Page 179 of Staying Selfless

“She only has one kidney. Please tell them that,” I request, my voice and heart broken.

“I will.” He gives me a reassuring pat on the shoulder before he runs down the hall of the hospital in the direction they took my girl.

Somehow, I get back in my truck to park it where it should be before I rush into the hospital’s main lobby.

“They just brought my girlfriend in here in an ambulance,” I frantically tell the woman at reception as I lean over, my palms flat against the desk, trying to catch my breath. “Her name is Logan. She was in a car accident on campus. They just brought her in.”

“Okay, honey,” the woman at the desk coos. “It’s okay. I can’t do much until her family gets here, though.”

“I am her family!”

The woman isn’t startled by my tone at all. She remains perfectly calm, though I’m completely thrown off. Why isn’t she intimated by the 6’4” guy who is screaming at her?

I look to her name tag. ‘Carla.’

“Honey, I can’t give you any information,” she says in her sweet tone. “I can only speak with immediate family.”

“She doesn’t have any immediate family left,” I frantically explain. “It’s just her and I.”

“Okay.” Carla offers me an apologetic smile. “What’s your name?”

“Eli.”

“Okay, Eli. Why don’t you take a seat, and I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Thank you,” I say on the exhale. “Thank you.”

I pace the empty lobby a few times before taking a seat in the waiting room.

Leaning forward, I place my elbows on my bouncing knees as I try to calm myself down.

What if she’s not okay?

I grip my thighs, trying to stop my shaking limbs, my knuckles turning white from my hold. I want to scream. I want to cry. My heart won’t stop racing. It feels like it’s about to explode out of my chest.

“EJ,” my brother calls out, running through the main lobby doors.

I stand to hug him, needing to anchor myself right now, needing to feel something physical. I feel like I’m floating around through the abyss of the unknown, not knowing if Logan will be okay, not knowing if I’ll ever see her again.

That thought alone causes me to grip my brother’s shirt in my hands, balling it in my fists, trying to relieve the pressure sitting on my chest. I drop my head to his shoulder as he holds onto me even tighter.

There’s a small hand rubbing the length of my forearm, and when I look up, I find Ali standing with my brother and me. I release one arm from the death grip I have on Marc so I can swing it around Ali, pulling her into this hug, holding Logan’s two best friends in my arms.

And that’s when I fucking lose it.

Right there in the middle of the waiting room, I start silently sobbing uncontrollably into my brother’s shoulder.

Everything I’ve felt in the last twenty minutes, all the fear, adrenaline, and panic are all settling in, and my body can no longer contain it.

“Eli, honey,” the woman at the front desk softly calls out.

My red and tear-filled eyes dart to her as she motions me over. I release Marc and Ali, their cheeks stained with tears the same as mine.

“Here’s the deal,” Carla quietly says. “You are her husband, okay? If anyone asks any questions, you two are married. I can’t discuss medical information with you unless you’re immediate family. Does that make sense?”

I wipe my eyes with the heel of my palms before I nod in agreement.

“Can you help me out by giving me some information?”

---