Page 49 of Rival Hearts

“She’s out of surgery. She’s in a critical condition,” Dr. Mars said and Riley held her breath, “but we think she’s going to make it if nothing else goes wrong.”

Everyone else was relieved, and Jett’s mom hugged her brother, but Riley couldn’t find happiness within her. She was a doctor, after all. She knew how fragile these things could be and she knew that things could change in an instant.

But still, Riley allowed herself to have a little bit of hope as she was led to Jett’s hospital room with the rest of Jett’s family.

Jett looked so fragile laying in that hospital bed. Riley stood against the wall, allowing others to have the few chairs that were in the room. She looked at Jett with all the tubes in her arms and the oxygen in her nose, and she took a deep breath.

* * *

As the night wore on, a doctor came in and told them that they didn’t expect Jett to wake up tonight, and that they couldn’t allow all five of them to stay in the room overnight.

“I’ll go home,” Becky said.

“I’ll be back in the morning,” Ember said.

Jett’s mom didn’t say anything. It was clear that she didn’t want to leave the room. She stared at Jett with tears in her eyes and a lifeless expression on her face.

Brody reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Mom,” he said, “we should get home. You’re not going to be able to get any sleep here and we need you to be well rested when Jett wakes up.”

Jett’s mom shook her head and Brody sighed. “Please, Mom.”

Jett’s mom sobbed and wrapped her arms around herself. “That’s my baby,” she said. “It’s just like your father all over again.”

“No, Momma,” Brody said. “Jett is going to make it. She’s going to be okay. I just don’t want you to be here with no way to leave since we took my car here.”

Brody looked at Riley. “Are you planning to stay the night?”

Riley hadn’t thought about it, but now that Brody asked, there was no way that she was going to be able to go home and she nodded.

“Mom, how about you give Riley your phone number and she’ll text you if there are any updates?” Brody suggested.

Jett’s mom looked at Riley and Riley attempted and failed a smile at her.

“You take care of her, okay?” Jett’s mom said, squeezing Riley’s hand.

“Of course,” Riley said.

Jett’s mom nodded, and the two women exchanged phone numbers.

“Why don’t we all give you our numbers and you can put us into a group chat?” Ember suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Becky said and Riley agreed, so before everyone left, she had four new numbers in her phone and had created a group chat for updates on Jett’s health.

Riley sat down in one of the now-empty chairs and sighed as she looked at Jett. She was definitely not going to be able to get any sleep tonight, or probably at all until after Jett woke up.

Riley just sat there and stared at Jett’s vital signs. She couldn’t stop crying. The chair was incredibly uncomfortable, but Riley refused to move. She was fine, after all. Jett was the one who wasn’t okay.

Riley continued to think and she felt terrible. Jett could have lost her life in that fire, and Riley didn’t even have the courage to admit her true feelings for her. Life really was too short to not tell Jett how she felt. It was messed up how one of them could be so courageous and the other not.

She made a silent vow to herself that she would tell Jett the truth if she woke up.

I’m in love with you.

Riley reached toward Jett’s hospital bed and took her hand in a gentle grasp. If things had gone worse, Riley wouldn’t have been able to hold Jett’s hand ever again. Riley couldn’t imagine it. She wanted to be with Jett for a long time, and she couldn’t believe that she had been letting her anxieties get in the way of her potential happiness.

A little later, a nurse came in to check on Jett as Jett just lay there motionless and Riley watched. If Riley had been in a better mood, she would have smiled when she noticed it was Leah, but instead she stared stone-faced at Jett, willing her to wake up.

When Leah left the room, Riley heard a groaning sound. At first she thought that it might have been from someone in another room or the hallway, as it was so faint. But as the sound, a low moan, continued, Riley felt Jett’s fingers twitch against hers.

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