Page 119 of Imperfect Player

The paramedics do what they can, hoisting him onto the stretcher.

“I’m coming with him,” I tell them.

“Ma’am . . . ”

“He doesn’t have any family. I’m his agent. I’m all he has.”

And I won’t walk away from him. Not for anything.

The paramedics finally give in, knowing I won’t relent.

The ambulance ride is a blur. Me, sitting next to Ethan, squeezing his hand, praying for him to wake up. Minutes pass, maybe more. I feel his fingers move but think I must be manifesting it. There’s no way. He needs his stomach pumped. He needs . . .

“Everly.”

The faint sound of his voice makes my heart swell.

“Yeah, it’s me, Ethan. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m sorry,” he says softly.

“It’s all going to be okay.”

This. This is rock bottom. It has to be. It’s only up from here on out.

The minute we get to the hospital, they drag him away from me, rolling him through the halls into one of the emergency stalls.

My hands tremble as I text Tripp, then Chelle.

I pace the waiting room for what seems like forever. The hustle and bustle around me feels surreal.

Chelle’s the first to burst through the doors.

“Oh, honey,” she exclaims, taking me in her arms.

I accept her embrace, my head buried in her shoulder as I sob.

“What is it? What happened?”

“I . . . I don’t know. He was on the floor. Unconscious, but breathing.” I glance at the double doors they wheeled him through what feels like an eternity ago. “It’s been so long. They haven’t said anything.”

“Everly.” Tripp’s voice fills the room. I turn, giving him a weak smile.

This is my fault. He’s here because of me. Because I didn’t get him the help he needed sooner.

Tripp gives me a reassuring hug. “It’s going to be okay. After I kill him, it’s going to be okay.”

If only Ethan could see this now. The people here to support him. Me. Trip. Thurston. Chelle. Fox. Slade. Maddox.

“Maddox, what are you doing here?” I ask.

“I was with Tripp when he got the text. Dude’s a pain in my ass, but he’s still my brother,” he says.

So many more people than he realized.

You’re not alone, Ethan. You never were.

Chapter 36

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