#Fate

by Cambria Hebert

  I stood from the chair, carefully placing Ivy on her feet. “Come look at him.”

  The woman shuffled from foot to foot.

  Ivy went to her side. “I know he looks all big and grumpy, but he’s just worried. He definitely won’t stop you from making sure Drew is okay.”

  Ivy gave me a look that said I needed to get it together.

  I sighed.

  “I apologize for being gruff. Please come check him out, make sure he’s okay. I’ll stand over here.” I assured her, moving across the room. My feet and legs felt heavy, as if they were weighed down with sand.

  Nodding, the nurse went to Drew’s side, and Ivy walked to the door. “I’m going to go check in with Gamble,” she said. “You’ll be okay?”

  Checking in with Gamble = making sure no one hauled me out of here in handcuffs for refusing to leave.

  I nodded. “I’m good, sis. Go.”

  When Ivy was gone, the nurse glanced back at me, cautious. I smiled, but it didn’t seem to help much. Couldn’t say I blamed her. I probably looked like a dead man walking, and my smile was probably scary.

  “Looks like he’s in good hands. Mind if I step into the bathroom a moment?”

  She nodded, relieved.

  Before stepping away, I came forward, making her pause in her task. Gently, I smoothed a few strands of wild hair back and then leaned in to press my lips against his forehead.

  “You watch over him for me, okay?” I told the woman.

  Her entire demeanor changed in that moment, every feature on her face softening and the set of her shoulders relaxing. “Of course.” She agreed, her lips curving into a warm smile.

  Retreating into the bathroom felt like resisting the pull of a super strong magnet, but I made myself go. The last thing I wanted to do was scare the staff and make it harder for them to take care of Drew.

  At the sink, I turned on the faucet and glanced up. My reflection caused me to do a double take.

  Fuck.

  No wonder all the nurses were scared.

  My short hair was wild and tangled. It stuck out in places it shouldn’t even be long enough to stick out. My eyes looked like Ivy’s, but I didn’t have the excuse of mascara smudging. They were bloodshot and heavy-lidded, blood smearing over one cheek. A few nicks and cuts dotted my skin, and my cheeks sank in as though I’d been stranded without food for weeks.

  Leaning over the counter, I splashed cold water across my skin, ignoring the sting from the scrapes. When the water slipped between my lips, I realized my mouth was dry so I swallowed a few palmfuls before grabbing a paper towel and haphazardly mopping up my face.

  The scrubs I was dressed in were kind of scratching and annoying. The cuts in my knee burned and probably needed a new bandage, but I didn’t care.

  Glancing down at my wrapped wrist and covered stitches, I noted the dull throbbing of pain and then ignored that too.

  The doctor was standing over Drew’s bedside when I came out of the bathroom.

  “How is he?” I asked.

  Glancing up from the laptop in his hands, he replied, “Stable. I don’t want to be too optimistic, but he seems to be improving.”

  Going to Drew’s side, I fished under the blanket for his hand. “You hear that, Drew? You’ll be out of here in no time.”

  “The nurse made you aware of our overnight policy?”

  I bristled.

  “I would recommend that you go home. Shower and get some rest. You can’t be any help to him if you don’t take care of yourself.”

  “I’m not leaving.”

  The man held up his hand. “I’ve informed the overnight staff that you are permitted to stay. Please be discreet.”

  “Thank you,” I said, the fight draining out of me.

  “We can’t offer you anything but the chair you’ve already been sitting in. And I warn you. Staff will be in and out frequently through the night.”

  “Don’t worry about me. Just do what you need to do for Drew.”

  When the doctor was gone, I noticed the nurse still loitering on the other side of the room.

  “I’m sorry if I scared you before.”

  She shrugged. “You love him.”

  “Yes,” I deadpanned. “I do.” Then because I knew exactly the kind of world we lived in, I added, “I hope you won’t hold that against him.”

  She smiled. “Definitely not. In fact, I think I might be kind of jealous.”

