Shattered ✓

F O R T Y - S I X

Alexa

The hospital smelled like antiseptic and desperation. The overhead lights were too bright, the linoleum floors too clean, and the waiting room too cold. But none of that mattered.

The only thing that mattered was Ryder.

Zach stormed through the emergency room doors first, his movements sharp and controlled, but I could see the panic simmering beneath the surface. Justin and Jason were right behind him, while Andrew and I followed, struggling to keep up. Blake and Ethan trailed a few steps behind us, looking just as pale and shaken.

Cameron was already with Ryder. He had left in the ambulance with him, while the rest of us had been forced to drive ourselves here.

None of us spoke, but we didn't have to. The silence was heavy, pressing down on us like a weight we couldn't shake.

As soon as we reached the front desk, Zach didn't waste a second. "Ryder Carter," he said, his voice clipped. "Where is he?"

The nurse behind the counter blinked, startled by the urgency in his tone. "Sir, I need you to—"

"He was stabbed. He was brought in an hour ago. Where the hell is he?"

The desperation in Zach's voice made my stomach twist.

The nurse's expression softened just slightly, and she nodded as she typed something into her computer. "He's in surgery right now. Your brother—Cameron, right?—is with the doctors. As soon as they're done, someone will come talk to you."

Zach clenched his fists, his entire body vibrating with barely restrained emotion. "Can we see him?"

"Not yet," she said gently. "The doctors are doing everything they can. As soon as he's stable, you'll be allowed back."

Zach exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his hair.

I felt useless. Completely helpless.

***

The waiting room was suffocating.

Not because of the sterile air or the distant beeping of monitors, but because we couldn't do anything.

Zach had resorted to pacing, his hands buried deep in his jacket pockets. His jaw was clenched so tight it looked like he might crack a tooth.

Justin and Jason sat stiffly in the chairs, their arms crossed, both of them vibrating with barely contained tension. Andrew was sitting next to me, but he hadn't said a word. He hadn't moved, either. Just sat there, staring at the floor.

Blake and Ethan were in the far corner, whispering between themselves, but I could tell they weren't really talking. Just saying words to fill the silence.

But it didn't matter.

No amount of talking, pacing, or sitting still was going to change the fact that Ryder was in surgery.

He had been stabbed.

Because of Benny.

I swallowed hard, wrapping my arms around myself as if that would somehow keep me together. I kept replaying it in my head—the switchblade, the way Ryder staggered, the blood.

I had screamed. I think.

And then—

Elliot.

I shut my eyes, pressing my knuckles to my temple.

Elliot had killed Benny.

And now he was at the police station.

Michael and Jackson had gone with him, but that did little to ease the tight, crushing feeling in my chest.