Page 167 of Eternally Yours
“I can’t lose her, Mom...” I croak out as the flood of tears takes over once more.
My mother throws her arms around me, hugging me tight to her body. “You won’t, baby. Cecilia’s fighting in there for both of you. She loves you too much to let go so easily. But right now, she needs you to be strong and fight for them, too.”
She’s right, I need to be strong. For my wife. For my son.
An hour later, we’re still in the seating area with no news. I’m losing my mind, pacing the floor back and forth. I keep going up to the nurses, hoping they can tell me something. But all they say is that the doctor will come when they have something. I hate waiting and not knowing.
Why is it taking so long?
The doors to the emergency room open and a large group walks through, interrupting my train of thought. The first person I notice is Greyson with my bagslung over his shoulder, then I spot Shane walking beside him, and behind them are the rest of the guys, all of them.
My team.
Shane steps up to me first while everyone passes by, tapping me on the back, squeezing my arms and shoulders before they settle in around the room. I look back at my coach in wonder. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Cecilia’s part of the family, and family sticks together,” he says it matter-of-factly, like I shouldn’t even be asking the question.
“Fuck...”I’m going to cry again.
He brings me into a man hug, one arm over my shoulder, the other around my back as I rest my forehead on him and let the water run freely. “Thank you,” I manage to say weakly.
“No need for that. We’re here for you, just like you would be for any of them.”
I nod before heading back to my seat. The ER room is past capacity with the whole team here. I’m happy they’re here showing their support for my wife and child, but now we’re gathering attention. It’s hard not to notice over twenty big guys in one room. I’m surprised the media hasn’t shown up yet, but it will be any minute.
I see Shane making the same assumption as he looks around at the mass. “I’ll see if they can put us in a room so we don’t draw more attention than necessary,” he says before walking over to the nurse’s station.
Fifteen minutes later, we’re placed in what looks like a big conference room with a bathroom to the side. The nurse assured us that the doctors knew we were in here and would come to us.
Greyson approaches me and passes me my bag. “You have spare clothes in there, and I added a bar of soap and a towel from the shower room. Out there it wasn’t so bad, but in here you’re stinking up the place. Go into the bathroom and wash off with a cloth or something. Cecilia won’t want to see your stinky ass if you smell like that.”
I frown even knowing he’s joking. “She loves my stinky ass.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Hayes.” He taps me on the back and goes to sit down in one of the empty chairs.
I pick up my bag and do as he says, washing off in the sink. It’s not perfect, and I probably still smell a bit, but it’s a lot better than before. When I exit the bathroom, Clay heads in after me to do the same.
It’s been two hours since I arrived at the hospital. Two hours of waiting with no news on my wife or my son. No one is coming, no one is giving us updates.Whythe fuck is it taking so long!? Should it be taking this long?
Everyone keeps telling me it’s normal, that surgeries take time, and that they are probably just making sure everything is okay before coming to us with information. I try to remind myself that the doctors know what they’re doing, but it’s hard.
I just need to know they’re okay. Please, let them be okay.
Gabe, a few chairs down from me, lets out a loud sigh as he spins in his chair like a child, then stops to face me. “Bro, I don’t mean to be a dick, but... your birthday’s cursed.”
“ELLIS!” A few of my teammate’s shout, including Coach.
“WHAT? We were all thinking it! I’m just the only one who had the guts to say it,” Gabe says, defending himself.
A laugh bursts out in the room. Everyone turns to me with round eyes, and I realize I’m the one laughing. This situation is so fucked up. I feel completely shattered and have no right to be laughing in this moment.
But I can’t help it, because he’s right. I had completely forgotten what today was, well yesterday since it’s now midnight. Two years in a row, life has dealt me a shitty hand on my birthday.
Suddenly, the entire room breaks out in laughter. I think we’re just all exhausted and emotional over everything that’s happened. But it feels good to laugh. I look around at my friends, my teammates, and my family—all here for me. I’m filled with a sense of warmth and appreciation.
The door to the conference room opens while we’re still laughing, and a small brunette nurse slips in. “Family of Cecilia Hayes?”
I stand abruptly as all sounds around me die. It’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop to the ground. I nod and take a step forward.
