“Me?” I squeaked.
“Yes you, silly,” Easton gave me a gentle hug. “Any update on when you can leave?”
That posed a whole other list of issues for me. How would I get up the stairs to the apartment? How would I be able to take care of myself? I really had no other option. “Um, I’m not sure. I slept most of the day,” I admitted.
“The doctor said he’d like to keep Ely another night to monitor him.” Rhone filled the group in. “After that, I was hoping he’d come home with Mom and I until his stitches are at least removed?” He paused, nervously eying me.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Katy added. I’m sure the look on my face was one of shock. “Would that work for you Ely?”
Every eye in the room was staring expectantly back at me. Gulp. “That could– that could work.” But I still didn’t understand what he meant about my bills.
As if he was reading my mind, Easton spoke, “As my husband said—” but he was quickly cut off as the room erupted.
“Husband?” every voice replied.
Diamond’s laughter filled the room. He held his hands up. “Whoa guys, it’s all good.”
“Neither Diamond nor I like being the center of attention and I personally don’t want to deal with my mother.” He smiled at Chase whose face turned a horrid shade of red. I’d have to ask Rhone to explain that connection to me some other time. “A wedding wasn’t an option either of us wanted. We were already in Vegas and had just gotten married when all hell broke loose. We’re staying at Caesar’s and they immediately put the hotel on lockdown. After that the roads were a nightmare, so we worked our magic remotely to get everything situated for you guys before we headed over to check in.”
Wow, was all I could think. They should be on their honeymoon yet they’re here checking on me.
“Babe,” Rhone said, gently sitting on the bed beside my hip. “What’s wrong? Should I call the nurse?”
I shook my head. “No, they should be on their honeymoon. Not in some grungy hospital with a guy they hardly know.”
“Hey, you’re important to this guy right here,” Diamond said, patting Rhone’s shoulder. “Which makes you important to us. We can go on a honeymoon anytime we want and to be honest, this was a last-minute decision, so a honeymoon hasn’t even been planned.”
“Who stood up with you guys?” Chase asked.
“We did,” said a very familiar voice that brought a smile to my face, not that the love this group exuded hadn’t already. “Honey,” Benny said, kissing both my cheeks. “Isn’t this going to extremes to get the man you clearly already have?” he asked before kissing Rhone’s face as he just had mine.
This group. These guys. This…family. If you weren’t sucked in by their energy, their love for one another, then you clearly had no heart to give. I’d barely just met them and even taking current events into account— the fact that I was lying in a hospital bed— there was no way you couldn’t see all that was right in the world just by knowing them. The collective salary in this room was staggering yet here sat far more bodies than I’m sure the hospital would normally allow. Every one of them were so down to earth you’d never know they lived in mansions.
“Sweetheart,” Benny said, wiping my eyes. “Your make-up, which I’m sure was once model worthy, is no longer working in your favor. Stop your crying and bask in the love and friendships surrounding you. Yes, it’s overwhelming at first but once you get over yourself…” He winked. “You’ll see you’re more than worth it.”
“Oh. My. Fucking. God!” Leo screamed. “Have I died and gone to heavy metal god heaven?”
Always the drama queen.
The room silenced at his words, all heads turned his way. “Everyone, this is Leo,” I said. “Leo, pick your jaw up off the floor and please be the adult I’m hoping you can be.”
“Ely, do you realize who you have standing in your room?” Leo asked.
I looked around, new friends, old friends. That sense of belonging hit me square in the gut. “Yes, I do. I see my family.”
One month I’ve known Rhone.
One month he says we’ve been dating. It’s all new to me, so I’ll go along with him.
No slow introductions.
No slow anything to us and yet everything in my world felt…right.
No longer did I feel broken, unloved.
Anyone who said you couldn’t feel love when you first meet someone, whether it’s brotherly or as in finding the one, was a closed off cynic. I’d held everyone in my life at arm’s length due to my upbringing and every soul in this room did the opposite, pulling me in to their open arms with no hidden agenda. I had nothing to give them, nothing they were looking to take. They only offered pure, no sneaky hidden agenda love.
Rhone squeezed my hand, with everything going on I hadn’t realized I’d not let go of his. “Someone’s getting sleepy,” he said.
One by one, they came to my side saying their goodbyes. Each as sincere and heartfelt as the next. When it was Easton’s turn, he surprised Rhone and I once again. “If the hospital or insurance company calls to verify anything, which they will, you need to know I added Ely to our payroll as our…” He finger quoted, and smiled. “Chef.”
“What?” Rhone and I said in unison. My brain was a fuzzy mess, but I did hear that clear as day.
“Welcome to Masterson, Ely,” Easton said.
“Um, thanks?”
The nurse came in to check my vitals. “You have quite the crowd in the hallway, Ely.”
I guess they were waiting on Easton. “Oh, yes ma’am. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize, it’s good to have friends and family with you. Helps with the healing process,” she said.
No truer words had ever been said to me.
“I take it you haven’t seen the news today, have you?” she asked, the dry erase board on the wall said her name was Sylvia.
“No, we haven’t turned the TV on.”
She grabbed the attached bedside remote, clicking it on to the local news station. “Seems you and your friends are quite the celebrities.”
“Yes, I was just getting to that,” Easton began. “Sikes and Snipe are back on the books. Between the sold out shows plus Diamond and Mickey being in town, the social media trolls have been plugging up the feed.”
“Hospital security has been running around like chickens with their heads cut off,” Sylvia said as we watched the live shot the newscaster just shared outside the hospital. The parking lot was packed.
“Oh my,” Katy said. “How will I get out of here?”
“We’ve got you covered, Katy,” Easton assured her, tapping away on his phone screen.
“I’ve backed off the pain meds a bit but did just administer a dose so it won’t be long before he sleeps,” Sylvia said. My limbs were heavy, my brain cloudy.
“Hey babe,” Rhone whispered, kissing me. “I’m gonna walk everyone out, I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, love you,” I whispered.
“Love you too.”