Off Ice.

Chapter Fifty-Two.

Casey

We're both really fucking quiet as I keep my foot basically glued to the floor of the car, the gas pedal being pressed as far as it can go.

I couldn't understand a word Finn was saying yet his voice is playing on repeat in my mind. He was unintelligible. It sounded like he couldn't breathe.

"Aves, she- fuck. Oh, fuck, what did I do? She won't wake up, I don't know- Oh my God, Avery, this can't be- this can't be fucking happening."

That was the only thing I could understand from the frantic phone call I received ten minutes ago. He was crying, that much I knew.

I tried to ask what he meant when he said that she won't wake up, but that just made him cry harder.

There's no way that she's dead, right? Avery can't be dead, she's Avery. I was just giving her a hard time about fucking Die Hard a few hours ago. She flipped me off before she left, she can't be gone.

Grace isn't saying a damn thing next to me and usually I'd try to cheer her up, at least hold her hand to reassure her - but I can't even do that. I'm white knuckling this steering wheel and going as fast as I fucking can to get to the hospital.

Luckily Finn and I have our locations shared, as do we all with each other, so I know which one they're at. It's the same one I was in just a month ago.

He had texted me while she was in class to tell me that he got here, which was a shock in itself. He said he was gonna come home and surprise us, but he wanted us to know before hand in case they went out to grab a late dinner or something.

Obviously this has to do with Hughes, but I'm only able to have my mind make up the situations they could of gotten into.

But honestly, the only thing I can think about was him saying that she won't wake up. What does that fucking mean?

I cannot imagine what Finn is going though right now. I feel like I have a hand ripping at my heart at the thought of Avery being hurt, so I cannot even fathom the agony that is probably running through that man. There is quite literally nothing in this world that Finn loves more than Avery and even if it's not as bad as my mind is making it seem, he probably feels like he's losing her in the worst possible way.

After a torturous 15 minute car ride from our house and to the hospital, I'm parking the car in the visitors lot and Grace and I are booking it towards the entrance to the ER.

I slip my hand in hers and her fingers lock tightly around mine, silently letting me know how terrified she is. That's about all we can do before we're running through the automatic doors.

My eyes search for Finny and immediately spot him sitting in one of the seats with his elbows on his knees, his head buried in his hands and his fingers tightly pulling at his hair.

Fuck.

We're over to him in a second and I put my hands on shoulders urgently, "Finny, hey."

His gaze snaps up to mine, and my God. His eyes are red and his cheeks are stained with tears. His hair is wild and he somehow looks like he aged ten years in the last couple of hours.

It's not until he stands up and my eyes travel down to his white shirt that I feel my breath get caught in my throat.

"Who's blood is that?" I ask immediately, not even really being able to hear my own voice as I ask.