Loyal

Chapter 67

Vera's POV

I can hear sirens; they coax me out of a deep sleep. As soon as I'm aware of my body, it aches. Every inch of my skin feels bruised down to the bone. I try to move and it confirms the bruising. Every single thing is in excruciating pain. 

             "Did we get in contact with any family yet?" A masculine voice fills the small space. Where Am I? I try to force my eyes open against the overwhelming pressure from my headache to keep them shut. There's no use. My body is an unmoving shell, my spirit wriggling for to get free inside of it. 

                        "We did," another voice replies. Warm skin covers my hand, giving me temporary comfort. 

            There's a bump as we start moving, and sirens. They're from above! An ambulance! I'm in a fucking ambulance! Tears cascade from my worn eyes, and I force them open. A bright light blinds me, covered by the dark shadow of a face. 

            "Ma'am, you are safe. We are taking good care of you." The woman's face seems distant, a cloudy image that I can't quite hold on to. The faint outline of a reassuring smile keeps me still, slows my breathing to a normal rate. 

            I can't reply because there is an oxygen mask over my face, and so much pain. My lips are so cracked as I try to form words. What happened to Cam? Where is Vera? Becca? My last memories come and my heart rate sky rockets. Cam. 

            "Please stay calm ma'am, you're making your blood pressure rise again. Just relax, we're taking good care of you."

            I try to steady my breathing, it's labored and I feel so tired. The early morning events swirl in a circle around the bright light and fatigue pushes me back into the darkness of sleep. 

Colin's POV

            "Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, FUCK!" My knuckles bleed as they meet the wall nearest me, Becca jumps up, trying to calm me down. She had the waiting room cleared out so that it was just her, me, and Leah waiting to hear any further news of Vera. 

                        "Colin, Colin, please calm down. There is no way you could have predicted for this to happen," Becca says cautiously, her arm resting gently on my shoulder. Her hand is shaking. Becca, the one who is always calm and collected, always knowing what to say, is shook. She's scared, and she can't hide it from me. 

            "Get off me," I snap, pulling my shoulder away. I put my head into my hands, settling into a seat. This is all my fucking fault. I shouldn't have let her leave. I should've got rid of Cam when I had the chance. I'm going to fucking kill him. 

            "Where is Cam?" I ask, my voice is shaking in calm fury, a death threat in itself. Leah and Becca look at each other, then at me. Leah's eyes are red from crying all night, mascara running down her cheeks and ruining her makeup. We're all still in our gala attire, a stark contrast to the ugly hospital walls surrounding us. 

                        "Colin..."

            "WHERE IS HE!?" I yell. Several nurses stop to look at me from the hall, hesitating before assuming their duties.

                        "Colin, he's on the floor below us," Becca says evenly. She has to force herself to say the words. Before I can process her words she jolts in front of me. 

        "You mean to tell me, that fucker is in the same hospital as Vera!?" I'm about to fucking blow up, out of my seat, but Becca puts a hand out to hold me back. She's crying now.  

                        "I won't allow you to go. He is undergoing surgery right now; Vera did him in pretty good. I will not allow you to make a fool of yourself Colin. Sit down, and calm down. You need to be strong for Vera. She needs you here, sane."

            Leave it to Becca to be the voice of reason during this bullshit. I reluctantly sit down across from the two of them, my arms folded across my chest. The scent of Vera is still on my body, on my shirt, my tie. The ache to feel her against me is overwhelming, I want to know she's safe. And the safest place in this whole fucking world for her to be, is in my arms. I try to distract myself. This entire floor is decked out in Forty Niners stuff. I keep my head down, I've been avoiding attention from everyone the entire time we've been here. I just want to be left alone.

            "I shouldn't have left her by herself!" Leah bursts into exasperated tears, her shoulders shaking as she buries her head into her aunt's shoulder.

            "I didn't know Cam was such a fucking asshole!" She exclaims, barely breathing. Becca holds her niece to her chest, and for the first time I see Leah as a vulnerable little girl, susceptible to hurt just like the rest of us. A tear runs down the bridge of Becca's nose, she doesn't even bother wiping it. It's the first time I've seen her cry in all my years of knowing her.

            I sit up in my seat, my hands are restless. I need to see her. I need her to be okay. She has to be okay. I don't know what I'll do if she's not. An image of Vera's smiling at the back of my mind kills me. The curve of her soft lips against her flawless smile, the way her eyes widen before I'm about to kiss her. Please be okay baby girl. Please, please, be okay. I put my head down into my hand, trying to choke back tears, but I can't. One by one they fall onto the waiting room floor, as sadness fills the waiting room along with the hospital sounds of the night.