Page 53 of Revived

“Hey Mel, what’s going on?” Chevy asked in a heavily sleep-laden voice.

“Sorry to wake you, Chev, but there’s been an incident.”

“What did my dad do this time?”

“Are you at your mom’s house?”

“Nah, was taking advantage of the quiet, and the studio, at dad’s. What’s up?”

“I don’t want you to panic,” I started.

“Mel!” He growled my name into the phone.

“Your dad was shot by Wen’s crazy wife tonight. He’s in surgery now. She got his leg, but they needed to go in and get some bullet and bone fragments out. He’ll be right as rain in no time.”

“Janet shot my dad?” He asked, in complete shock. “Holy shit! What happened? You know what, never mind. Where are you guys right now?”

“We’re in Nashville, honey. He’s at TriStar Centennial Medical Center.”

“What do you mean, ‘he’s at’? Aren’t you with him?”

“Well, yeah. I rode in the ambulance with him, but he’s in surgery. I’m not sure if they’ll give him a room overnight, or just discharge him after he comes around. Considering parts of his femur splintered off, he’ll probably get an overnight stay at the very least, to make sure they got everything and to keep a watch for infection. The bus and hotel rooms aren’t exactly the best places to try to stay germ free.”

“Mel, you’re rambling. I’m getting ready. Keep your phone on you, okay?”

“Sure. I’m going to call your mom and let her know what’s happened while you get ready.”

“Why?”

“So she can be there for you guys,” I told him and then hung up and immediately dialed Kendra.

“Hey, lady, it’s about time I heard from you! A little late though,” Kendra added, sounding plenty chipper considering the late hour.

“I just talked to Chevy. Gabe is in the hospital here in Nashville.”

“Oh my goodness, what happened?”

“Wen’s wife shot him.”

“Wen’s wife? What in the world? Why would she shoot Gabe?”

“She shot him by accident when they tackled her. I think she came there to kill Wen, or maybe Calista, but that’s not the point. Gabe is the one who was shot and I thought you might want to know so you can be here for him.”

“Melanie?” She turned my name into a question, but honestly, I wasn’t in the best headspace to explain why I thought she’d want to be there. “Is Chevy coming here to get me? Does he need me to go with him?”

“I don’t know. I just thought…” I hesitated, trying to think of the best way to put this. “You seem to have a special relationship with Gabe, so I thought you should know too.”

“I’m going to head up there with Chevy to make sure he’s okay with everything, but Mel, when I get there, we need to sit down and have a talk.”

“Yeah, sure,” I answered back and then, like a coward, I hung up.

“Hey, Mel. How are you holding up? What’s going on with Gabe?” I hadn’t even realized that John and Tim were there until that moment.

“Hey. Is everyone else okay?” I asked instead of answering his questions.

“Everyone is fine. The police are questioning Wen, Alyssa, and Alex right now. They’ll want to talk to you too before it’s all over with, and Gabe, once he’s looked at.”

“He’s in surgery right now.” I went on to explain what was happening with the surgery and why.

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