  “I think you might be our favorite nurse.” Giving Drew’s hand a squeeze, I said, “Right, Forrester?”

  On her way out, the nurse nearly collided with Braeden. “Oh, I’m sorry. Visiting hours are over.”

  “I just wanted to let him know we’re leaving,” B said, smiling down at her. My brothers had a way of making most women look like shorties.

  “Make it fast.”

  Braeden winked. “Of course.”

  I returned to the seat as B came into the room, the lighthearted look in his dark eyes gone, in its place an apprising, somber expression.

  “We’re all heading out. The ‘rents are all here with the kids. I’m sure they will be over first thing in the morning.”

  “Weren’t you supposed to check out tomorrow?” I remembered. “If you all need to, you can crash at our apartment.” Drew and I kept a small apartment on this side of the state because we spent so much time here for training and races. It was a small one bedroom, but it would do in a pinch.

  Braeden held up his hand. “Everyone is moving over to Gamble’s estate.”

  My eyes widened. “What?”

  “Joey and Gamble insisted. No one is leaving until Drew’s out of this coma and we know for sure there’s no brain damage.”

  I made a choked sound. The idea that Drew had brain damage was unbearable.

  B stopped abruptly and gave my shoulder a squeeze. Clearing his throat, he went on. “Apparently, the place is big enough,”

  “It definitely is,” I echoed vaguely, thinking of the giant white mansion that I used to think was too big for just Joey and Gamble. Since she got married, she and Lorhaven had bought their own place and now it was just Gamble living there.

  “One of us will bring you some clothes and shit when we come tomorrow. You want anything else?”

  I shook my head. “Ivy—”

  “Don’t worry about Ivy. I’ll take care of her.”

  I nodded.

  “Don’t hulk out while we’re gone, okay? We’re the only ones big enough to stop you.”

  I nodded. “I won’t do anything that will compromise Drew.”

  “He’s going to be okay.”

  I glanced back at Drew lying there with stitches in his body, a ventilator breathing for his lungs, and more machines than I cared to count monitoring his every moment, and I hoped like hell Braeden was right.

  11

  Trent

  * * *

  I was afraid if I closed my eyes too long, Drew would disappear. At some point, I did doze off, and when I woke, my head was lying on the mattress beside him, both of my hands wrapped around his.

  And there was a blanket.

  It was horribly itchy and scratching, and it was also ugly. But it was draped around me in a caring way that oddly bruised something deep inside me.

  After all the protests to even let me sleep here. After all the warnings that they could do nothing to make me comfortable. Even after all the fear I’d put into the nurses, they’d still brought me a blanket when I’d finally succumbed to exhaustion.

  My eyes were barely focused when I lifted them to Drew. The lighting in here was dim, the curtains closed, and the harsh fluorescents overhead turned off for the night. He was still in the same position as before, his body unmoving and pale.

  The sound of the ventilator still made my skin crawl, and as I sat back, I peeled the blanket up gently, making sure the tube sticking out of his chest was still in place and not doing anything it wasn’t supposed to.

  I whispered a few phrases, reminding him tha
t I was there, and then gently brushed his hair back even though it wasn’t in his face.

  I worried about him lying so prone, about the muscle loss and the stress immobility might cause his limbs.

  Carefully, I perched on the edge of the mattress and gently rubbed his arms and massaged lightly between his fingers. “I know you aren’t a morning person, Forrester, but anytime you want to open up those baby blues, I’d be grateful.”

  I knew he couldn’t, not yet. The meds he was on would make it impossible. Still, it seemed like any kind of encouragement, any kind of conversation would be better than none.

  Afraid that my weight was too much for the bed, I stood, glancing down at his leg supported in the sling.

  His toes looked slightly blue. Frowning, I moved down, carefully wrapping my hand around the exposed toes. They were icy cold.

  Anger and worry slapped into me. “Fuck,” I muttered.

