Page 64 of Out of the Blue

“Trent felt, uhm, overwhelmed. He lashed out and borrowed Dwight’s Harley to get away from everything.” And went straight into a ditch.

God.

Noise from the entrance to the ER garners our attention. “The band’s here,” I say. Not like I needed to tell her.

“I see. Trent will be happy his friends are around him.”

I wave, and the guys hurry in our direction as a tiny Indian woman wearing a white coat and stethoscope approaches. “Cordelia Hernandez?”

I scramble to my feet. “Yes.”

Next to me, Auntie Gloria stands. “And I’m Trenton’s aunt.”

The doctor looks at me, glances at the woman at my side, and registers the band approaching. She waves us toward a corner of the room. “May I have a word with both of you, please?”

The members of the band notice what’s going on and detour to some chairs in the waiting room.

The white coat begins. “My name is Doctor Patel, and I’m treating Mr. Washington.” After customary pleasantries, she continues, “He suffered quite a fall off his motorcycle, and he’s still unconscious. We’ve got him stabilized now.”

My eyes slam shut. Tears stream down my cheeks. “That’s good, right?”

“There’s more.”

Auntie Gloria places her hand on my forearm. I brace myself for the doctor’s next words.

“In the fall, he broke his leg, which will need surgery to set. But his kidney requires immediate attention. You see, one of his kidneys was damaged beyond repair. Tests show that his other one is very low functioning.”

At my quizzical expression, she explains, “He needs a kidney transplant to survive.”

I parrot, “A kidney transplant?” His aunt’s hand flies to her chest.

“Yes. And time is of the essence. Does he have any next of kin?”

“Me. And my kids. I’m his mother’s sister.”

I almost shout that we’re touring with his father.

“Great. We’ll check to see if you’re a match first, if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course.” Trent’s aunt gives me a kiss on the cheek and disappears with Doctor Patel.

Once they go through a door marked “Restricted,” the faces of the men I’ve been working with for the past month surround me. Dwight’s the first to speak. “Come on, let’s sit. You look like you’re ready to collapse at any moment.” He takes my hand and leads me down into a chair. He sits on the other side of me, with Joey and Maurice on the other side. Raine stands in front of us.

I fill them in on Trent’s condition. The words spill out of my mouth, together with the tears I can’t hold back any longer.

Dwight places his hand on my knee. “It’ll be okay. Trent’s strong. He’ll come out of this with flying colors.” Joey and Maurice lay their hands over Dwight’s.

“He’s got this,” Joey says.

“And we got his back,” Maurice avows.

Comfort spreads through my body for a moment, knowing his band of brothers is here for one of their own.Do I even belong here?

Raine interrupts my dark thoughts. “Any intel about the truck driver who found him?”

“I didn’t ask.”

“Okay. I’ll go see what information I can get from the nurses and call the police station. I want to reward the guy.” Raine stalks off toward the desk.

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