Right As Rain (Complete)

Chapter 30

Maelee

"Oh! You're here!" Ashley gasps, surprised to see me. She turns her body awkwardly in the opposite direction of where we are standing in the hall. "Do you remember that skater guy you saw a few days ago?" she asks. I nod, remembering the professional skateboarder preparing for a big competition. In the last month, I've seen him twice. "Well, he's back. It's his head this time. Do you mind?" She nods to the stairs. "He's asking for you."

I look at my watch. Noah's fast is ending soon and I still have nothing. "Yeah, but then I'm not here. I have to figure out something with Noah."

The skateboarder looks up and tells me I'm pretty for the millionth time. He did this both times he was here before: the first time he busted up his knee, the second it was his elbow.

Like always, I laugh him off. "Don't you have a fan club to flirt with?" I ask, starting the final loop of his stitches. He's told me multiple times how envious his club would be if they knew how much he loved me.

When the pager in my pocket buzzes, I tell myself I'm almost done and pull the stitching tight, making him wince. When it goes off again, a worrisome pit of anxiety forms in my stomach.

Not in the position to check it, but having a strong desire to do so, I yell for Austin, who I hear talking down the hall. "Dr. Anderson?" I call. He walks in all cocky like, with his hands in his pockets, like I'm about to ask for help. I nod down to where the bottom of my white coat is hanging below my thigh. "Would you please check my pager for me?" I ask.

Austin grumbles but does as I ask while Travis, my X-Games super star patient, moves his glazed eyes between us.

I snip the string on his stitch. "This looks good," I tell him. "How about we put a little more space between our next meeting?"

"Or we could make it closer together," he flirts, raising an eyebrow.

"Dr. Parker?" Austin interrupts, holding onto my arm. "It's a 911 in room 417."

No.

Without any explanation I run out of the room and towards the stairs. Understanding my urgency, Austin follows. He beats me to the stairwell and opens the door so I don't have to slow my pace.

"Who is it?" he asks.

I continue running, taking the steps two at a time, not wanting to answer. If I could give him any other name, I would. But I can't. "It's Noah."

Austin nods and matches me, step for step, up the four flights of stairs.

The room is crowded. Multiple levels of medical staff surround Noah on his bed trying to execute a plan. Anna is holding on to a tear stained Jessica while Cal and Jack look on helplessly. Hudson's wide, panic stricken eyes, show relief when I push through the crowd towards him, hunched over the bed, holding Noah's head. With so many medical team members here, how it is possible Hudson is the only one doing something useful?

I reach over Noah's head for a pair of gloves. "What happened?" I ask anyone who can manage to answer.

"Patient lost consciousness," a random nurse says.

Seriously?

The look on my face must scream anger because the nurse tries to fumble through an explanation of Noah's stats she clearly knows nothing about. I don't have time for this.

"Where's Ashley?" I yell.

The random nurse shakes and looks around quickly. Ashley is the only nurse actually on this case, so help me God if she isn't in here.