I’ll never leave you, Sam. I’m yours. Forever…We’re yours.
I feel the oxygen leaving my body, but I fight hard against it. She’s okay…she’s okay, I repeat over and over in my head, like a mantra.
Leon pulls up in front of the emergency room, and Miles and I jump out.
“Ignore them, Sam,” Miles shouts as we make our way through a small sea of reporters who have already gathered outside the hospital. “Ignore them!” he shouts again, and it takes everything in me not to knock them out of the way.
When we get inside, I run over to the nurse behind the counter, who promptly stands up.
“Where is she?”
“Where is who?” She looks me up and down.
“Lucy Bennett,” I say desperately. “Where is she?”
She puts a fisted hand on her hip and eyes the stitches over my eyebrow. “And you are?”
Miles steps in front of me. “I apologize. He’s just upset. He’s Sam Cole.” He waits for her to react, but she just stares at him with the same unenthused look she gave me. “He’s a boxer. He had a big match tonight over at the Philips arena…that’s why he looks a little beat up. And it’s the reason for all the reporters outside,” he says, glancing over his shoulder. “Lucy Bennett is his fiancée and Joe Maloney is his coach. They were in a car accident on their way home from the match. We just need to talk to somebody to make sure they’re okay.” He glances up at me, giving me a reassuring look.
She pushes her lips together and reaches for a clipboard hanging on the wall. “I’ll need some identification.”
I grab my wallet out of my pocket and hand her my driver’s license.
“Yours too,” she says to Miles, who holds up his finger.
He answers his phone and speaks quietly to someone on the other end of the line briefly, before hanging up. “You might want to get that,” he says to her, dropping his phone back in his jacket pocket.
She gives him a funny look, but then the phone on her desk rings and he gestures for her to answer it. She picks up the receiver and speaks quietly into it. “Yes…Okay…Okay, thank you.” She hangs up the phone and looks at us. “If you’ll wait here, someone will be down to escort you to the surgical waiting area in just a moment.”
“Surgery? Who’s in surgery?” I ask, panicked.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have those details.” She hands me back my driver’s license and sits down behind her desk.
“Mr. Cole, Mr. Angelo.” I look up and see a suited man walking over to us with his hand extended. “I’m Jason Hernandez, the hospital president.”
I reach out and shake his hand. “Sam Cole.”
“I’m a big fan, Sam. I’m so sorry to hear what happened tonight, but I want to assure you, your loved ones are in good hands.”
“Where are they? Are they okay?”
“I only just arrived. I haven’t spoken to the physicians yet. But why don’t we head upstairs so you can speak to the teams taking care of Joe and Lucy. They’ll be able to tell you much more than I can.”
“Sam!” Sebastian calls across the waiting area. He runs over to us with Paul on his heels and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Is she okay?”
“We’re about to go find out. Why don’t you come with us.”
He inhales a shaky breath and wipes his red-rimmed eyes. “Okay.”
* * *
“Lucy’s in surgery. She has a fractured hip and a few other scrapes and bruises, but she’s going to be okay.”
I drop my head and grab Miles’s shoulder, and he wraps his arm around me. “She’s okay,” he says, pulling his hand to his eyes.
“What about the baby?” Sebastian asks, choking back tears, and I steel myself for the answer.
I close my eyes and recall the moment Lucy told me she was pregnant—the joy I felt, the joy I saw in her eyes, and the promise of a family we never had. I have to be the one to tell her. I’m going to have to look in her pale blue eyes and shatter her heart into a million pieces. I feel mine begin to splinter and break apart in my chest.
“She’s fine,” the nurse says, and the air rushes out of my lungs. “We’re keeping a close eye on her.”
“She?” I ask over the quiet cries I hear coming from Sebastian, and suddenly, without warning, I’m hit by a wall of emotion that slams into me like a tsunami, taking me to my knees.
“Mr. Cole, are you okay?” the nurse asks, reaching for my arm.
I pull one foot under me, drop my elbow to my knee, and cry into my hand.
“I’m so sorry, I thought you knew.”
I look up at Miles, who’s grinning at me. “I’m having a girl,” I say to him, and he pulls me to my feet.
“Yeah, you are.” He pulls me into a strong hug.
I look at Sebastian, whose face is partially hidden as he leans into Paul. “She’s going to be so happy.”
“Mr. Cole,” she says, watching us.
I give her a small, grateful smile. “Just Sam.”
“Sam. I need to talk to you about Joe.” The look on her face pushes aside my gratitude. “His injuries are far worse than Lucy’s.”
“How much worse?”
“He took the brunt of the impact from the other car. He has internal injuries, and there was quite a bit of bleeding, but they’re working hard to repair the damage.”
“They can fix him, right?”
“They’re doing everything they can. I just…want you to be prepared.”
“Prepared?”
“Injuries like his are not always repairable.”
“Wait, what are you saying? You’re saying he’s not going to make it?”
“I’m saying there’s a chance he might not make it out of surgery. So if there’s anyone you want to call, you should do that now.”
I pull my hand to my pounding head and look at the floor, feeling the room spin around me. “Go tell Tristan,” I say to Miles. “He needs to know.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Sam?”
I look up at Miles. “I don’t really know, but Tristan deserves to know.” I take a deep breath. “Is there a bathroom?” I ask the nurse, who nods and points across the hall.
I shut the bathroom door behind me and drop my head back against it. But I can’t stop the sick feeling racing through me, so I hang over the toilet and give in to it.
I splash some water on my face and look in the mirror.
Joe’s dying and Lucy’s in surgery. How the fuck did this happen?
* * *
“Sam, Lucy’s out of surgery,” Sebastian says, rounding the corner of the snack room, where I’m getting my third cup of coffee. “The doctor wants to talk to you.”
I leave the cup and rush back into the waiting area, where I’m greeted by a doctor in green scrubs.
“Mr. Cole?”
“Yes,” I say over the emotional wave pool sloshing around inside me.
“Lucy’s out of surgery and she’s doing great. She’s still a little groggy, but she’s awake and she’s asking for you.” He smiles contently.