Page 171 of The Pact

Damian’s words replay in my head. They don’t know if he’s going to make it. I was numb when he first said it, but now they are ripping through my chest—I’ve never felt pain like this.

Sutton is the first person who truly cared about me. He was the first person I ever really cared about and not in the way that you have to care about someone. I cared about my parents, although only because I was supposed to—they brought me into this world. But Sutton, I chose to love. I chose to spend my time with him, and our connection is deeper than I can ever describe.

The universe or some higher being brought us back together after a decade a part, that wasn’t a coincidence. He came back into my life at the exact right time and now…now I’m about to lose him. I don’t care if I sound like a petulant child. That’s not fair. It isn’t fair that he’s in surgery fighting for his life. And it isn’t fair that he might be ripped from me just when I got him back.

I’m crying uncontrollably in the backseat while Wesley hounds Damian to tell him word for word what was said.

Damian sighs and gives in. “It was his dad on the phone. He said that Sutton lost control of his bike and crashed. There was a car behind him that saw what happened. They stopped and called an ambulance. He’s in surgery now, but the doctors aren’t saying much.” Even through my crying, I can hear the fear in Damian’s voice as he recounts the message.

Wesley turns and reaches out to put a hand on my leg. “He will be okay. Sutton’s not going anywhere.” I want to believe him, but it’s so hard. We have no information. That might be the worst part.

Damian whips his Audi around the parking lot and finds a spot. We race for the hospital entrance. Each step closer makes my stomach knot tighter. This doesn’t feel real. Sutton just had his arms around me this morning. It must be a nightmare.

“I’m his fucking brother. Tell me where he is!” Damian’s shouting at the nurse when I catch up to him and Wesley. The sensible part of me knows I should try to calm him, however, that’s not the part of me that’s in control right now.

“You heard him. Tell us where to go!” I bang my hand on the counter.

The elderly woman picks up the phone and I know she’s probably calling security.

“Damian? Wesley?” Someone calls out their names and our heads snap in the voice’s direction.

Standing down the hall is a thin man that I recognize as Sutton’s dad. He’s aged a little, but it’s him. Damian and Wesley run to him. I follow closely behind.

He leads us to a waiting room, where I see Sutton’s mom sitting, a tissue in hand. My heart cracks at the sight. They both give her a long hug.

“What do we know?” Damian asks, he’s keeping it together well. Although, I can see the tenseness wringing his body. Wesley is fidgeting nervously. Meanwhile, I’m keeping my distance, afraid I’m going to burst into tears again.

Sutton’s dad updates us. “He’s still in surgery. He has multiple broken bones as well as a collapsed lung. He also has fluid in his abdomen, but they can’t tell where it’s coming from. They said it could be hours.”

My hand comes up to keep the gasp from leaving out of my mouth.

“Thea?” Sutton’s mom looks past Damian, recognizing me. “It’s been so long.” She smiles warmly. “Sutton told me you two reconnected. I was happy to hear it.” She comes over to me and wraps her arms around me. “It’s so good to see you.” Her hand brushes over my cheek. “All these years…he’s never stopped talking about you.”

My lip quivers at her words. My sweet Sutton. I feel like a piece of my soul is being torn from my body and I know if I lose him, I’ll never be the same.

“He’ll be fine. It’ll all be fine,” she consoles. How can she comfort me right now? Her son is in critical condition and she’s here telling me how happy she is to see me. I can’t bear it. I can’t bear the motherly kindness of it in my rawness.

Sobs wrack my body. I know everyone is staring at me, probably unsure of what to do. I’m making a scene which only makes me cry harder.

Wesley rubs my back. Sutton’s mom steps aways and he pulls me into him. “Listen, I know this is terrifying, but you need to calm down. You’re going to make yourself sick. There’s nothing we can do right now.” I know that he’s trying to be helpful, but it only angers me.

I pull away from him. “I need a minute.” Damian opens his mouth to object. However, my glare stops him. I can’t listen to everyone say it’ll be okay when they don’t know. Those are lies people tell themselves to feel better in the moment. I don’t want lies. I want the truth. This is a scary situation and there’s no guarantee Sutton will live. We don’t know.

I’m not sure if anyone’s told Cole. Considering what we learned just before getting the call, I’m assuming not. Despite what he’s done, he needs to be here for his brother. I can’t be the reason he isn’t.

Opening my phone, I start typing out a message. I don’t want to tell him everything because he needs to get here safely. I walk away from the waiting room in case Damian or Wesley come to check on me. As I’m about to hit send, I hear my name.

Looking up, I see Cole coming towards me. “How did you know?” It’s the first thing that comes to mind.

“Sutton’s mom called me. I told her I wasn’t with Damian or Wes and to call them after we got off the phone. I got here as soon as I could.” He reaches out to embrace me, but I recoil without thinking. His eyes narrow. “What’s wrong? Oh god, did you get an update on him?”

Taking a deep breath, I steady myself. “No, he’s still in surgery. We won’t know anything for a while. Can we talk…privately?”

“Yeah, of course. Is everything alright?”

I head farther away from the waiting room. There’s too many people around, not really, although it feels like it. I don’t stop until we are outside of the hospital doors.

I don’t know how to start this conversation, so I dive in, head first.

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