Page 56 of Puck Blocked
“I’m going to get you a coffee,” Mom says before walking back down the hall. My dad follows behind her.
I don’t tell them that I won’t drink it. I can’t stomach anything right now. I stare down at my hands, Montana’s blood still staining my skin. I should get up and rinse it off, but I can’t move.
“Managed to get CCTV footage from the cemetery. Vinny’s running through it now,” Gray says as he drops down beside me again.
“I’m going to kill him. It has to be Andrew. Who else would do this to her?”
“My money would be on Andrew too, but we’ll know for sure soon,” Gray says. “And then we’ll find the fucker.”
“She died. She fucking died.” My voice is hoarse, my eyes burning. I won’t cry, though, because she’s going to be okay.
“I know.” Gray grips my shoulder with one of his hands and squeezes. “We will find whoever the fuck did this, Luke. I swear it.”
“What’s happening?” Aliyah’s voice paired with the clicking of heels has us looking up at her.
“What are you doing here?” Gray asks.
“Shut up. Where is she, Luke? What are they doing?”
“She’s still in surgery.” What else can I say? That my entire world is hitched on the skills of whatever fucking surgeon is currently digging around for a piece of lead in my wife’s body?
“She’s okay, right?” Aliyah kneels down in front of me. “She’s okay, Luke. She will be,” she says more firmly.
“She will be,” I repeat, even if my heart doesn’t believe it one hundred percent. “She has to be.”
“You need anything?” King asks from where he’s standing behind Aliyah.
I shake my head. I appreciate that they’re all here. But there’s not much any of us can do but hope.
My mom walks up a few minutes later and hands me a coffee cup. I take it from her hands and place it next to me. “Thanks, Mom.”
I don’t look up again until another set of footsteps approaches our group. A surgeon, judging by the scrubs, with a grim look on his face. My stomach sinks. I’ve seen how this goes in the movies. The whole we did everything we could spiel. I can’t hear that. I won’t.
But instead of running past him and through those doors like I want to, I stand and wait. “Mr. Jameson?” he asks.
“That’s me,” I tell him.
“Right, well, your wife is in recovery.”
His words sink in as I steady my breathing. “She’s alive?” I don’t know why I ask it, but I need to hear it. I need him to confirm.
“She is.” He nods. “It was touch and go there for a bit. But we’re optimistic. We still need to run some tests, but as it stands, there doesn’t appear to be any permanent damage.”
“I need to see her,” I tell him.
“There’s a limit of two visitors at a time.” He glances at the crowd of friends and family currently surrounding me. I don’t give a fuck about anyone else seeing her. I need to see her. “She’s still asleep, but you can follow me.”
“I’ll come with you,” my mom says while stepping up next to me. I nod in acknowledgement and we both follow the doctor.
I’m not prepared for this. I don’t know if I ever could be as I walk over to the bed and see all the machines and wires attached to Montana’s body. I focus on the one that shows me her heartbeat. As long as it’s steady, everything else will be okay.
She’s okay. She’s going to get through this. We will get through this. Together. I reach out and pick up her hand. Her skin is cold. “Why is she so cold?” I ask my mom.
My mom touches the back of her hand to Montana’s forehead. “She’s okay, Luke. It’s just the hospital’s air-conditioning. Hospitals are always cold.”
“She needs another blanket. Montana doesn’t like being cold.”
“I’ll get her another blanket,” Mom says. “Luke?”
