Page 73 of Michael's Awakening
He’d been on his date when I’d called and, by the looks of it, the date had been going rather well by how close Jackson was standing next to him.
“Fuck,” Zack said with shakiness in his voice as he stood next to me and ran a hand through his dark-blond hair. “Have you heard anything yet?”
I shook my head. “Not anything recently. They were going to do a CT scan to diagnose any possible injuries.” I winced as an image of Gabriel’s broken body appeared in my head and I pinched the bridge of my nose before continuing to talk. “And they were also going to do a scan of his torso to make sure there weren’t any broken ribs or other complications due to the amount of damage inflicted.”
Zack took a seat next to me and Jackson sat next to him. “How bad was it?”
“Not good. Let’s just say that.” I clenched my jaw and looked at the floor, trying to block out the images of Gabriel’s bloodied face.
If that police officer hadn’t shown up when he did, I probably would have killed the man who had attacked Gabriel. I’d seen nothing but red as I’d bashed his head against the concrete.
“Do you know who did it?” Zack clenched his fist as he stared at the door that led to the ER.
I told him about the attacker and how I stopped him, and then how the officer had taken care of the prick after that.
“I believe the officer is going to come here once the man is restrained to take our statements.”
Zack reached over and put his hand on Jackson’s knee, as if seeking comfort. Jackson grabbed his hand as they both sat, staring straight ahead, completely oblivious to prying eyes.
Gabriel would be overjoyed to see that. A pain shot through my chest at that thought.Please be okay, Angel.
“Did you tell your father yet?” I asked Zack.
Still holding Jackson’s hand, Zack answered, “Yeah, I told ‘em, and I said I’d let him know what I found out. He’s goin’ to try and leave the factory soon, but his managers are fuckin’ assholes so it might be a little bit before he can get here.”
Nodding my head, I looked around, trying to distract myself. Noticing a television, I focused on it and my blood boiled as I saw what the evening news was broadcasting. They had obviously heard about Gabriel’s attack and were doing a news segment about the ‘gay hate crime’ and the man responsible. Little did they know there were actually three attackers, but once they uncovered that tidbit of info, they’d be all over that too.
I should have known it wouldn’t take long for the news to get a hold of the story, but I refused to let them see Gabriel in his current condition for any interviews.
They could just go fuck themselves.
Apparently, there was an eyewitness that saw the end of the attack, claiming that the victim was rushed away from the scene by an unidentified man and that a police officer took the attacker into custody. Since Kaylee demanded a security camera to be placed in the parking lot, there’d also be footage of the attack. Hopefully.
Looking away from the TV, I turned to Zack. “So, did you and Jackson have a good time? Well, until all of this happened?” I was just trying to focus my attention elsewhere and to distract myself from the gnawing rage and worry building up inside of me.
“Yeah, it was great.” Zack gave a small smile and clutched Jackson’s hand a little firmer, entwining their fingers together. Then, as if realizing what he was doing, he let go. But he didn’t scoot away.
“Hey, sorry I didn’t greet you when I came in,” Jackson apologized. “I just didn’t want to interrupt you guys. This whole situation sucks.”
“Yes, it does,” I answered. “Thank you for coming along. I’m sure it will mean a lot to Gabriel.”
If I ever get to see him.
The door finally opened and a nurse walked out, heading straight toward us. All three of us stood up and greeted her, anxious to hear the news.
