It Was Supposed to Blossom

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ryan POV

"Hello? Hello? Hello!!!" I almost screeched into the phone. "Lilly? Lilly? Lilly, please talk to me...are you there?"

Silence greeted my desperate cries. Sighing, I cut the call and put down my phone. Everyone gathered around me, with worried looks on their faces.

"Is Lilly alright?" Liza was the first to ask, real fear and concern in her eyes.

I bit my lip. I hated to be the bearer of bad news, so I just blurted it out. "I don't think so, Liza. She said she got into an accident, and she is pretty hurt. I hope she's fine."

"And she will be." Shawn put an arm around me. Derrick did the same.

"Maybe she's on the way to the hospital right now." Liza said hopefully.

"Maybe." I wanted to believe her words, but a dozen scenarios flitted through my head, and none of them were things that would calm Liza's nerves.

"Lilly can't be hurt!" Arden said. I realized that she was still clinging to my arm like glue. "She can't! Honestly, I would blame myself completely!" A false tear rolled down her cheek.

"There's really only you to blame anyway." I heard a quiet murmur from Greg's direction, and despite my worries, shot him a small grin. I knew that he understood my concern for Lilly didn't just stem from friendship.

Suddenly, Liza's mobile phone rang. Quickly, she answered the call. "Hello?" A string of unintelligible words came from the other line. "Yes, I'm her friend."

More muffled speaking. "LA hospital?" Liza asked. "How badly is she hurt?" Everyone stared at her with bated breath.

"OK. OK. I'm coming." Liza hung up the phone. "What did he say?" I asked.

"Lilly's got really bad injuries on her arms and legs, and don't forget that she twisted her ankle." Liza frowned. "That might have been aggravated too. She's unconscious and in an ambulance on the way to LA hospital. We should go."

"Good idea." nodded David. "Ryan, you'll come with Liza and me in an Uber. I'll call a second, for Greg, Derrick and Shawn."

Shawn reached out to pat Arden's shoulder. "Maybe you should go home and rest. It's been a long day. We will update you if anything happens." His smile seemed slightly strained. Perhaps he, maybe everyone in this room knew Lilly was upset by something Arden had done, and placed silent blame on her.

With a pretend-reluctance, Arden nodded. Everyone filed out of the house, leaving me and Arden alone. She reached out to hug me tightly. I told her, "Arden. You may want to take me away from Lilly but please don't pretend to be worried for her or be her friend."

She pulled away, hurt. "Come on, Ryan." Arden reached for my hand. "Can we start over? As friends? We could see where things take us..." She smiled at me coyly, but I took my hand away.

"My focus right now is Lilly and whether she is alright. And I need to be clear: I really don't want to get involved with you romantically. I'm sorry, but let's just stay friends, OK?" Without waiting for a reply, I turned and left the house.