Page 70 of Dance With Me
Joe sat back on the chair and let his head fall against the wall, his eyes closed.
A couple of hours and many bad cups of coffee later, an older couple was led into the room. Joe presumed they were Seb’s parents. Natalia made the introductions as they’d only met her and Louis before.
A doctor came into the room, and Seb’s parents were led through another door into the ICU with promises to let them know as soon as they had news.
They all sat down again and waited. This was killing Joe. He needed to know what was happening. He couldn’t just sit here not knowing, so he stood and started to pace the floor.
“What’s taking so long? I can’t just sit here.”
“How the hell do you think we feel, Joe?” Dom asked. “He was our friend first, you know. You’ve known him five fucking minutes.” Natalia placed her arm on Dom’s to calm him.
“It’s not a goddamned competition, Dom. Just because I haven’t known him for long doesn’t mean I don’t love him too.”
“Calm down, both of you. I know it’s hard, but we have to wait.” Natalia’s voice cut across both of them.
Twenty minutes later, Seb’s parents came back into the room. Joe thought they looked tired, but he supposed the long journey and not knowing what was wrong with your son would put that exhausted look on your face.
Seb’s father spoke first.
“He’s not awake yet. There was some head trauma, and they may need to operate. He’s going to need an MRI to see if there’s any swelling on the brain. He has some abdominal bruising, but they don’t think he’s bleeding internally. A broken wrist and ankle where they think he braced when the car crashed.”
Looking at them all, he spoke again. “One other thing you should all know”—he took a deep breath and continued—“his hands and ankles were bound with rope when they brought him in.”
Natalia grasped hold of Louis’s shirt and cried, tears streaming down her face.
“I fucking knew it. The stalker got him.” Dom looked as shocked as Joe felt, and he reached for his hand, holding it tightly.
“Do the police think it’s over then? Who was the dead guy?” Joe needed to know this was over.
This time, his mother answered. “They don’t know yet. There was no ID on the body, but they’re waiting for Seb to wake up in hopes he can tell them who it was. That’s all we know at the moment.”
Joe looked over to Seb’s parents. “Can we see him?”
His parents shook their heads. “Not yet. They want to let him rest but will call us as soon as he wakes up. They’ve suggested we go home and get some sleep.”
Joe looked at his watch. It was almost six in the evening. Where had the day gone?
“Where are you staying? I have room at my house if you’d like to stay there.”
He had a sudden thought.
“Where’s Rocco? Who has him?”
Louis answered, “Hayden has him. We should probably let him know what’s going on and pick him up, really.” Joe sighed with relief. Seb wouldn’t be happy if they’d neglected Rocco.
Seb’s parents agreed to stay with Joe, and the others went back to the apartment to pick up the dog. If they hadn’t heard anything by the following morning, they would all meet back at the hospital first thing.
Joe hugged them all goodbye and left the hospital. Could this weekend get any worse?
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Seb
Seb ached all over; his head pounded in time with his heartbeat, and a light pulsed behind his eyes. He didn’t know where he was or how he got there. All he knew was that it was blessedly quiet and dark. He tried to think where he might be but couldn’t remember anything, and to be honest, it hurt when he even thought about it. He drifted back into oblivion.
The second time he woke, he thought he heard familiar voices. Was that his parents? What were they doing in his bedroom? He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He felt as if he were underwater, the sounds muffled. He strained to listen but drifted off again, sounds ebbing and flowing around him.
When he woke again, he could definitely hear his parents whispering. He managed to open his eyes and lifted his hand. His mother was by his side in an instant, holding tightly to his raised hand.
