A heated discussion at the receptionist's desk catches my attention.I know this motherfucker didn't. I see Pearce there, arguing with the nurse, trying to gain access to Alexa's room. Not being able to stop myself, I jump up to join them.
“Ma’am, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but can you call security and the police back out? This is the man that assaulted Alexa.”
“Look, Miss Johnson, is it?” Pearce counters,trying to get the receptionist's attention back on him, while he's blocking her view of me. “I want to see my fiancé and I want to see her now! If you don't want me calling your boss or your boss’s boss out here tonight, you need to let me back to see her. And you can tell your security and the police to get this man out of my sight and out of this hospital before I have him arrested for assault on my fiancée. Her blood is all over him for Christ's sake.” I completely lose it and rush Pearce, tackling him to the ground right in the middle of the waiting room. He seems to be laughing as I get three, maybe four shots in before I’m being pulled off him and slammed against the wall by security.So much for not getting arrested tonight.
Alex
I slowly wakeup to the sterile smell that can only be a hospital. My room is empty, dark and quiet save for the beeping sound of the heart rate monitor. I panic at the fact that I can’t remember anything past the party. I can also tell I’m in a hospital in New York and that worries me. As my heart rate spikes, a nurse rushes into the room and I frantically start calling for Chance. She obliges, trying to calm me down, saying that she would go get him after the doctor check me out. That relaxes me a little, and I decide that the sudden urgency of me needing Chance’s presence is because he’s the only one here with me in New York. Not because I just want him over anyone else. Satisfied with my reasoning, I start to relax further, and everything goes black again….
Chance
I can’t believe I was stupid enough to get arrested. It’s been eight to nine hours since my one phone call to Cacey that went straight to voicemail, so I had to leave a message. Fuck! I should have called Dane instead. Calling my dad again wasn’t an option. He’s too pissed because Alexa got hurt on my watch. Me getting arrested would just be the icing on the cake. I just hope that Cacey will get the message and get her ass up here to help me out. Otherwise, I’ll have to call Miranda at a more decent time in the morning.
“Mr. Sullivan, you’re free to go.” The officer says making his way to the cell door. When I pick up my belongings and head to the exit, I see Cacey and Dane waiting.
“What the hell happened?!” she asks, while Dane follows closely behind her.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now we need to get back over to the hospital.”
“You may not want to talk about it, but everyone else is. You’ve gone viral. I got a video of it on my Instagram feed and the police say that Pearce is adamant about pressing charges. Thankfully, you’re not suspected in Alexa’s assault because he’s pushing that point too. It’s a shit show. Right now, we’re just lucky they didn’t trespass you from the hospital.” Well damn, I didn’t think of that either. As we head to the hospital, I’m riding shotgun while Dane is driving, and Cacey is in the back typing furiously on her cell phone. I can only imagine who she’s talking to at this hour of the morning. Not wanting to spark any conversation that will only lead to her interrogating me, I decide not to question it. Hopefully, it’s Alexa awake and filling Cacey in on all the sordid details of this night from hell or last night, rather. It's now early Sunday morning. As we get back to the shitty hospital waiting room that has gone viral during my time in jail, I don’t see Pearce. I go to the receptionist, knowing I look a little worse for wear and I try to make myself as least intimidating as possible.Which is pretty fucking hard being 6ft 4in, dressed in a disheveled suit that is covered in dried blood.
“Excuse me, my name is Chance Sullivan, and we’re here to see Alexa Wilde. They admitted her last night.” I say, mustering up all the meekness I can stand.
“Are you next of kin?” she asks.Here we go with this bullshit again…I think, trying to suppress my frustration. Before I can come up with my next course of action, Cacey steps in. “Hello ma’am, I’m Cacey Sullivan, Alexa Wilde’s friend and power of attorney. I have all the documents you need with me if she’s not able to communicate that to you herself.” Rolling my eyes, I’m looking at Cacey with a shocked glare, trying to figure out when this came about. And why the fuck did she not pick up her phone last night. That would have saved me a whole lot of stress and jail time if I would have known sooner.
