Page 136 of Nodus Tollens
“No. He was coming to see you. To surprise you.” Mal announced over the heavy pounding in my head. I was still staring at my phone, perhaps hoping that something from Hayes would come through. A reassuring text or a call saying that he was okay, but my vision began to blur with tears as I knew nothing would magically appear on my phone.
“Wren… What’s wrong?” Kate’s soft, unsure voice asked, but all I could focus on was where I needed to be right now.
“Where is he, Mal? Is he…?”
Oh god, my stomach turned in the worst imaginable pain.
“He’s at the hospital. I don’t… I don’t know any more than that.”
Hospital.
That means he’s okay, right?
He has to be.
“We need to go see him. Now, we need to… oh god, do his parents know yet?” My eyes sought out his as he remained standing at the doorway.
“Yes.” He nodded. “They’re on their way there now.”
Relief surged through me.
“Okay, okay.”
Then, in a flash, I was moving. I made quick work of turning my lamp on, then began sifting through my drawers for a hoodie to throw on.
“Wren.” Kate announced as my shaky hands began rifling.
Shit, I wasn’t even in the right drawer.
“Let me get a sweatshirt, and then we can…” I didn’t finish the sentence because, once again, I was in the wrong fucking drawer. Why couldn’t I remember where they were?
“Wren, calm down. You’re shaking.” Mal’s voice sounded closer as I felt him come up behind me. His presence was too large and too intense to take in, and right now, I felt like I was drowning with everything that was cascading over me.
“I’m fine.” I argued on a snap. “I just need a sweatshirt, and I can’t fucking find one.”
I turn on my heel and find his worried stare watching me. He looked like he had more to say, but Kate beat him to the punch.
“They’re in the closet, babe.” Kate reminded me, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught her opening my closet and pulling out an all-black sweatshirt. She walked toward me with hesitant steps and eyes that were studying me closely.
“Thank you.”
I went to grab it, but I physically couldn’t move. My hands, legs, and every part of me were quivering uncontrollably, and my vision started to fog.
“Here, let me help her.” Mal shot his arm out and took the sweatshirt from Kate. Though my eyes struggled to focus on anything, I could sense the apprehension oozing from her. A very large, intimidating man was standing in our room delivering news I still couldn’t comprehend. And still, I was having trouble understanding what was happening.
“I’m going to put this on you, okay?” Mal said in a calming tone I’ve never heard before.
Filled with sympathy and compassion, I would have stared at him with wide eyes if I wasn’t so far out of the realm of reality right now.
For all I knew, this was a dream.
A very sick, twisted dream that I needed to wake up from.
My eyes closed with force. I held them shut tightly, wishing and praying the second I opened them, I would be back in my bed. I would check my phone, and there would be messages from Hayes telling me he was okay and at his hotel. But the second I opened them, I was met with Mal. His concerned stare was heavy on mine as he held onto my sweatshirt.
“No…. this can’t be..” I slammed them shut tight again, and this time, I started to mumble to myself. “This is just a dream… wake up… wake up… wake up, Wren.”
Nothing was happening, though. Nothing was changing.
