Lauren’s brain was firing off a thousand questions, and only a few were sneaking from her mouth. She couldn’t process this, but she had to. “Where is he?”
“He’s at Genesys Hospital. We should get there now,” Nyair said.
“Yeah, yeah, let me just grab my purse and my keys,” she said as she moved around the room, retrieving the items. “Where is my phone?” she asked. “I just had it.”
Nyair stopped her. “Hey, hey. Your phone is in your hand,” he said, shaking her gently. “Take a beat. You’re in shock. You’re panicking. It’s going to be okay.”
“If he dies…”
“Let’s just get there,” Nyair said, kissing her forehead.
“I have to call Charlie back. She’s pregnant. How do I tell her this? We aren’t even friends. I shouldn’t be the one to tell her something like this.”
“I know it’s a thing there between y’all. I saw it at the funeral, and I get it. You don’t always get to choose who God places in your life, though, Lo. Who else does this girl have?”
Lauren nodded and sent Charlie a text message, asking her to meet her at the hospital, then Nyair took her hand and led her into another battle—one she wasn’t prepared to fight.
Charlie only had bad experiences walking into the hospital. The last time she had been there with Lo, she had learned DJ had passed away. The time before that, she had learned thatDemi was married. The way her body responded this time was palpable. The anxiety of what she was about to walk into made her tremble in fear. Her hands shook so badly that she had to ball her fists to control it.
“This way,” Stassi said as they rushed down the hallway.
When Charlie saw Lauren, pacing at the end of the corridor, she stopped walking. Lauren glanced up at her, and Charlie slowly pushed forward.
“Is he okay?” Charlie asked.
“He’s been shot, Charlie. In the back. He’s coded twice. They’re doing everything they can,” Lauren said, voice cracking under the weight of their reality.
Charlie’s legs lost strength, and she put her hand against the wall to stop herself from falling.
“Ohhh,” she moaned. Her grief was audible, and she bent over in agony as she heard Lauren tell the rest of the story to Stassi.
Looked like robbery.
Blood loss.
Shot twice.
If he makes it.
That’s all Charlie could absorb. She wasn’t sure if the sickness she felt was her baby or her devastation, but she rushed to the nearest trash can.
A nurse rounded the station desk and ushered Charlie to a chair.
“She’s pregnant,” Stassi informed.
“I’ll get you some ginger ale and crackers. Wait here.”
“He can’t die on me,” Charlie cried. “I should have never asked him to leave. This is all my fault. He was supposed to be with me.”
“Let’s just wait and see what the doctors say,” Nyair said gently, placing his hand on the small of Lauren’s back and turning her toward him.
“Where’s Day?” Stassi asked. No one had even thought to question it. Everyone was so focused on the tragedy that they didn’t notice that Demi’s right-hand man was missing.
Lauren pulled away from Nyair.
“Call him, Stassi,” she said. Her tone made Charlie look up in concern.
“He’s probably at the studio,” Stassi said. “It’s going to voicemail. He cuts his phone off when he’s producing. I’ll go get him and bring him here.”
