Page 10 of The Truths We Seek

Oh, God.

Something really bad must have happened.

My stomach twists as my brain conjures up every possible worst-case scenario, but I try to keep the whirring thoughts from taking root, locking them in my chest. It grows tighter but Rory squeezes my hand and I’m able to ground myself for a minute.

“Rory—” I start again, but I’m cut off by Rob clearing his throat.

“Can’t check her out if I can’t get to her, man.”

Rory grumbles, but pulls himself back. He doesn’t release his grip on my hand, and despite my panic of him not telling me what’s going on, I’m grateful, because I think my vise hold on his hand is the only thing that’s keeping a full-scale meltdown at bay.

Rob looks me over, blinding me with his little pen light, asking me a dozen questions, but when I tell him it just hurts everywhere, right down to my bones, he frowns. “We should take her to the hospital. I need to run more tests.”

His gaze leaves me and moves to Rory, and that’s when it occurs to me that the others aren’t here. There’s no reason they wouldn’t be here.

The machine to my left starts beeping louder as panic clamps down on me, choking me, stealing my air. I open my mouth to speak and a squeak falls out.

“Rob,” Rory growls, but the doctor is already moving.

“I’ve got it,” Rob says before lifting a syringe and injecting something into the IV I’m hooked up to. “Try to relax, Quinn. This should help, but I need you to take some deep breaths if you can.”

He watches me and I try to match the deep breaths he’s attempting to instruct me with. After a few minutes, the world doesn’t feel quite so fuzzy as whatever he gave me takes hold.

A yawn escapes me and I frown. “What did you give me? I don’t want to sleep. I want to remember. I want to know what happened.”

My brain feels like it’s emptying as exhaustion rocks me. I wanted to ask something.

Something that was important.

Trying to fight whatever he gave me to find my train of thought, I let out a groan of frustration. Then I remember, but the world is growing darker.

“Sleep, Quinn. We can talk when you’re better.” Rory's voice soothes me and I feel him lift me before, I assume, he crawls into the bed with me and I settle on his chest.

“You shouldn’t be on there with her,” Rob says, exasperated, and if I had the energy to smile, I would. I swear they bicker like brothers.

Brothers.

Wait.

That’s what I wanted to ask about.

I fight the tiredness sweeping over me, but my eyes flutter closed anyway and the words I manage to form end up being little more than a whisper.

“Where is Meyer? Hunter? Why aren’t they here?”

* * *

The next time I wake up, the beeping sounds are gone. My mouth is dry, my head is fuzzy, and I realize I woke because I’m so hot that I feel like I’m suffocating.

That’s when I register the arm around my waist and the radiator-like body nestled against my back like my very own heated blanket. Except if I don’t cool down, I’m not just going to be thirsty, I might pass out from dehydration. I move and grimace.

My body is slick with sweat. So freaking gross.

“Are you okay?” Rory’s voice is thick with sleep as he tries to tuck me in closer to him, but I’m not sure how that’s even possible when our skin feels like it’s melded together.

“So hot,” I mumble, almost coherently, and he grunts before begrudgingly letting me go. Throwing the blankets from my body, I sit up, pushing my legs over the side of the bed, and give myself a minute as the world spins.

Yeah, being lightheaded is no fun.

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