He was shaking, tears on his cheeks. He was sporting a busted lip and bruised cheek, so clearly Cole got a hold of him. Cole didn’t even need to tell me, and I would have guessed it.
“Yeah. Yeah, I will. No. Just… wait for my call. I promise. Yes,” Ryder said. He disconnected the call a moment later and hung his head.
I took the seat across from him and put my elbows on my knees as I sat forward.
“What happened?” I asked. I’d heard Cole’s side; now I wanted his.
He was quiet for a moment before he shook his head. “We fucked up. I kissed Rosalie. Cole saw me do it. He lost it. We fought. I don’t know what happened. She wasn’t feeling well and said she was tired. She fell and hit her head on the cupboard when she tried to stop us. She wasn’t feeling good today and kept throwing up.”
I ground my teeth and tried to calm my fury at the idiocy of the entire situation.
“Are the guys coming?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “They’re trying to get a flight. Anson is pissed. He’s sick with worry. The baby…” His voice trailed off, and he wiped at his eyes. “Fuck.”
“Cole is a good doctor. He’ll sort this.”
Ryder scoffed and shook his head, a sour look on his face.
We sat in silence for a long time before a doctor came out, whom I recognized as a guy named Gage. He and Cole did med school together and hung out from time to time. He had a nurse with him I didn’t know, so I ignored her.
“Hey, Enzo,” he greeted me.
I got to my feet, Ryder following. “How is she?”
“She’s OK. Concussion. Had to give her a few stitches. She’s a little groggy with a headache. Dehydrated, but rightly so with the vomiting Cole said she was doing today. It would appear she had a syncope episode. I’m guessing baby may have put pressure on some nerves, and coupled with her dehydration, she had an episode.”
“And the baby?”
“Ultrasound was on the way in,” he said. “Cole asked for you to come back. You’re listed as her fiancé on her paperwork, but I know she’s married to someone else…” He frowned. “I’m confused about the situation, I guess. Cole said she’s his girlfriend. I would like to call her husband if she really does have one. The news I’ve seen says she does. I guess that’s why I think it’s important for you to come back too, since she does have you listed along with a Fox Evans.” He paused. “She’s still a little out of it, so wasn’t much help, and Cole is… Cole.”
“It’s fine. I’m the one you can talk to,” I said immediately.
He raised his brows at that. “And Cole?”
“I’m in charge,” I said evenly. I was already in the headlines. I didn’t want Cole to face the backlash as well. I didn’t give a fuck if someone said shit about me, but I’d witnessed how pissed Colecould get with the media. We didn’t need him to punch anyone again.
“I’d appreciate it if that didn’t get out,” I added. “Her and I.”
“You’re a fucking dick,” Ryder muttered, shaking his head. I ignored him.
“Of course. Cole and I are good friends. I would never,” Gage said. “Uh, but he wants you to come back. She’s a bit of a big deal, and I think she could use your help. I have security outside her door, but you know how people are. She has a lot of fans here.”
I grunted and followed him. Ryder tagged along with us. I didn’t tell him to fuck off because I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere good. I only hoped Cole had cooled off enough so we didn’t have a round two on our hands.
Ryder,Cole, and I stood around Rosalie’s hospital bed as the ultrasound technician gave Rosalie the ultrasound. Rosalie seemed a bit more lucid than she was when I’d first seen her tonight.
Ryder took her hand in his, Cole holding her other one, as I stood next to her bed. He and Cole hadn’t said a single word to one another, which I was grateful for.
There was a fuck of a lot of tension in the room, though.
Cole still had her blood all over his white dress shirt and hands. I wasn’t even sure if he realized it. He was so intent on caring for her that he seemed oblivious.
I noted she hadn’t spoken to him, and I could tell it was killing him. To be fair, she hadn’t spoken to Ryder either, so I knew she was pissed.
And to me? She’d reached for me when I’d come into the room. I didn’t know if it was because I was the only one in the room she wasn’t hating at the moment or what, but I went to her just the same and comforted her. Judging by the look on Cole’s face, he was both shocked and hopeful.
“OK, let’s take a look,” the technician, Felicity, said.
