Page 113 of From Us, Forever

Upon my arrival, Mikey gave me a small smile. He ventured out and returned a few minutes later with a nurse carrying a tray.

“Let’s get that cleaned up for you,” he said in a gentle tone, pointing at my lips.

And when I started to protest, he gave me a look. “No word, E. I don’t want you catching an infection.”

I nodded.

He took the seat beside me while the nurse offered a kind smile and situated herself on the coffee table opposite me.

“This is going to sting,” she said, dabbing the cotton swab dipped with alcohol all over my broken lip. I could barely feel it at all.

In a breeze, she was done after dabbing some ointment on the wound, asking me to keep applying it three times a day.

Soon, a nurse arrived to inform us that the surgery was still in progress, and she didn’t have any further update at the moment.

Sighing, we all went back to staring at nothingness.

An hour later, the doors burst open once again, bringing in a distraught Emily and Richard, and my stomach twisted in knots.

Mikey and Matty hurried to their side.

Emily was openly sobbing. “Is he okay? Please tell me my son is okay,” she wailed, gripping Mikey’s shoulders.

“Emily, he’s going to be fine.” Mikey rubbed small circles down her back. “The doctors are working on him, but you know how strong he is. He’ll pull through. Why don’t you and Richard take a seat? We’ll know soon, okay?”

“Come on, darling. He’s right. Our boy will make it through.” Richard comforted her, pulling her to the empty seats opposite me. Both of them looked up right at me as theyeased down. Richard nodded while Emily wiped her eyes and gave me a wistful smile.

And all I could do was blink as my heart tightened.

All the commotion woke Lily up. She jumped, confused for a second when her eyes landed on her parents, and then her expression faltered as she hastened to her mother’s arms. The sounds of their crying filled the room, intensifying the never-ending pit of guilt swirling in me.

Suddenly, the four plain walls felt constricting, almost as if they were closing in on me. I leaped to my feet and bolted out of there; I had to get out.

I treaded through the dimly lit hallways that barely had anyone in sight. I had no idea where I was going. All I knew was that I couldn’t stay in that room anymore. The soft fall of my footsteps echoed through the walls as I edged to the end of the hallway.

A cold breeze swept through the nervousness coating my skin, and I gasped as I leaned against an open window by the stairway.

My eyes rounded when they landed on the crowd lining up outside the hospital, holding signs and chanting something I couldn’t hear. I knew they were all here for him.

“Thought I’d lost you,” Mikey said as he came to a stop beside me, his eyes trained on the people. “Word got out. We’ve said it’s an accident—it’s better to keep it that way.”

I nodded, dragging the cold midnight air into my lungs. And we just stood there, no words spoken as I kept my mind still.

“How did you find me?”

“We found the other phone.” Mikey sighed, sweeping a stray strand of his long blond hair over his ear. “Turns out, Denniswas granted bail earlier today. It didn’t take long to connect the dots. Julian’s influence sped things up.”

“Why did he get in alone?” I asked the bitter question, but I already knew the answer to that. I would’ve done the same thing too.

“He wouldn’t listen, but can you blame him?” Mikey slid a small smile my way. “He lost his mind when we found out that you went missing. We all did.”

“All I wanted to do was go home and sleep with him. Now I don’t even know if I can do that.” My voice carried through the wind in a morose whisper.

“You still can.” He slung his arm over my shoulders, and I leaned against him. “He is going to come back mighty fine and kick my ass for having you in my arms.”

I couldn’t even laugh at that; I just didn’t have it in me. But his lightness masked the bubbling tension within me, soothing my troubled heart, even momentarily.

“Do you think they’d be pissed at me when they find out I put their favorite rock star in a hospital?” I gestured outside. Even though it was way past midnight and the temperature was dropping by the minute, the crowd seemed to be growing. Seeing them all gather for him was heartwarming, making me feel a whole lot worse.

---