"I think I'm going to be sick," I say, my hand going over my stomach.
"You don't like hospitals?" Danny asks.
"It's not the hospital. It's Dean, and not knowing what happened to him and if he'll be okay."
The elevator doors open and we get on and go up a floor. As we get off, the stench of cleaning products hits me and I almost throw up. Normally that smell wouldn't bother me but right now, everything's affecting me. The sounds. The smells. It's all making me sick. I need to find Dean. I need to know he'll be okay. That's the only way I'll feel better.
"I need to see Dean Sanders," I say to the woman at the nurses' station.
"Are you family?" she asks.
"I'm his girl—"
"Sister," Danny says, interrupting me. I wasn't even thinking. Good thing Danny stopped me. "Can she go in and see him?"
"Not yet," the nurse says. "He's recovering from surgery. She can see him later today."
"Surgery?" I say. "What surgery?"
"They had to stop the bleeding from his neck."
"What happened to his neck?"
"He was brought in with a knife wound." She gets up. "You should speak with the doctor. He can tell you more." She walks off, disappearing behind a closed door.
I turn to Danny. "That's it? She just tells us that and leaves?"
"Let's go sit down." He takes my arm and leads me to a chair in the waiting area.
"I can't sit," I tell him. "I need to know what's happening. I need to find someone who can tell us something."
"Brook, you heard what she said. You can't see him right now. He's recovering."
I slump down in the chair. "Someone stabbed him. They were trying to kill him."
Danny puts his arm around me. "He'll be okay. He's strong. I don't even remember him ever being sick."
"We have to call Jake," I say, getting out my phone. "Can you go get him at school?"
"Yeah, of course. You want me to talk to him?" He reaches for the phone.
"No. I'll do it." I stand up as I call his number. It rings and rings until I get his voicemail. "Jake, it's Brook. I need you to call me back. It's really important." I end the call and send him a text, telling him to call me.
"He's probably in class," Danny says. "Maybe I should just go there. It'd be better to tell him in person anyway."
"Maybe I should go with you." I glance at the nurse coming out of the ICU. "If they won't let me see him, I might as well go with you."
Danny gets up. "Come on."
The nurse I talked to before returns to the desk and I race up to her. "I need to leave for like an hour. Please call me if anything happens with Dean." I give her my number, not sure she'll actually call but wanting her to have it just in case.
"Ready?" Danny asks, his keys in his hand.
"Just a minute." I turn back to the nurse. "Did Dean wake up yet?"
"No, he's been out since he got here."
"If he wakes, please tell him we were here and that we'll be back."
