Into The Ring (Phenomenal: 2)

5 ~ Heaven Knows

Damien was lucky. He woke up seven hours later, in a bed, the room quiet and dark save the faded moonlight through the curtains and the dull lamplight from opposite the bed on a chest of draws.

He looked around, towards the glass doors across the room, squinting at the bright lights beyond.

A woman in a white coat followed by two young men in blue scrubs strode passed. He was in a hospital.

Why?

The last thing he remembered was being in the match at the gym.

Then what?

Oh he'd heard his brothers shouting something, and Clarissa and Coach.

Dante and Clarissa had argued about something – and he was pretty sure she had won.

But where was he now? Obviously a hospital but why? What had happened?

And where was everyone?

Just as he thought that, the glass door slid open and Dante walked in with a book and an expression that made Damien wince involuntarily because he just knew he was the reason behind it.

As if sensing he was being thought about, Dante looked up and closed the book with a cut-throat snap before folding his arms, walking over.

"About time you woke up," he said, "Uni starts tomorrow and I'm now going to be exhausted, thanks to you."

"Sorry," Damien muttered.

"Do you know where you are?"

"In a hospital. What happened?"

Dante let out a short, bitter laugh, shaking his head. "Do you know which hospital?"

"Obviously not, they all look the same."

Dante looked at him. "You're in St Paul's Mercy," he said bluntly.

Damien stared at him for a moment, then his eyes widened and he instantly tried to sit up until Dante's look of utter rage made him lie back down again. "Why are we here? We can't afford a private hospital!"

Dante laughed again. "You're right, we can't. Even when you were a world champion, your sponsors didn't get you care like this," he said, leaning down, his voice lowering, "So when you can move again, you'd better get down on your knees and kiss the god-damn ground Clarissa walks on because the only reason you're not stuck on a trolley in a hospital corridor and on a year-long NHS waiting list for an MRI or CAT Scan is because she is willing to pull a lot of strings and beg a lot of favours to keep you safe."

Damien stared at him and Dante finally leant back, pulling over a chair and sitting down.

"As it is, her uncle owns this hospital," he said, leaning back in his seat, "She gave him a call as soon as you went down and he bumped you up to first on the list. So while you were sleeping your pretty little head off, they've done your tests and are looking at the results now."

"Was I knocked out?" Damien asked.

Dante pursed his lips, then shook his head. "No," he said, his voice softening for the first time, "No, you simply collapsed."

Damien's blood instantly went cold.

He'd collapsed? Without being knocked out or worn down or anything?

His... so his brain had...

He couldn't finish the thought. The idea just made his throat close up and tremors run through his hands.