Triple Trouble

30|| Triple Trouble

a l e x

The emotions finally got the best of me once I had to be alone with myself.

They took Lexi to the emergency room and allowed me to see my brother for a quick second before I was led to a doctor who made sure I was okay.

I didn't even realize that tears were spilling out of my eyes until I felt a tap on my shoulder, and a lady who looked to be about my mother's age offered me a tissue that I gladly accepted.

Speaking of my mother, she was another one of my problems. As if my sister's situation added to Ryder's wasn't already enough, I also had to figure out what we were going to tell her as an excuse for what happened tonight. It's not like my brother and sister just casually get shot on a regular day.

"Where are they?"

I looked up from the crumpled tissue in my hand and glared at my brother. "It's nice to know you care about them, but it wouldn't hurt to ask if I'm okay too, right?"

He shut his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. "Fuck, I'm sorry. A lot's going through my mind right now. Are you okay? Why aren't you with a doctor?"

"There's the Jackson I know. They already checked me out, and aside from a few cuts and bruises, I'm fine," I tried to smile, but I couldn't bring myself to it, remembering what just transpired.

He took a seat beside me and grabbed my hand comfortingly. "Are you okay telling me what happened? If not, it's okay. I tried all I could to tap into the mics, but they were smashed to pieces."

I recalled what happened in a hushed voice, knowing that the lady from earlier was still in the waiting room with us. Mia joined in a little later with a bottle of water for me and listened in.

"And now I don't know how any of them are doing," my voice shook. "I'm so scared. Lexi lost a lot of blood, and I don't even know the extent of Ryder's injuries. Meanwhile, I'm here with a bandaged up arm and nothing else."

"Hey, hey," Jackson hushed me. "None of what happened to them is your fault. Nobody is to blame but Issabella, and she's in cuffs as we speak. Mia and I already checked in with them before we came here, and they've got everything handled. They'll ask for your testimony in a bit."

Soon enough, the cops arrived. Just two or three of them. I wanted to hit one of them because if it weren't for their stupid sirens, maybe things would've gone way differently. But I did my best to keep my cool and reminded myself that violence wasn't going to result in anything good.

They asked me questions for a good thirty minutes, maybe a bit more. They made me go over what happened and what we already knew about Issabella, then told me what they were going to do on their part.

I was exhausted. For God's sake, I probably looked like an absolute mess. I went from having a great time at Prom with my boyfriend to being a ball of tears at the hospital. And it wasn't even midnight.

So, as Jackson and Mia spoke to the police, I made my way to the bathroom to clean myself up.

I did the best I could with what I had. And by that, I mean water, a few tissues and a single make-up wipe Mia had in her car. In other words, not much.

It was still better than nothing.

Jackson managed to get me my phone from the car we took to the warehouse, and I figured it was time for me to call Luke. I needed comfort I knew only he could give me.

"Hello?"

"Hi," I spoke into the phone, almost breaking into tears again.

"Hey, baby," he replied back in a gentle voice. "Did you get everything settled?"