She was just doing her job. There were laws against telling random people patients’ information. I knew that, but at that moment, I didn’t give a fuck.
“Where the fu—?”
“Xavier!” I turned and saw Chanel’s friend Gabby running to me. Worry was written all over her face.
“She’s down the hall,” Gabby told me, before I could even ask. She turned, entreating me to follow.
When I got the phone call thirty minutes ago that Chanel had been taken to the hospital, I departed the impromptu business meeting I’d been in atGrant’sand drove like a bat out of hell to get there. I still didn’t know what the hell was going on, but the panic in Gabby’s voice—hell, the fact she was calling me scared the shit out of me.
“What happened?” I questioned as Gabby stopped in front of a door.
“She went to help a client of hers, and the husband came home in the middle of it, I think. He shot and killed his wife, himself, a-a-and their son. Initially, he was rushed into surgery here alive, but a doctor just came in and told us he didn’t make it. Chanel’s been catatonic ever since. I took her phone to call you and her father and brother.” Gabby brought a shaky hand up to cover her mouth.
“She’s in there?” I demanded.
She nodded.
I stepped around her and pushed my way in through the hospital room door. Upon first entry, I could see a young black woman in scrubs, who was mouthing something. She had a gentle smile on her face, and her voice was low, comforting as she wrapped a bandage around an arm that stuck out from behind the curtain. I pulled the curtain back, and the nurse startled a bit, but besides a passing glance at me, Chanel remained motionless.
“Chanel, baby girl,” I started.
“Sir, do you have permission to be in here?” the nurse questioned, and I had to work to tamp down on my anger.
“Yes,” I answered in what sounded a little too much like a growl.
She turned unconvinced eyes to Chanel, who said nothing. I directed my attention toward Chanel. She sat on the edge of the hospital bed, back ramrod straight, arm held out to the nurse as she continued wrapping the bandage around the upper part of her arm. The jeans and gray T-shirt she wore were stained in blood. My hands balled into fists as fear gripped my chest. I told myself it wasn’t her blood; it couldn’t be, since she was sitting up with only one nurse tending to what looked to be a superficial wound. But still, seeing her this way made me seethe.
“Chanel, baby girl, tell me what happened,” I urged.
The only response she gave was a shifting of her eyes from the wall straight ahead to me. It felt as if someone stole my breath when her eyes collided with mine. The absolute vacant look in them, as if she’d seen a ghost, or worse, couldn’t stop unseeing whatever she’d witnessed was too much to bear.
“Chanel—”
“She hasn’t been responding. Not since…” the nurse trailed off.
Not since she got the news Noah died.Gabby had told me as much.
“And her arm?” I directed my question to the nurse.
“She was grazed by one of the bullets. There was quite a bit of blood, but we’ve stopped it. She’ll be sore over the next few days, but other than that…”
Other than that were the emotional scars she’d be left to deal with, I finished the nurse’s unspoken train of thought.
“I’ll have a doctor come in as soon as possible.” The nurse gave Chanel one last sympathetic look before turning to leave.
When we were alone, I came to stand in front of Chanel, who’d gone back to staring straight ahead. I gripped the side of her face, tilting her head up to me.
“Chanel, I know what you experienced tonight was,” I sighed, “was terrible, but you’ve gotta talk, baby girl. I need to know you’re still in there.” I massaged the side of her face with my thumb, continuing to hold her face up to me.
She blinked once, then twice. “H-he died,” she said, so low, I could barely make out the words, but she’d said them. It was a relief to hear her speak.
“Noah died,” she croaked out, sounding so broken, my only instinct was to pull her into my arms and never let go.
At first, her body was stiff, but as I began rubbing her back, I felt the first tremble. I knew she was trying hard to hold it all together, but that’s not what I wanted, so I pulled her in even tighter, massaging the back of her neck. Another tremble, and then a sob as she buried her face into my chest.
Eventually the tears came and her uninjured arm wrapped around my waist as she let it all out. Her sobs turned to wails, and each sound sliced another piece of my heart. All I could do was stand there and be her rock as she let it out. But even as she cried against my chest, I thanked God that she hadn’t been killed, or hurt any more than she was. I still burned to know what had happened, but that could wait until she was ready to tell me. Right then, the only thing I cared about was the crying woman in my arms.
“Is she hurt?!” I heard from outside the door. I wanted to tell the intruder not to come in, but before I could, Elliott and Jason burst through the door. Chanel jumped in my arms, looking up. When she laid eyes on her father, she immediately turned her head in the opposite direction, wiping away the tears that continued to fall.
