Page 86 of SALT

"Get under the table," Lauren yells, but I'm not quick enough, and searing pain shoots through my head before everything goes black.

Chapter 31

Everett

It only took five minutes after my driver pulled away from the park for me to fully embrace the error I had made in walking away. I thought I was making the right decision. I thought the pain I felt every time I put one foot in front of the other, leaving her behind, was my own selfish heart battling what it wanted versus what was best. Even my brother's words as I left the parking lot weren't enough for my stubborn ass to move. My mind still hadn't caught up with my heart. That didn't happen until I was driving over the Mississippi to a destination unknown. When I left the gala, it was to go home, but as the miles that separated us grew, so did my fault. There was no home for me to go to if she was not there. She is my home.

Once my mind was made up and I was going back for my girl, I couldn't turn around quick enough. The nearest exit to turn around once you cross over the river into Illinois is five miles, and in the time it took us to change course, the storm that had been brewing was in full force. Rain was pelting the car in sheets, and the driver had no choice but to pull over, unable to see the road in front of him. Now I'm stuck hopelessly on the side of the highway, refreshing my phone every five seconds thinking maybe this time it will load the weather radar so I can see when the eye of the storm will be past us.

"Fucking useless." I pound my fist into the leather seat beside me as I throw my head back against the seat rest. The service right now is shit. My phone won't load past twenty percent. It's why I'm surprised when it vibrates in my hand. Holding my phone up, I see it's a call from an unknown number with a St. Louis area code.

"Everett Callahan," I answer hastily, hoping the call doesn't drop.

"Mr. Callahan, this is Renee at Barnes Jewish. We have you down as the emergency contact for Cameron Salt. There's been an accident, and…" There's silence. I pull the phone away from my ear and see the call says it's still connected.

"Hello. Can you hear me?" I demand as I rake my hand through my hair and my stomach churns. I lean forward and grip the seat back in front of me. "Start driving," I say to my chauffeur.

"She's resting now," comes through as her words trail off again.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I mutter to myself. "Can you hear me?" I yell loudly into the phone as if that will strengthen the connection.

"We didn't know about the baby before she was sedated and…"

"The baby! What baby?" I screech before I throw open the back door, giving zero fucks about getting drenched as I walk to the driver's side door, pull it open, and say, "Get out. I'm fucking driving."

The driver's eyes widen. "This is my car."

"Do I look like I give a fuck? Get out," I grind out forcefully.

My hand darts out to pull him out, done with wasting any more seconds when he throws his hands up. "Okay, okay, I'll get in the back."

He climbs out, and I cut the call. I have the name of the hospital. I'll figure out the rest. Going to my contacts, I pull up Connor's number. He was there, maybe he's with her. The call takes forever to connect, and once it finally does, it goes straight to voicemail. "Damn it."

Why the fuck did I leave? How could I be so dumb? I'll never forgive myself if something happens to her or the baby. Baby... I clench my jaw. How is that even possible? She told me she had an IUD. As I pull onto the highway, the rain still hasn't let up. It's nearly zero visibility. I go slow because it's the only option, but slow is better than not at all. There's no way in hell I'm going to sit stranded on the side of the highway knowing my girl is in the hospital with a broken heart, one that's in pieces because of me, while carrying our baby nonetheless. Our baby.

I let that sink in as I try to decipher how it happened. Did she lie to me about having an IUD? It's possible. I know Cameron had a crush on me for years, but what she didn't realize was that the feelings weren't completely one-sided. She could have lied in hopes of trapping me. It's a fucked-up thought, but maybe the better one is, do I care? Did I see myself having more kids this late in life? No, but I want everything with her, including the baby. Her words from dinner echo through my mind, "How could I not want something that's a piece of me and the person I love?"

"Fuck." I need to get to the hospital. I hit my hand on the steering wheel, pissed that I put myself in this position to begin with. If I hadn't left, I wouldn't have been in this position. There's no way she would have gotten hurt. I would have sacrificed myself a hundred times over to ensure it.

An hour later, I'm finally pulling up outside the emergency room. I exit the car without a parting word, unworried about settling up. He has my information, and whatever he saw on my face when I insisted on driving kept him silent the entire way here. I rush to the reception desk.

"Excuse me," I try to grab the brunette's attention.

"I'll be with you in a moment, sir. There's a line in front of you."

That's when I look around and notice the full lobby and nurses walking around with boards assessing injuries and assigning numbers. "I'm here to see a patient that's already been checked in. I'm not here for an injury."

She holds up her hand and answers a call on her hospital phone. Fuck this. I can't stand here and wait. I've been doing that for the past hour, and I'm seconds away from causing a scene of my own. That's when a nurse swiping her card to go back to the rooms catches my eye. I make a quick decision to slip in behind her.

"Sir, you can't go back there," I hear one of the nurses behind the desk call out, but it's too late. The door closes, and I take off down the hall without knowing where I'm going.

A doctor stops me when he sees what's going on. "Hey, you have to be checked in."

"I know, but I need to get to my girl, and it's packed out there."

He nods. "Who are you looking for?"

"Cameron Salt, she was brought in earlier."

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