  I’d been dozing off while his toes were getting frostbite. What the hell kind of hospital was this? Snatching the blanket off the chair, I draped it over his foot. The sling sort of tilted from the weight of the itchy wool, and I panicked, thinking it would cause undue stress on the broken bone.

  Taking it off, I paced a little, wondering what to do.

  I could get a towel from the bathroom. No. They’re itchy too.

  Where’d this place get their linens? Shitquality.com?

  The blankets covering his body were too big and heavy for his sling. Annoyed that as I stood here and debated, his toes continued to freeze, I ripped my shirt over my head.

  It was just a scrub top, but it was warm from my body heat. And it was light. Gently, I put it around his exposed toes, tying the ends around the cast to hold it in place. Once that was done, I wrapped my hands back around them, letting some of my body heat sink into the fabric and hopefully into his skin.

  The door opened, and the nurse from last night came in, smiling. “Good morning, Trent.”

  “You’re still here?”

  “I’m getting off shift now. I wanted to come check in with him one more time and say bye.”

  “Thank you for watching over him last night. And for the blanket.”

  She smiled slightly. “He looks better this morning.”

  “Yeah?” I asked, hope lighting up my insides. I’d forgotten how good hope felt… even just a glimmer of it. “You think so?”

  I moved up the bed to stare down at his face.

  She checked a few monitors and nodded. “Definitely. His pulse is stronger, oxygen level is better.”

  I sank into the chair, so grateful for any good news that I could barely stand.

  “You hear that, Forrester? You’re a model patient.”

  “Your presence must be good for him.”

  I glanced up. “Really?”

  She nodded. “The patients who have someone by their side always do better than the ones who don’t. Keep doing what you’re doing. I think it’s helping.”

  “Will you be here tonight?”

  She nodded.

  “What’s your name again?” I asked, sorry I hadn’t thought to ask sooner.

  The embarrassment must have shown on my face because she giggled. “You had more on your mind than my name.”

  I grimaced.

  “It’s Katie.”

  I repeated it to help me remember, then turned back to Drew.

  At the door, she called my name. “What happened to your shirt?”

  “His foot was cold.”

  She giggled again. “You should check out the gift shop.”

  I nodded, even though I had no intention of leaving this room.

  The doctor came in, also noting that Drew’s vitals seemed better. He would be going for another CT scan to check the swelling on his brain. When he was gone, I reached for my pocket to realize two things:

  1. I was wearing scrubs, not pants.

  And…

  2. I had no clue where my phone was.

  “I don’t want to talk to anyone anyway, unless they’re you,” I told Drew. Then I told him I loved him.

  For probably the millionth time since yesterday.

  I hoped it annoyed him. Then he would be forced to wake up and tell me to shut it.

  The door to the room opened, and Ivy and Braeden walked in. Ivy looked exhausted but, for the most part, better than the night before. Her hair was pulled back from her makeup-free face, and a pair of large black sunglasses were perched on her head.

  “How is he?” was the first thing out of her mouth.

  “I wanted to call… but I lost my phone.”

  Her eyes widened, and she rushed forward. “Is something wrong?”

  “No. He’s doing better.”

  Tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks. “Oh, thank God!”

  Reluctantly, I released his hand and stepped back, giving her room to move in beside him. She began fussing over him and sniffling.

  Braeden stepped up and held out a large white cup. The scent of coffee wafted toward me, and I took it gratefully. “Thank you.”

  “Where’s your shirt?” B wondered.

  I pointed to Drew’s foot.

  “This is a university hospital. The best in the state. And that’s the best they can do?” B grumped.

  “The blankets here might as well be made of sandpaper.”

  “I brought you some clothes.” He held out a hot-pink bag. When he saw me notice, he rolled his eyes. “The bag is Ivy’s.”

  Any other time, I would have smiled, maybe asked him if he was the one who was gay, but I didn’t have the energy for that. I didn’t have the energy for anything that didn’t involve Drew.

  After another sip of the coffee, I delved into the bag, my hand closing around soft fabric.

