Page 100 of Reconciling With the Rival

“He’s in recovery now. We had to remove one of his kidneys due to extensive damage to his left side.”

“A kidney?” Paige says, and I poke her again. “Sorry.”

“Is that all?” I ask the doctor.

“His left leg is broken. He had a complete fracture of his tibia, so he’ll be in a cast for six to eight weeks while it heals.”

“But he’s okay?” she asks.

“Yes, he should be fine. Anesthesia should wear off in a bit. Do you want to see him?”

“Yes,” she says to the doctor. “Can they come with me?”

“Normally, I would say no, but there’s nobody else in the room with him, so it should be fine if you all stay on one side.” The doctor smiles at us. “Follow me.”

It takes a few twists and turns before we get to where he is, and when we do, all of us see Grant laying down, eyes closed. Hads bursts into tears again.

“Thank you,” I say to the doctor as she closes the door. It looks like this room isn't private, since there’s another bed to the left of Grant, but there’s nobody in it. “Hads, come sit.”

She’s leaning over onto me, and I hear Paige sniffle as I place Hads beside Grant’s bed.

“He looks so weak,” she says. “I miss seeing his smile. I don’t like this, you guys.”

“Hads, look at me, girl.” She tilts her head up to meet my eyes. “He’s alive, and he’s fine. Grant isokay. You didn't lose him.”

She nods her head at me as she takes a deep breath. “I need my brother, Ells.” She looks at Paige. “Where is he?”

Paige sniffles but speaks. “I called him. He was out with Nick, so he was a bit far away and had to drop him off before he got here. He should be here soon. I told him what room we’re in.”

And right on cue, Oliver opens the door, a panicked expression on his face as he looks between us all. Paige and I both move to the side as he goes straight to his sister. Paige and I know he’s as worried as Hads is. Oliver is all too familiar with car accidents, and I hope he’s doing okay—his first girlfriend was killed in one their senior year of high school. Paige told me the fear has gotten better over time, but this probably dredged a whole bunch of shit up.

My heart aches for them, and for one of my best friends who’s currently passed out after having surgery.

Today sucks, and after all this shit has happened, I want to put us all in some sort of protective bubble where nothing bad can hit us again. The group of us knows loss, hurt, and grief too well for how young we all are.

I’m so tired of it. I long for a day when the group of us are happy and thriving after all this shit we’ve been through. I know that’s not realistic, but maybe it can happen for us.

“Is he okay?” Oliver asks, a tremor in his voice.

Hads nods into his shoulder. “He’s okay, Ol.”

“He fucking better be.” He pulls back from his sister. “I’d have to kill him if he wasn't.”

“Don’t say that, Oliver,” I tell him.

“What the hell happened?” he asks as he goes to hug Paige.

“I’m not quite sure, but one of his kidneys is gone and his leg is broken.” I hand Hads some tissues.

“Fuck,” is all Oliver says. I see Paige squeeze his hand, and I wish there was something I could do to help. I feel powerless as I sit here and wait for him to wake up. We won’t know what really happened until he does. I assume the police will want to talk to him. I just hope it wasn't his fault, because that would be a whole other thorn in their side after Grant recovers.

“He’ll be okay. Grant’s an athlete. They heal faster than others do,” Paige says, trying to lighten the room.

“She’s right, and Grant will want to heal fast enough so he can get back on the ice for his league with Jacks in January.”

“Damn right,” is all we hear as Grant wakes up. “Can someone get me some water?”

I grab a cup as Hads throws her arms around him.

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