Page 85 of Back On Ice

The hospital. I need to get to him.

My phone drops out of my hand and I rush out of the door, Abbie’s voice calling after me.

Is he dying? Did his dad attack him? Or did things turn violent and he got caught in the crossfire? I try to tamp down the irrational anger rising in my chest. They assured me that he would be safe. He’s obviously not safe if he had to go to the damn hospital.

I can’t breathe. Why can’t I fucking breathe?

My heart pounds harder as I yank on the door to my car. Why won’t this thing open? Despite logic telling me that if the first three times I tried to open it didn’t work, it’s probably locked, my hand continues to pull on the handle, desperate to get into the goddamn car so I can get to Carter.

He’s probably wondering where I am?—

“Sophie!” Abbie’s voice cuts through my frantic thoughts as her hand lands on my shoulder. I shudder, gasping in a breath and letting my forehead fall to the glass of the window.

“The car won’t open!” I hardly recognize the voice that comes out of me.

“Sophie, babe, look at me.” Abbie’s hands grasp both my shoulders and turn me around. “None of that,” she tsks, taking her thumbs and swiping them across my cheeks. Have I been crying? “Take a deep breath,” she orders, and I struggle to follow her directions.

“I… can’t!” I gasp out, holding onto her forearms for support.

“You can, and you will.” Abbie says firmly. “This stress isn’t good for the baby, Soph. Take a deep breath.”

The baby. Think of the baby.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath.

“That’s it,” she murmurs, rubbing circles on my shoulders with her thumb. “Deep breaths.”

I take one, then two more, and feel my heart rate slowing down. My eyes open, and I’m met with Abbie’s concerned gaze. “Nowyou’recrying.” I point out, and she releases me, wiping under her eyes.

“I’ll drive,” she says, grabbing her car keys from her back pocket.

Swallowing, I nod, and move to Abbie’s car as she gets into the driver’s side. The drive to the hospital is tense, and I spend most of it concentrating on taking deep, measured breaths. Just like that, I’m back in the car on the way to the hospital when Sarah and Tom had their accident. Will this turn out the same way? Am I walking into a room where the love of my life is dying? Or worse… already dead?

As soon as we pull into the visitor lot of the hospital my panic spikes. Carter is here, in this building, and he could be dying. I fly out of the car a second before Abbie even puts the car in park. The automatic doors slide open for me and I’m greeted by the flickering fluorescent lights of the ER waiting room.

There’s a nurse station straight ahead and I charge towards it. “Excuse me,” I gasp out, catching my breath from running. “I’m here to see Carter Williams. I don’t know if he’s in trauma or what, but a nurse called me?—”

“Ah, Miss Hartwell.” The nurse smiles kindly. “That was me. I can take you to his room now.”

“Thank you,” I nod, following after her as she walks down the hallway. Fluorescent lights illuminate the stark white hallways as we pass by another nurse’s station where a few of them are gathered around a computer. How can everything be so calm when my heart is pounding so hard I’m surprised it’s not making an imprint in my chest?

“Here we are,” she says, opening the door and walking in first. “Mr. Williams, you have a visitor.” She steps aside, and my steps falter when I’m met with…

Carter, looking completely fine. His phone is in his hand, and he hits a button and lays it on the bed when he sees me, a genuine lighting up his face.

“Angel! I’ve been trying to call you, but your phone just keeps ringing.” There’s a nurse on his other side, wrapping his arm in bandages. “I got a little bullet graze, but they stitched me up and I’ll be good as new soon enough. They already said they can discharge me tonight.”

I’m rushing him and throwing my arms around his neck, quiet sobs wracking my body.

“Oof!” He lets out a grunt, wrapping one arm around me.

“Careful,” the nurse, who just finished wrapping his arm, chides.

Her words do nothing to loosen my grasp on him. He scared the shit out of me. I can already feel my sobs turn into gasping breaths again.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Soph. It’s okay, I’m okay,” he murmurs into my hair. My breathing doesn’t slow though. I could have losthim. I just got him back, and he could have been ripped from my life, leaving me to raise our child by myself.

Black spots cloud my vision, and my head feels light. “I feel like I’m going to… faint…” I manage to choke out, my hands fisting his shirt.

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