Page 59 of Joyride
She glances around at everyone but doesn’t comment. “Surgery went well. He’s out of surgery and should be waking up at any moment. I can take two of you back there.”
“Wren and Shade, why don’t y’all go first,” Ranger suggests.
We follow the nurse back to Sketch’s room. If it weren’t for all the machines and everything hooked up to him, I would think he was just sleeping. His left shoulder is all bandaged up. Shade moves to his side while I stay in the doorway. My heart aches to see him like this.
“Hey, brother. I’m here with your Ol’ Lady. Wake your ass up,” Shade laughs out.
A bad feeling washes over me. I slowly move to his right side, sliding a chair next to his bed. Grabbing his hand, I sit with him and pray to the gods.
“Shade, something isn’t right. I don’t know what it is, but something is off.” I squeeze Sketch’s hand, hoping he knows I’m here with him.
“Wren, he’s fine. The nurse said the surgery went well. There’s nothing to worry about,” he says. I won’t stop worrying until he wakes up, and I’ll stay with him until he does. I’m never leaving him again.
37
Sketch
We pullup to Santo’s house right after Thor blew up Zack’s car. Men come from all around the house and shoot at us before any of us even get out of the SUVs. There are six men, including Zack and Santo. Rico should be inside with a couple of his men and Wren. He’s supposed to get her out of here and to the safe house with Raze and Minx. I climb out of the SUV on the side facing away from the house. The SUVs are getting peppered with bullets. I duck down moving toward the front of the SUV near Diesel. Standing, I take a couple shots toward Zack, hitting a guy a couple feet in front of him. Shooting in his direction again, I get knocked back by a tight pressure in my left shoulder.
“Shit!” I duck down, sitting against the SUV.
“Sketch, you good?” Rascal crouches down beside me.
I close my eyes, trying to make the dizziness go away. “I-I got shot.”
“Fuck.” He puts pressure on my shoulder. “Diesel, we gotta get Sketch to the hospital.”
They get me back in the SUV and everything goes black.
Everything is so dark and cold. I’m not sure where I am. There are murmured voices, but I don’t see anything. It’s as if I’m stuck in limbo. I’m not sure why or even how I got here.
Instantly, white hospital walls pop up around me. I walk into a room to Wren looking out the window, singing. I can’t quite make out what she’s singing, it’s so soft. She turns around to face me, holding a small bundle in her arms.
“Logan, come back to me.” Her voice is broken like she’s been crying.
I take a few steps so I’m right in front of her, and the bundle disappears. “Little Bird, I’m right here.”
“I’m sorry for leaving. I won’t ever leave again.” It’s distant and her lips aren’t moving. Something isn’t right. My eyes flutter.
I open my eyes, glancing around. Wren is curled up next to me. We’re in a hospital room. I try to move to sit up, but a sharp pain in my left shoulder stops me.
“Fuck,” I mutter. Wren stirs next to me before opening her eyes. Her eyes find mine and are instantly glossy. “Hey, Little Bird.”
A smile stretches across her face. “You’re awake.”
“I am.” I kiss the top of her head. “Was I out for long?”
“Um, two days,” she tells me. “The doctor said you should have woken up the same day. All your vitals were normal, there were no signs of any underlying issues. He wasn’t sure why you didn’t wake up right away. Only that maybe your body was stressed out and was trying to heal itself. Either way, I’m happy you’re finally awake, I thought I lost you for good.”
“You brought me back. It was mostly dark and empty, then all of a sudden, I saw you. You started to talk to me, then the next thing I knew, I was waking up here.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I talked to you every chance I got. Even if there was a possibility you wouldn’t hear me.”
The door to my room opens and Rascal and Shade walk in.
“He’s awake!” Shade says.
“We were beginning to think you would never wake up,” Rascal adds.
