Page 91 of A Little Bit Reckless
Bru
I was at the campus hospital with my family and friends, Wells beside me, rocking. Our parents were on the way to campus from Maywood Heights. The drive was long, and it’d take them a couple hours.
Bow’s parents were on their way too.
Shit happened so quickly. I’d seen a green SUV zooming toward my sister and Bow.
I didn’t think.
Bow had pushed Sloane out of the way by the time I got there, but I’d been able to grab Bow in time. I’d gotten scraped up a bit in the process, but I didn’t care.
Bow.
She’d blacked out, which had been scary as fuck, her head seeping blood. The blackout had been brief though, and she’d woken up by the time the paramedics arrived. My sister had called them. Thankfuckfor my sister since I hadn’t been thinking clearly with everything happening.
“Why the fuck aren’t they telling us anything!” Wells shot off his chair, his hands in his hair. We’d both been coming backfrom the bathroom when everything with Bow went down. We’d both seen the SUV coming, but I got there faster. Wells came in shortly behind me as well as Thatcher and Aspen. Our focus had all been on Bow, so no one had paid attention after the SUV went by. Nobody had seen who was behind the wheel or even a plate number. The driver had gotten away, and here we were with the aftermath.
The aftermath was Wells who, when he wasn’t sitting, was pacing the hospital’s waiting room. Both DorianandThatcher had started to get up, I assumed to talk to Wells and calm him down.
The guys’ help wasn’t needed though. I lifted a hand to them, and they nodded, going back to their girlfriends. Dorian was needed more with Sloane, who was rocking too. She’d gotten checked out like me. She was fine with just a few scrapes and thank God for that.
Returning to his seat, Dorian put his big arms around my sister, and she hugged him back. She buried her face into his chest, and I think the only reason Thatcher was able to be a semblance of calm was because of Aspen. She’d gotten up and put her arms around his waist. She was supporting him. Weallhad support, and Ares and Fawn were here too of course. They’d gone off to get coffee and bottles of water for everyone.
“Eh!” Wells rushed up to the reception desk, getting the attention of the entire ER’s waiting room. He slammed his hands on the desk, which made the lady behind the glass jump. He growled. “I need an update on Rainbow Reed. I needed one likefuckingyesterday and?—”
I got an arm around his chest. I pulled him away, and it wasn’t without effort. He punched at everything, and that included me when I brought another arm around his chest. Wells growled. “Let go, Bru. I swear to fucking God.”
I didn’t let go.
My arms were covered in bandages, my own wounds raw, but I used all my strength to hold him back. I wanted to punch something too. I wanted to go to old habits and fight, but I had to be strong here. I had to be strong for him and her.
“I swear to God, Bru,” Wells croaked, but he stopped fighting when I held him close. Getting a good hold of him, I guided him out of the ER. Some of the guys started to follow us, but I shook my head. Wells and I didn’t need them.
We needed each other.
“I swear, if she’s not okay.” Wells paused like he couldn’t even continue the thought. Once we were outside, I let go of him, and he squeezed his eyes shut. His whole face was red, his hair messy. He laced his fingers on top of his head. “Bru, what will I do?”
What wouldwedo.We.The three of us had just figured this all out, and, even though we were all still coming to terms with our relationship, we’d solidified it. We were together. All three of us.
“She’s going to be okay,” I told him, and not just for him. I needed the words just as badly. I hooked my arms around Wells’s waist, and he brought one around my neck. He took me into a tight hold. We hugged that shit out. We engulfed ourselves in the moment and the emotion of it. We had to release this shit so we could be strong.
“She’s going to be okay,” Wells whispered to me, and I nodded. He pressed his face into my hair for long moments before he pulled back.
I held his face.
“She’s going to be okay,” I said before pressing our mouths together. We took the final seconds to release this shit. We felt it in the moment so we could let it go and deal with whatever was about to happen. I think we needed the moment, this moment.
So that’s what we did.
Wells and I returned to the ER as a unit, our hands together. It wasn’t lost on me that my family,this family of tight friendsseemed to always be in the fucking hospital. It was like the grim reaper followed us on the regular, but he wasn’t going to win this day. He wouldn’t. He wasn’t.
Our friends’ eyes were on Wells and me when we arrived. Ares and Fawn were there, so everyone had either a coffee or a bottle of water.
I sat by my sister, and Wells took my other side. Sloane gave me a warm smile that had to have taken energy. Her face was just as red as Wells’s had been.
I squeezed her shoulder, but our attention drifted when a doctor approached our small group. She was a woman who appeared to be our parents’ age. She introduced herself as Dr. Miller.
“Are you the family of Rainbow Reed?” she asked, and Thatcher immediately stood up.
