Page 9 of Revived

And I did know that. John and I had one another’s backs from the beginning. We were tossed together as roommates, and possibly bandmates, from the moment I landed in Los Angeles and we’d been like brothers ever since. Jade had been there then too, it was the years in between that had been up and down for them.

“We’ll collect your security man as we go by the waiting area to get to your son’s new room.”

I followed blindly behind the man, not really seeing anything along the way until Ray came into view. “Gabe!” He called out my name, a frantic, emotional plea in his voice. “I tried to get to him in time,” he told me.

“What the hell happened, Ray? Why is my son in the hospital?”

“His girl was getting out the car, and some asshole came blazing by,” Ray started to tell me.

I turned to the doctor who just told me there wasn’t a girlfriend here. “You said-”

“There was no girl brought in with him,” the doctor reconfirmed.

I turned back to Ray whose dim eyes met mine. Shit. Please, God, no. Ray shook his head. “He tried to get to her but couldn’t make it. He was clipped pretty good by the car, but she…” He visibly shook as the memory ran back through his mind. “She took the brunt of the impact from a car that never slowed down.”

“What the fuck?” Anger coursed through my veins. “Did they catch the son of a bitch?”

“Dave and Mike took off after the car. Haven’t heard back from them yet,” Ray confirmed. If Dave and Mike took off after the vehicle, then whoever had been driving would be brought to swift justice. They would not play around and the only thing that might save the person was if the police got to them first.

What was I supposed to do with that information though? I wondered if Chevy knew about his girl. Did he see it happen? Would he remember? Jesus, what a clusterfuck. “As soon as his mom gets here, I want her brought to him. No questions. If for some reason his siblings came too, they will be allowed back to see him as well. I don’t care what the hospital’s rules on visitors are. He’ll have a private room, with security, and family will be welcome.”

I could have sworn the doctor rolled his eyes as I swung my celebrity status around like I could skirt their rules by sheer dint of will. “What about the girl’s parents? Have they been told yet?”

“I think they’re on their way here with Miss Kendrick,” Ray told me as we stopped outside of a door.

“This is it.” We stood outside of a door, but the doctor stopped me from going inside immediately. It’s important that you know, things look worse than they are. Your son has quite the recovery period because his leg will need surgery and then he’ll have a healing process including some serious physical therapy.”

“Will he walk again?”

“As long as he remains positive and puts in the work, you shouldn’t even know he was ever in an accident beyond a bit of scarring.”

I nodded my head and then pushed the door open without knocking. What greeted me there took my breath away. “Oh Chevy!” His name caught in my throat, an awful, choked sound. He was black and blue in spots. His left arm and hand were mottled with bruises, as was his jaw. His foot was up in some sort of traction device. I didn’t know and when I was able to process a bit more, I’d get someone to explain that a bit more. I knew he hurt his leg, but I still wasn’t sure what exactly was wrong with it.

My son tilted his head slightly to the side and opened his eyes to see me standing there by his bedside. A tortured look twisted his face. “She’s gone,” he moaned.

I just nodded because what else could I do? I’d just been told that it might very well be the case. “It’s my fault,” he managed to get out through the grief that was ripping him to pieces.

“It was not your fault. You tried to save her and ended up here, like this.”

“No,” he moaned. “She wouldn’t even have been here if I hadn’t bullied her into coming. I wanted Opal to see what my life was going to be like as a musician. I needed her to know what she was signing on for.”

I pulled a chair over beside his bed. “Chev, that’s not your fault. I know you wanted her here, wanted to gauge whether it would work out between you two or not, but son, some asshole who never stopped and sped through a damn New York City street was to blame. Not you. Never you.”

“Did they get him?”

“Our guys took off after him immediately. I’m still waiting to hear if they managed to keep on their tail or not. It was more important to me to come see you first before demanding more updates.”

“Is Mom on her way?”

“You know she is,” I told him.

“Good.” That was the last thing he said to me before he passed out, and I wondered if this would be the moment when I truly lost my son. Maybe he would hate me now, give up music, and go back home to his family. “What if he blames me and never wants to see me again?” I murmured to myself as I hung my head and thought about giving prayer a try. I couldn’t lose my boy. Not now.

“His pain meds kicked in,” a woman’s voice called out from the doorway.

“What?” I asked as I turned to see a woman standing there in blue and white scrubs that looked like clouds. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a tidy, yet fancy-looking braid of some sort.

“His pain meds kicked in. That’s why he just went out like that. I don’t think it has anything to do with him thinking anything was your fault.” If eyes could hold hugs, hers surely did. The warmth, and depth of understanding she held for someone who was a complete stranger to her, meant a lot.

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