Once Cacey gets clearance to see Alexa, a nurse comes out to escort her to the room. She is a petite middle-aged female looking at Dane and I expectantly.
“Are either of you Chance?”
There’s a long pause because I’m not sure if this is when I’m gonna be told that I actually have been trespassed. I decide to answer up since I know if I have to leave, Dane and Cacey will still be here for her.
“Yeah, that’s me.” The nurse perks up, then frowns when taking in my clothing. I don’t know what to think at this point, so I wait for her to speak only to be completely shocked by her next words.
“Oh great, she’s been asking for you. She’s out again, but I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you when she wakes up. You can’t go back there like this though.” I’m shocked and hoping like hell that Dane has something in the car that can fit me, so I won’t have to go back to the hotel to change. The nurse, however, puts me out of my misery and makes arrangements for me to have access to a shower and scrubs to change into.
Even though I want to wash all of Saturday night off me, I do a half-assed job because I’m rushing to get back to Alexa’s room before she wakes up and changes her mind. I haven’t seen her since they rolled her back last night. I’m so anxious to see her, especially since she was asking for me. While she was awake, no less.Maybe she was delirious.That has to be what’s going on, because even though I’d like to think that she's secretly been holding a candle for me all these years, I know she would never consciously decide to ask me for anything.
When I make it back to the room, Cacey is opening the blinds on the windows and rearranging… the… room? Who knows, because as soon as I see Alexa’s still form, I go to sit in the chair next to her. She looks still and I can’t help but scan every visible part of her body to access her injuries. I start to ask Cacey a question, but we’re interrupted by the doctor.
“Hello, are you Ms. Sullivan?” he asks.
“Yes, and this is my brother, Chance. Can you tell me why Alexa hasn’t woken up yet?” By the look on his face, I know I’m not going to like whatever he has to say. So I grab Alexa’s hand, seeking some sort of false comfort, and wait for the news.
“Well, her vitals look fine. We expect her to wake up when she is ready. However, it appears like she has had several signs of previous trauma.” He turns his gaze on me, glaring as though I had something to do with the trauma. I hear Cacey gasp a little and don’t bother looking, because I know she’s probably in tears at that knowledge. I just glare back at the doctor, silently willing him to get on with it already. After a few seconds, I can’t take it anymore.
“So, doc can you tell us exactly what the fuck is going on with her, something more definitive than her waking up when she’s ready.”There, now you can glare at me.He shuffles through the folder in his hand and continues.
“Well, Ms. Wilde has suffered a mild concussion and has a laceration to the head, from some type of blunt force trauma that was prior to the fall.” He pauses and glares at me again. Instead of letting my smart mouth get me kicked out, I just glare back at the doctor while lifting Alexa’s hand and kissing it.Who the fuck knows where that came from. I just go with it and wait for the doctor to finish.
“Sorry Dr. Nash, is it? Can you stop side eyeing my brother and get to the point? Sure he’s an asshole most of the time, but he’s not responsible for anything that has happened in your report. Once we find out what’s wrong with her, we can decide about how to go forward with her care. We also need the proper authorities contacted to update the accident report so we can get that out of the way and get Alex home as soon as possible when she wakes up.”
Knowing my sister has shit under control, I decide to focus on Alexa. I hope she wakes up soon. I know I give her hell most of the time, but that’s just been our thing. It’s never been anything malicious. She doesn’t deserve this. And right now, I'm sure I'd kill any motherfucker who thought otherwise. As soon as that thought crosses my mind, Pearce walks through the door, putting that theory to test. I see flowers, balloons, boxes and I'm two seconds away from losing it. The only thing that soothes my rage is the look on his face, which is priceless.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Pearce snarls as he dumps the gifts on the empty bed next to Alexa’s and rushes past Cacey to get in my personal space. He glares at me, glancing down to where I have Alexa’s hand firmly secured in mine. Before I can respond, Cacey jumps up just as a nurse enters the room.
“Excuse me, who let him in here?” Cacey asks, as she inserts herself between me and Pearce.
“What am I doing here?! That's my fucking fiancée! Little girl, you have no authority here.”
