He was working on his second set of squats when Bryce walked over and draped an arm over the rack. “Did you hear the news?”
“What news?” Colton asked with a grunt, as he re-racked the barbell.
“Dean was injured today during his rehearsal.”
Colton started to gasp, but his throat closed. He couldn’t breathe.
“What?! Is he okay?” he asked after finally finding the ability to breathe again.
“He has a concussion,” Bryce said, fiddling with his phone. He showed Colton the video of the fall that someone had posted online.
Colton watched intently as Dean clearly lost his balance, began flailing his arms, and fell backwards, landing hard oh the stage.
“Jesus, that looked bad!” He said, his throat still tight and his pulse still racing. “I need to call him.” Colton reached for his phone, but the call went straight to voice mail.
There was no way he could continue his work out, not when he didn't know how badly Dean was hurt. So, Colton quickly cleaned up his training equipment and hurried to Dean’s loft. Hemust have broken about six different traffic laws in his rush to get to there.
He flew into the parking garage on two wheels and took the first parking space he found. He rushed past security in the lobby, giving a quick wave and acknowledgement to Wilfred at the security desk. He knocked quietly on the door of the loft and Jordan answered after a short time.
“Oh, hi, Mr. Merrick.”
“Where’s Dean?” Colton pushed past Jordan and into the loft. “Is he okay?”
“Yes, he’s in bed.” Jordan ushered Colton toward the bedroom. As they walked, Jordan leaned in and whispered, “He’s still a little groggy from the pain killers.”
Colton nodded.
Dean sat in bed, his back propped against a pillow on the headboard, his head slumped to the side, his eyes half closed. There was a gauze bandage wrapped around his head, with extra padding in the back where the impact had occurred.
He looks awful,Colton thought, swallowing hard and trying to control his emotions, fighting the urge to run to his side and hold him tight. Before he could catch himself, he quietly muttered with an emotional quiver, “Dean?”
Dean sleepily looked up. “Heeeey, Colton. What are you doing here?”
When Colton dropped onto the bed next to Dean, he couldn’t stop the tears forming in his eyes. “I heard about the accident. I wanted to check on you.”
Dean’s head lolled sluggishly to the side and he squeezed Colton’s hand. “Aww, that’s sho nice.” He smiled weakly, his words slurring.
“Dean, I’ve got a few more things I need to handle for the cancellations,” Jordan interrupted. “But don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.”
Colton turned to Jordan. “I’ll stay with him. You go.”
Jordan placed his hand on Colton’s shoulder. “Thank you, Mr. Merrick.”
“Please, Jordan, call me Colton.” Jordan nodded and gave Colton a knowing look of approval before heading out with his phone to his ear.
Colton turned his attention back to Dean. Without thinking, he held Dean’s hand and rubbed his forearm with his free hand.
“So, what happened?”
Dean sighed. “Well, we were rehearsing, using this hydraulic lift that brings you up from underneath the stage,” he began sleepily, his eyes droopy. “Apparently, at the top of the lift, the hydraulics released slightly, so the lift wasn’t flush with the stage, and I stepped back…” He gestured with his hand to indicate his foot placement. “Lost my footing, fell backward and hit my head”
Colton cringed. “Yeah, I saw the video online. It looked bad”
Dean groaned and leaned back, hitting the back of his head on the headboard. “Ow! Fuck!”
“Careful!” Colton reached around and held the back of his head. “You’ll make it worse.”
Colton could barely contain himself. His hands were shaking, his breath was shallow, and his heart pounded in his chest. His emotions were beginning to spiral out of control, which was a brand-new sensation for him.
