Shattered ✓

F O R T Y - S E V E N

Alexa

The waiting room felt different now. The tension hadn't disappeared, but it had shifted into something quieter, something that sat heavy in my chest but no longer threatened to crush me.

Ryder was stable. That was the only thing that mattered.

Zach still hadn't come back yet. He'd been with the doctors, probably grilling them for every possible detail about Ryder's condition. Cameron had gone with him, leaving the rest of us to sit in silence.

Andrew was staring at the floor, elbows on his knees, lost in his own thoughts. Justin and Jason sat side by side, arms crossed, looking like they wanted to punch something. Blake and Ethan kept glancing at each other but didn't say much.

I hated this. The waiting. The helplessness.

It felt like hours before Zach finally came back, his face unreadable.

We all sat up immediately.

"Well?" Andrew asked, his voice tight.

Zach exhaled. "He's still out of it, but he's stable. They're keeping him in the ICU overnight for monitoring."

I nodded, trying to absorb that. Stable. Okay. That was good. That was the best we could ask for right now.

"Can we see him?" Justin asked.

Zach hesitated. "One at a time."

Silence. No one moved.

Justin and Jason looked at each other, unspoken words passing between them. Blake and Ethan shifted uncomfortably.

Andrew glanced at me. "You should go first."

I blinked. "What? No, you—"

"Alexa." Andrew gave me a look. "You were with him when it happened. Go."

I hesitated, but Zach was already nodding. "Come on. I'll take you."

I swallowed hard and stood up, my legs feeling stiff from sitting so long.

No one said anything as I followed Zach down the hall. The fluorescent lights buzzed softly, the sounds of distant monitors and hushed voices filling the space between us.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when we reached Ryder's room, but the sight of him still hit me like a punch to the stomach.

He looked so small.

Ryder was never small. He was loud, reckless, always moving. But now, lying there in the hospital bed, with an IV in his arm and a heart monitor beeping steadily beside him, he just looked... fragile.

I stepped closer, gripping the chair beside his bed to keep my hands from shaking.

Zach stayed by the door, giving me space.

I took a slow breath. "Ryder?"

His eyelids fluttered, but he didn't wake up.

I chewed my lip, glancing at the bandages wrapped around his side, at the steady rise and fall of his chest.

"You scared the shit out of us," I whispered.

No response.

I swallowed, my throat tight. "You're okay now. You made it."

He still didn't move, but I wasn't expecting him to.

***

I didn't want to leave.

But I had to.

The doctors had made it clear—only one visitor at a time. And I had been here for long enough. It wasn't fair to keep sitting here when Ryder had other people waiting to see him.