Page 18 of Fiend
“I swear to fucking God, everyone in this goddamn hospital better hope she makes it out of that room.” I growl the words through clenched teeth. Spit flies from my lips; I’m practically foaming at the mouth.
Strong hands clamp down on my shoulders, unyielding as they turn me away from the pathetic excuse for a fucking nurse and down the hall. “You need to not threaten the medical staff, you fucking moron. They’ll kick you out, and then you definitely won’t be able to see Essa. Or the baby.”
“Let them fucking try it. I’ll burn this place to the fucking ground.”
“Yeah, don’t I fucking know it,” Leo grumbles. If I wasn’t so fucking out of it, I would probably laugh, but as karma would have it, Leo pulls open the door to the waiting room, and who’s curled up in the corner, sobbing? Jaxon. Just the man I wanted to see.
The sight of him, all pathetic and crying overmyfucking girl has my monster roaring. “You son of a bitch!” I seethe. I’m to him in six steps and hauling him off the floor with a death grip on his soaking T-shirt in the next. “You had one fucking job. To justtake care of her!” I slam my head forward, and my forehead connects with Jax’s nose. A cry of pain rings out and he crumples in front of me, his legs giving out as he reaches for his nose where blood is now gushing from.
I tighten my grip and pin him against the wall. Jax’s head falls back, thudding against it as he stares at me with a lifeless expression. And it’s just now I notice the way he looks. His blue eyes are red and puffy, almost to the point of being swollen shut. His face is pale beyond reason, and he appears defeated.
He has no fucking right.
I growl, cocking my fist back to really make him feel the fucking pain he should for what happened, but my arm is caught. My upper half twists to glare behind me, and I’m met with a fuming Leo. His eyes are locked on me, narrowed and wild. “Get your fucking hands off him, Vincent.”
“Like fucking hell I will. He needs to pay for what he did tomybaby doll!” My voice cracks when I say her name, and I swallow harshly, forcing the lump that has settled in my throat down deep.
“He didn’t do anything. He’s not who you’re truly angry at. So I’m not going to tell you again. Hands.Off.” His nostrils flare as we stare each other down, and his grip on my wrist tightens, reminding me I don’t really have any other fucking option.
I look away, back at Jaxon. He’s staring blankly at the wall just to the side of me, and I let him go with a scoff. With my grip no longer holding him up, he crumples to the floor in a heap, caving in on himself.
I bite my tongue and yank out of Leo’s grip, moving to the opposite side of the room. It’s best to keep my distance from Jax before I actually rip his motherfucking head off.
NINE
VINCENT
I’m wearinga literal path into the floor in this wretched waiting room. I scoff and glare up at the clock once more.
Twenty-seven minutes and thirteen… fourteen… fifteen… I force my eyes away from the clock that is slowing with every second that passes. Torturing me. Taunting me.
My gaze falls to Jaxon and Leo still sitting in the corner of the room. Jax is curled in on himself with his bloody hands wrapped around his knees, and Leo is sitting next to him, his large frame practically swallowing Jax’s whole, but I can see he’s clearly trying to comfort him.
Leo’s body appears scrunched with his head resting in the crook of Jax’s neck and his lips are pressed against his flesh. One of Leo’s hands is wrapped around his back, holding him close while the other rests on top of Jax’s on his knees, rubbing soothing circles into his skin and squeezing occasionally, almost as if he’s trying to reassure him.
Goddamn, I’m going to be sick.
I turn away from the sight of them and walk right out the door into the overly white hallway. The smell of all hospitals burns my nose, and my vision blurs. I fumble against the wall, gripping at nothing in particular to help keep my balance, but I come up short and crash to the squeaky floor.
My heart seizes, sending wave after wave of crippling pain through my body. I grasp at my chest, clawing at my T-shirt, trying to stifle the pain, but it only intensifies, consuming me, destroying me from the inside out.
My face is hot. So fucking hot, it’s melting off. My lungs squeeze out every last bit of oxygen, leaving them dry and screaming for more. My bones crack, splitting in half inside of my limbs. My brain turns to mush in my head, only working to send zaps of pain down my spine, reminding me how fuckingaliveI am.
My lips burst open, and the most wretched wail escapes, reverberating through the echoing hall. I slap my hand over my mouth, but it does nothing to stifle the choked sounds coming out of me.
The sounds of defeat. Of all-consuming pain. Guilt. My own treachery.
I can’t, I fuckingcan’t—
“Mr. Anthony?” My head snaps up so fucking fast, I can feel the jolt of pain shoot down my neck and spine, but I clench my teeth, forcing it down. My hands scramble against the floor, pathetic and weak, but I manage to get a grip and stand on shaky, unstable legs.
“Y-yes,” I stutter over the singular word, my tongue feeling leaden in my mouth.
“My name is Charlotte. Can you follow me?” I recognize her as the nurse from earlier, so I nod, and she leads me down a hall between two double doors that she opens with a swipe of her card on the card reader.
“What’s going on? Where’s Essa?” Every ounce of crippling pain is replaced with devastating hope.
“Essa is still in surgery, sir. There were some complications during the procedure with bleeding. But there’s something you need to see.” She pushes open another fucking set of doors, and I can feel my false sense of hope quickly morphing into rage.
