‘No, I meant to go to the hospital. Car’s out front waiting for us.’
‘Us?’ I sound like a robot with all these single-word questions, but I have no idea what’s going on right now and I just want to get out of here.
‘Of course. I wouldn’t let you go to the hospital on your own. Come on.’ He grips my elbow and guides me out the back door, where luckily the press haven’t been allowed, and I get to slip into the car undisturbed.
‘You don’t have to do this, Caleb,’ I say. ‘I know we said we’d talk, and we will, but?—’
‘Jo, they are your priority right now and I’m here to support you. Nothing else matters other than getting you to the hospital.’ He takes my hand and I’m thankful for the partition between us and the driver because I’m gripping his hand like it’s my only lifeline. ‘There’s nowhere else I’d be other than here with you, Johannes. I hope you know that.’
It’s the hope I need to see me through the journey to the hospital.
ChapterThirty-Two
Caleb
‘You look like shit,’ Johannes says, his forced laugh getting caught in the back of his throat as we step into Harper’s room. Harper’s shirtless, and one side of his chest and arm is absolutely covered with angry-looking bruises.
He doesn’t seem to be hooked up to any monitors, though, which is always a good sign, and there are no casts or slings on any part of his body. It’s still not a sight you want to see in this sport. The thrill of it sometimes allows you to forget the danger until you witness the crashes.
I’ve loved this sport for a long time, but now that I’m close to so many of the drivers and engineers, accidents hit hard.
‘You doing okay?’ I ask Harper as Johannes perches on the end of the hospital bed.
‘All good. No broken bones. Can you believe it? Just bruises.’ He gestures to where he’s turning black and blue. ‘I’m just waiting to be cleared to go back to the hotel. But first I have to deal with this worrywart.’
He thumbs over towards where his phone is next to him on the pillow. Kian can be seen moving around frantically on the screen. ‘My car is ten minutes away,’ he says.
‘I’ve told him he doesn’t need to come.’ Harper sighs, but I don’t for a second believe he means it, and while we’ve only been friends for six months, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s actually delighted that Kian’s on the way. They seem to enjoy being joined at the hip.
‘And I told him that there’s nowhere else I’d rather be and that I started packing my bag as soon as I saw the crash.’ Kian’s tone, and the way he’s throwing a duffel bag over his shoulder, tells me this isn’t something anyone can stop him doing. I’d be the same if it was Johannes, and if I’m thinking that at this point, when I’m still not even sure what’s going on between us, or between him and Jackson, then I can’t imagine how Kian’s feeling about seeing his husband all battered and bruised.
‘No broken bones, no concussion or internal damage. Just cuts and bruises. I’m basically one hundred per cent,’ Harper tries one more time, but Kian just shakes his head. There’s a small smile on Harper’s lips despite the amount of pain he must be in.
‘Just let me come, okay? I want to be there for you. You’re going to need someone to ice those bruises and help you out.’
I’m not sure we should be here for this conversation, but luckily Kian lets Harper know his car’s outside and that he’ll see him in around thirteen hours’ time. They each hang up with ‘I love you’,and Harper tucks his phone back under the pillow.
‘Your relationship makes me feel sick,’ Johannes says as Harper stretches out to get as comfortable as possible on the hospital bed.
‘Have you seen me? Of course my husband would get on a plane to check on this ass.’
Johannes rolls his eyes, before clapping his hands on his thighs and pushing up off the edge of the bed. ‘And on that note, we’re going to see what state Nils is in. I’ll be back shortly.’ He leans over and places a kiss on Harper’s forehead and gestures for me to lead the way to Nils.
‘So, it was worse than they thought it was,’ Nils says as we step into his room and find that he’s wearing a sling.
‘Oh, fuck, man, I’m sorry. How bad?’ Johannes is straight to his side, perching on the bed to try and get a better look at his injuries.
‘Broken collarbone. Out for the rest of the season.’
Fuck. That’s not what we want to hear right now, but it could have been so much worse and that’s what I have to think about when it really comes down to it.
‘At least there are only two races left, but that sucks. I’m sorry.’
‘Next year we’ll have it, though. I have a good feeling and there’s nothing more I can do for the team this year anyway. Hendersohm basically has the Constructors all tied up, so you need to win the Drivers so we can have some silverware.’
‘Absolutely.’ Johannes pats his head in an adorable move and Nils preens. They’re so cute, like brothers.
‘Oh my God, you guys, have you seen this, though?’ With his other hand, Nils scrolls on his phone until he finds what he’s looking for and to my surprise he thrusts it towards me and not Johannes.
