoning or the stomach flu.”

I nodded my head. “I didn’t want to leave her this morning. I never should have fucking left her.” I gripped the back of my neck and bit my upper lip to keep myself under control.

“Don’t do that, Cam,” Rylie said, vehemently. “Don’t blame yourself for any of this. She made you go. I know because I made Mason go.”

Haley nodded in agreement before continuing. “She called because she was freaking out about the result.” My throat grew tight. “She wasn’t scared, though. She was freaking out because she wanted it to be true,” Haley clarified before I could panic too much. “We convinced her to take the test and then go downstairs to get a drink while it processed. We were joking about finding fun ways for her to tell you when there was a loud bang, glass shattering, and Stephanie screaming.” Haley paused, blinking rapidly, taking a deep breath to keep her composure.

Asher wrapped an arm around her and held her close. “It was awful. We couldn’t see anything, but he told her to hang up the phone. She must have just turned the volume down and flipped the screen so that we could see the ceiling. I’m guessing she sat the phone down. He told her he was taking her home.”

“Who told her?” Gray asked, jaw clenched and eyes hard. He stood tall, every muscle tight. He looked every bit like the Marine he was.

Rylie looked at him and then at me, swallowing hard. “Jax. She said, Jax.”

“Son of a bitch,” Grayson bit out. “He’s here?” He looked at Noel and Porter.

Both hesitated before nodding in unison. “He has guards posted outside of his room. He won’t be going anywhere,” Noel said. “He was in pretty bad shape when he was brought in.

“Good,” Gray spit and cracked his knuckles. “I want to kill him.”

“You probably shouldn’t say that in front of the cops, bud,” Haley said, and he smirked at her.

Gray huffed, cocking a brow. “I don’t think the cops care too much right now.”

“Nope,” I agreed. “What happened next?”

“We heard her tell him no and there was a struggle. She screamed. God, her screams. It was awful. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.” Rylie hiccupped, before burying her face in Mason’s chest. His hand combed her hair as he held her. His eyes filled with anger, probably mirroring my own.

“I called the cops on my phone and handed it over to Rylie before I took off down the street. I knew I would make it there before they did.”

“You just ran into danger? Are you fucking kidding me, Haley?” Asher’s composure broke as his voice rose. “What were you thinking?”

She threw her arms in the air, stood, and started pacing. “I don’t fucking know. I thought that my best friend was being attacked. That I couldn’t just wait to see what happened. That I had to help her.” Her chest heaved. Grayson pulled her in for a hug, whispering in her ear. She nodded against his chest.

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