Page 32 of Only The Strong

I find Finn leaning over the receptionist’s desk in the ER waiting room and speaking in a low tone, leaving him to his threatening, I take a seat in the waiting area and wait for him to update me. “If I Would Have Known” by Kyle Hume plays on the speakers and I swear I'm either going to cry some more or strangle whoever chose this radio station. Finn falls into the seat next to me and sighs. “They’re sending a doctor to update us, all she knows is that he was taken into surgery after getting here.” I nod, being thankful that Callum was at least alive enough to make it into surgery. “Did you mean what you said?” He’s staring out of the window in front of us.

I rub the giant knot on the side of my head wincing. “Every word. I just hope he heard me.”

He grabs my hand from my head and holds it on the armrest. “You guys are good for each other.” I nod, trying to keep my tears from falling; I can’t think about the possibility of Callum not surviving this.

A nurse comes out of the ER doors, looking around the waiting room. Finn and I rush towards her, needing her to be the nurse sent with information on Callum. “How's he doing? Is Callum out of surgery?” It’s rushed and almost yelled, I need her to have good news, he has to be okay.

She looks at the floor and then meets my eyes, regret shining brightly. “I’m sorry, miss, the man you came in with passed before we could begin surgery.”

30

REESE

My heart feelslike it’s in a chokehold inside of my chest. It’s bound to burst with how tightly the nurse's words are squeezing it. “Fuck!” Finn roars right before his fist smashes into the wall beside him, I on the other hand stand still and watch as the nurse flinches away from us. His outburst didn’t phase me in the slightest because of my state of shock.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll send the doctor out to talk to you both.” The nurse says as she clutches her badge in her hands.

Finn leans his forehead against the wall, his hands fisted beside his head. I softly place my hand in the middle of his expansive back, his size making my hand look smaller and the devil skull staring back at me. “No, he can’t.” His voice shakes. I try to say something but my voice is cut off by a sob. I place my hand over my mouth to stifle it and slide down the wall next to him, pulling my legs to my chest and resting my forehead on my knees. Finn turns around and sits down next to me, his legs stretching out in front of him.

I’m not sure how long we sit here together. Quietly mourning Callum on the floor of the ER waiting room. I hear shuffling and muttering beside Finn and me and without looking up I know it’s Mason that has slid down to sit beside me. The bright presence that he brings with himself everywhere he goes is so powerful it pulls you in without any consent, well that and I can feel the softness of his hoodie rub against my bent leg. After what feels like hours I hear shoes squeak in front of us and I look up to see another nurse, this one older than the last.

“Are you here for Mr. Moran?” She asks sweetly, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

Finn clears his throat. “Yeah.” He looks down at me and the remorse in his eyes brings another sob to the surface.

“Would you like to see him? We just got him moved out of Radiology.”

Finn and I nod and we all stand. He grabs my hand in his and looks down at me. “We’re in this together now, Little Red.” I look down at our conjoined hands as silent tears roll down my cheeks.

Saint clears his throat and it’s then that I look around me and notice the entire club is standing against the wall with us. He looks between the two of us and the nurse. “You two go ahead, we’ll wait right here.” Finn nods and I look over to Mason, he smiles his beautiful smile but this is the first time I've ever seen it tinged with sadness. I nod and walk hand in hand with Finn through the doors of the ER.

The nurse takes us to an observation room outside of the ER and opens the door. “Take your time.” She smiles and then pushes open the door.

Finn walks in first and immediately spins around and glares at the nurse’s back. “Is this a fucking joke?” He yells. Confused, I look around him and my body feels like someone has slammed into it. All of the groggy and distant feelings I had earlier have been replaced with hypersensitivity. The lights are too bright, the monitors too loud. My eyes go wide as I see Callum laying in bed with IVs attached to one arm and hooked to a machine that’s reading a heartbeat. Relief washes over me, he didn't leave me, he’s not dead.

“Excuse me?” The nurse says, her sweet blue eyes wrinkling with the confused look.

I place my hand on Finn’s giant bicep to hopefully restrain him some. He’s shaking and breathing heavily through his nose, his jaw clenching while he glares at the nurse. I'm scared he's going to strangle the poor woman. “We were told Callum was dead.”

The nurse frantically shakes her head. “What? No. He only had a small blood transfusion and had his shoulder reset.” Her features transform from confused to remorseful. “Who told you he had died?”

As if on cue the young nurse who had talked to us first walked up to the desk behind the older nurse. Leaning against it and talking to the male nurse behind the desk she was completely oblivious to us and the sheer rage that Finn now transferred onto her. I point to her. “She did.”

The nurse follows my finger and nods her head. “I’ll go talk to her. Please go in and see Mr. Moran, he’s just resting and should be waking up soon.”

Pulling Finn with me, we walk into Callum’s room and sit on both sides of him. He’s laying in the bed just as still as he was in the car, but at least this time I can see his chest move with his breaths. He has a small line of stitches on the side of his head, one arm in a sling and the other covered in small cuts. They did the best they could, but Callum’s neck and what I can see of his chest are still covered in dried blood, and strands of his blond hair are crusted as well.

“He’s alive,” I whisper. Wiping the tears from my cheeks with one hand while the other rests over the thin hospital blanket on his thigh, since his left arm is the one in the sling.

Finn chuckles, shaking his head. “He has too much to live for now.” He slouches into his chair across from me, never taking his eyes off Callum; like if he looks away Callum will disappear.

There's a soft knock on the door before the older nurse walks in carrying a bowl with soapy water and a small washcloth. “I found out where the confusion was,” she says as she sits the bowl of water next to Callum’s thigh in front of me. She lays two washcloths next to it and I instinctually pick the washcloth up and soak it in the lukewarm water. She continues talking as I gently wipe the dried blood off of Cale’s neck and the small amount on his chest. “Another man came in at the same time as you and Mr. Moran.” She looks at me. “We were working so quickly that identities got mixed up.” She looks between Finn and me and then down at Callum. “It is absolutely no excuse and we cannot apologize enough for what you went through because of our mistake.” I submerge the washcloth again to rinse it before going back to clean off what small amount of blood remained on Callum’s face and head. “As I mentioned before, Mr. Moran had a transfusion to help with the blood loss from the head wound, he had some stitches, his shoulder reset due to dislocation, and he has a few broken ribs.” She smiles politely. “He’ll be in a sling for a few weeks while his shoulder heals and his ribs should heal on their own. Once Miranda is done with her paperwork, she wants to come in here and apologize.”

Finn shakes his head. “There’s no need. Everything is fine now.” He finally looks away from Cale and rests his eyes on the nurse; his murder stare finally gone.

Kelli, as her badge says, nods with a tight smile. “Stay as long as you like and press the button if you need anything.” She turns and quickly makes her way out of the room again.

I finish cleaning the crusted blood off of Cale’s skin and as much as I could get out of his hair. I pick up the second washcloth and dry all of the spots I washed. Laying the bowl and washcloths on the table by his bed I lay my head next to Callum’s body, taking deep breaths. I finally let myself feel the relief that he is alive. I’d never felt such fear before when I wasn't sure if he was alive in the car, and then such agony when I thought he was dead.

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