Page 61 of Breaking All The Rules

Me: She’s been moved to the ICU but hasn’t woken up. The surgery went well, but she’s still fighting for her life.

I felt the tears slide down my face as I pressed send. How did the night turn so dramatically? We went from celebrating her new job and having a girls' night to me sitting in the hospital, praying she wouldn’t die.

Ethan: Are you allowed to have company?

Me: No, they only allow one person in the room at a time—hospital rules.

Ethan: You know I don’t follow the rules very well.

I rolled my eyes and felt guilty about the smile that was trying to spread across my face. Now wasn’t the time or place to be smiling and feeling happy.

Me: So I’ve seen...

Ethan: I’m on my way up. What room is she in?

Me: They’re not going to let you in. You have to have them unlock the door, and they’re not going to.You should go home and get some rest. I’ll text you an update tomorrow.

Ethan: What room?

He was persistent, to say the least. I was too exhausted to argue with him about this. He would have to find out on his own that they weren’t going to let him up here.

Me: 1041

Ethan: On my way.

I put my phone down next to me and rubbed Lucy’s hand before turning my attention back to the TV. A few minutes later, I heard the door open and expected to see a nurse coming in to check on Lucy. Ethan ducked his head in and smiled before slipping inside, holding the door as it gently closed. He gave me a quick head nod with a smile before he walked over and sat by me. I blinked a few times, convinced that I must have been so tired that I hallucinated that he was in the room.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed quietly at him.

“I told you I was on my way up.” He shrugged as he quietly pulled the other chair over and sat beside me.

“Did you sneak up here? You’re going to get in trouble, and they’re going to kick you out...”

“They let me in,” he said as he leaned back and rested his ankle on his knee. “How are you holding up?”

I sighed heavily, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders.

“I’m tired.” I leaned back to relax when the light hit his face, and I saw the outline of a black eye. “What the hell happened to you?!” I asked in a harsh whisper.

“It’s nothing.” He shook his head and looked away.

“Ethan...”

“I took care of the problem, okay?”

“No. Not okay.” I blew out a heavy breath and gently let go of Lucy’s hand as anger rushed through me.

“We need to talk. Now.” I stood up and walked over to the corner of the room. It was far away enough from Lucy’s bed that we wouldn’t disturb her, but it was close enough that I could still see her.

I waited impatiently as Ethan stood up and followed me over. He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the counter behind him. His head was lowered as if he were afraid to look at me.

“What did you do?” I asked again, my arms folded over my chest.

“I went to visit Lance. It just took a little longer to find him than I’d thought.”

“How did you even know where to look? All you had was his name.”

“I have a friend who owed me a favor,” he said and looked away.

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