Page 70 of One is Never Enough

“Good.” Oliver kisses a clean place on his face. “Nothing is broken?”

“Nope,” the nurse answers with a smile. “He’ll have some gnarly bruising, but he’ll heal.”

“So, I’m good to go?” Aiden asks.

“Let me get your paperwork.” She takes her gloves off, tosses them in the trash can, and disappears behind the curtain. When I look out, I see Vince and Zac hovering around Leland. Leland rolls his eyes at something Zac is saying, and I have to hide my smile. I know they’re probably trying to take care of him, and Leland will buck them the entire time. The nurse comes back in and goes over Aiden’s discharge instructions. She barely finishes the last sentence before he’s standing up. “If your vision gets blurry, come back. I’m pretty sure you have a concussion, so make sure someone is around while you sleep to wake you up.”

“Thank you.”

Aiden follows us back toward the elevators and Vince, Zac, and Leland fall in line behind us. When we get back to the waiting room, a doctor is leaving. Cassandra and Ray walk out, and she grabs my hand.

“They’re bringing him up now,” she relays. “He said to prepare ourselves because he doesn’t look good.”

I know the second they roll him around the corner because Oliver gasps. I swallow the lump in my throat and wait until they get him settled in. They give us a nod to let us know we can go in, and we quietly enter.

My hands start shaking when I see Jace completely still and pale with that tube down his throat. He has stitches all over his head and face, his leg and arm are in a cast, and wires are running everywhere. Holy fuck. Someone grabs my hand and squeezes, and I look down at Oliver. He pulls me to the opposite side of the bed from Cassandra and Ray. Oliver grabs Jace’s arm, and I grab his hand. It’s cold and clammy, making me think the worst. Aiden stands beside me and lays his hand on Jace’s leg.

I’ve never seen Jace look weak. He’s always been the strongest in my eyes. He’d have to be strong to put up with me. Cassandra brushes Jace’s hair off his forehead to place a gentle kiss there.

I feel like my heart still hasn’t come out of my throat. I impulsively reach over and grab Aiden’s hand, making him look at me in surprise. I just need to reassure myself that he’s really here.

I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from this.

Four days.

That’s how long it’s been since Jace’s accident. He’s showing signs of improvement, which is the only good news we’ve gotten.

Trent was, of course, arrested and is currently sitting in jail, waiting for his trial. Three detectives have been here to take Aiden’s statement, making sure they cover all their bases thanks to Kristian. I know with him in charge, Trent will never see the light of day again. They questioned the bodyguard who carried Aiden from the apartment, and he’s also being held. He told detectives that Trent paid him a load of money to help him.

Leland, Zac, and Vince are in and out when they aren’t working, bringing us food and giving us time to run home to shower. We take turns sleeping here, but even when it’s my turn to go home, I can’t go far, so I sleep in my car. Oliver and Aiden haven’t figured out that I do it, and I’m not saying anything. As long as they’re resting, that’s all I care about. Cassandra and Ray are here every morning and leave for the hotel when visiting hours end. The most surprising visitor was Aiden’s dad. He came as soon as I hung up the phone, starting his own search for Aiden. I didn’t know Aiden messaged him when he got to the hospital until he showed up almost an hour later. He’s done everything he can to make sure we’re comfortable, and he looks legitimately worried about Jace.

I sent Oliver and Aiden home almost an hour ago to rest so it just leaves me here staring at the walls. It’s like a never-ending nightmare that I can’t wake up from. The past four days have played on repeat in my head, and I still haven’t been able to settle down. It’s like my skin is always itchy, and I can’t find a way to scratch. I need Jace to wake up.

I lay my head back on the chair and am about to doze off when one of the many machines in Jace’s room starts beeping loudly. I jump to my feet with no clue what to do when two of the nurses come rushing in.

“What’s going on?” I demand.

“He’s fighting against the tube.”

“What does that mean?!”

“He’s trying to breathe on his own.” That takes a minute to hit me, and when it does, my knees almost buckle.

The nurses start grabbing things that I can’t even name and lay them on Jace’s chest. “Mr. Masters?” the older nurse says. “We have to pull the tube out.” Does that mean he can hear them? His eyes aren’t open, but they’re rapidly flipping back and forth behind his eyelids.

The older nurse nods at the younger one, and I have to turn my head when she starts pulling the long fucking tube from Jace’s throat. They get everything cleaned up, and I wait with my breath held. When Jace takes that first breath, I hit my knees beside his bed and grab his hand.

“We’ll wean him from the sedation now that the tube is out.” The older nurse smiles kindly. “This is a good sign. He’s breathing on his own, and his last scan showed good brain function. Now he just needs to wake up.”

“Thank you,” I say, tears clogging my throat. They leave, and I bury my face in Jace’s arm. “I really need to see your eyes. It’s been a long four days, and I can’t do this alone. I know I don’t say it enough, but I love you, you overbearing asshole.”

Nurses and doctors filter in and out of the room, changing his medications so he’ll hopefully wake up. I can’t bring myself to leave his side to call Aiden and Oliver, but I know they’ll be back soon. They find me on my knees with my face buried against Jace almost two hours later.

“Toby! What happened?!” Oliver asks, rushing to my side.

“They pulled the tube out,” I say, finally looking up with a smile. “He’s breathing on his own.”

Oliver claps a hand over his mouth and gently sits on the side of the bed. He closes his eyes and places his hand on Jace’s stomach. When he feels him breathe on his own, tears start falling down his cheeks. Only this time, they’re happy tears.

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