Kelsey’s Point of View:
This was it.
The moment we had all been waiting for since we've arrived to the hospital.
Swallowing hard, I couldn't help but feel my stomach plummet to the ground as the nurse urged me to take a seat.
I looked up at her through my lashes, impatience thrivingimmenselyas I fought to contain myself fromstandingup once more. "So?" I prompted, as eager as ever, "Is he okay?"
Tucking her clipboard under her armpit, she gave me a sympathetic smile. "Justin made it through the surgery.”
I gasped, letting out a cry of disbelief, “Oh God—”
Putting a hand up, she strictly shook her head. “But he is still very,verycritical.” Her lips tightened as she stared at all five of us, “I don't wanna give you and false hopes. The next 24, 48 hours are going to be very difficult.”
“It’s okay because I want to be with him… I want to sit with him.” I gave her a hopeful look, the beating of my heart accelerating with each passing second. “Is that okay?” I whispered, fear evident in my tone.
Without another thought to it, she simply nodded her head, turning to take me to his room.
“We’ll be right here,” Bruce coaxed softly from behind.
Turning, I vigorously shook my head, “No, that’s okay. I’m going to be with him all night and you need to rest. I know you’ve had a long day. So have the guys… go, take a shower, I’ll be fine.”
“Kelsey—” John began as he took a step forward, “I don’t think it’s such a good idea for you to stay here alone.”
“I’ll be fine, okay? The doctors will be in and out anyways and I won’t be leaving his side no matter what. I promise,” Giving him a small smile, I tugged on the sleeves of my shirt, rolling on the heels of my shoes, “But you should take Carly home. I’m sure the girls are worried as well…” I shared a common gaze with Bruce, Marcus and Marco.
Giving in, Bruce licked his lips, “Alright, but if you need anything—anything at all. You call me, okay? I don’t care about what time it is. If he wakes up—”
“He will,” I cut through his words, “He’s going to wake up.”
“Then you call me.” Bruce pulled me into his arms, giving me a tight hug to his chest, his chin resting on top of my head. “We’ll be back sometime tomorrow morning to check on him.”
Letting my eyes drift to a close, I inhaled a comforting breath before pulling away. “Okay,” I murmured, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow then.”
Walking towards me, Carly pulled me into an embrace as well, “I’m sorry.” She whispered into my ear.
“Don’t be, it’s not your fault. Get some sleep, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Pulling away, she grabbed John’s hand as they both turned to leave with the others following behind.
Giving them a wave before turning, I followed the nurse all the way through the hallways, passing several rooms until finally we managed to make it to Justin’s.
Hesitant at first, I kept my cool, internally relaxing myself with words of encouragement. Biting my lip, I took a step in, standing beside the nurse; I took a sharp intake, my eyes falling on Justin’s dispersed figure. His eyes were closed shut with wires hanging to and fro, his chest rising and dropping naturally.
"He's heavily sedated.” She informed, her eyes staring over Justin as she pressed her lips together. “Given the extent of damage to his lungs, it's really amazing he's alive.”