  “We didn’t have the key to your place, so I just brought you some of my shit.”

  “Thanks,” I told him, going across the room to exchange the scrub shirt around Drew’s foot for Braeden’s shirt.

  When I had it tied in place, I put the now-wrinkled doctor shirt back on.

  When I turned back, B was watching me. I shrugged. “It’s softer than this.”

  “He does look better,” Ivy said, holding her hand out to Braeden. “Come see him, B.”

  B went to the side of the bed.

  I ignored the rest of the clothes he’d brought and drank the coffee instead. Then I took advantage of the familiar people around Drew and went into the bathroom.

  Coming out with a warm cloth in my hand, I went around to the opposite side of the bed to gently wipe his arm and hand.

  “Romeo and Rimmel will be here later. They’re staying with the kids, and his parents are on their way.”

  I wiped what I could off his face, then went back to rinse the cloth. While I was in the bathroom, B and Ivy moved to the other side of the bed so I could wash his opposite side.

  “Do you want to go eat?” Ivy asked as I worked.

  “No.”

  “Take a shower or get any of your stuff?”

  “No.”

  “How are your burns and stitches?”

  “They’re fine.”

  I felt rather than saw her look at Braeden. He cleared his throat.

  Before he could start in, I looked up. “I’m fine. As long as I can be here in this room and be with Drew, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “Drew would want me to take care of you.” Ivy reasoned.

  “If Drew wants someone to take care of me, he can wake up and do it himself.” I said it without heat. Without anger. I was too weary for anger, and I knew my family came from a good place. Then, because I didn’t want to sound like an asshole to my sister, I said, “Let’s just all focus on taking care of Drew right now.”

  “Exactly my thoughts.”

  Everyone whirled around at the intrusive voice coming from the doorway.

  All the air whooshed out of me as if I’d been violently punched in the gut when I saw the familiar face. The familiar, unwelcome face.


  “Dad!” Ivy gasped. He stepped into the hospital room, and Drew’s mother stepped in behind him. “Mom?” she echoed. “You’re here.”

  “Of course we’re here. We got on the first flight we could after you called,” his father said.

  Adrienne, Drew’s mother, rushed toward the bed to stare down at her son and sob. “Oh, my baby,” she crooned, reaching for his hand.

  My back teeth slammed together. I didn’t want her to touch him.

  B cleared his throat, and I looked up, locking my eyes on his. He held my stare, offering silent comradery.

  “Oh, Burke, just look at him.” Adrienne sobbed.

  I had to bite my lip to keep myself from telling her not to be so noisy. She was going to upset him with all that blubbering.

  “Drew,” I said, leaning down to speak quietly. “Your parents are here to see you. Your mom and your dad.”

  “How is he?” Adrienne said, desperately looking to me for answers.

  “Don’t ask him!” Burke clapped out, making my spine straighten. “Why would you ask him anything about our son?”

  My tongue slid over my teeth.

  “Trent’s been taking very good care of Drew since he got out of surgery,” Ivy told them.

  Adrienne clearly wanted an update about her son, and she divided her gaze between me and her husband.

  “Why haven’t you been sitting with him?” Burke asked Ivy. “He’s your brother! You should be here!”

  Braeden stepped around Ivy, leveling a stare at his father-in-law. “Watch the way you talk to her. And she has been here. We all have.”

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Burke said, pushing past B to stare at me.

  “I think it’s you who shouldn’t be here,” I said quietly.

  He had the gall to look surprised. And offended. “Are you kidding me? That’s my son!” he said, pointing a finger to where Drew lay.

  “Funny. I thought you disowned him.”

  The man’s face turned beet red, and Adrienne sucked in a breath. The cloth in my hand had gone cold, so I set it aside and adjusted the blankets so they covered more of his chest.

  “Oh, let me help you,” Adrienne said, grabbing the other side to help me gently pull them up.

  “Thank you,” I said. “The doctor was just here,” I started to tell her.