Trapped: the Truth (Book 2)

Chapter 9

It has already been one week since Dylan and his friends arrived. Tonight they went out to look for Gwydion. I told them he will show up whenever he wants to but they insisted they have to end this once and for all. So now I am hanging out with Steph at a diner. I order a hamburger and Steph orders a chicken burger.

Steph eats the burger first and then she plays with her fries. "Do you think they'll find him?"

I am alternating between a bite of burger and a few fries. "I don't know. I hope they do so that we can get back to our lives." I hate having to be away from Chris for so long. We have not been hanging out as much as we used to. I miss having him around, his jokes, his touches and his kisses.

It is like Steph can read my mind. "You miss him, don't you?"

I nod. I jump on my seat when my phone rings.

I do not even bother looking at the ID caller before answering. "Hello?"

"Em, are you still at the diner?" I expect to hear Chris's voice but it is Nate's voice that comes through the phone. There is something odd in his voice.

"Yes, what happened?" I begin to panic.

"I'm coming to pick you up. Luke took Chris to hospital."

My brain stops working for a second. "What?"

"He got injured during the fight. I don't know how bad the injuries are. We need to get to the hospital to find out."

"Okay." My voice comes out as a whisper. I am frozen in place staring at my plate.

"What happened?" Steph asks. She waves a hand in front of my face when I do not reply.

I look up at her concerned face. "Chris is in hospital. Nate is coming to take us there."

Steph stands up. "Wait here. I'll get the bill."

When we arrive at the hospital, we ask them for Chris's room but when we get to his ward, they make us wait outside because we are not family. They do not even tell us how he is doing. Chris's father arrives a few minutes after us and they let him in straight away. He asks the nurse to let me in with him too and, thankfully, she accepts. Steph, Nate and Luke would have come in with us but they do not allow more than two persons with a patient so they wait in the brightly lit waiting area. The smell of antiseptic annoys me which is one of the reasons why I hate hospitals.

When we enter Chris's room, I am shocked to see than he has his chest covered in bandages with patches of blood. He has an IV and other pipes all over him.

"A tree branch pierced his side." I have not realized that a doctor was even present. "Unfortunately, it grazed one of his kidneys and he lost a lot of blood. We stitched his kidney as best we could but if it malfunctions, we would have to remove it. The good thing is that he can live with one kidney but if it fails too, he would need a transplant."

Mr. Hunt rubs his stubble. "Will he be okay?"

"We hope so. So far he is not showing any signs that the treatment is not working."

Mr. Hunt nods and the doctor excuses himself to see other patients.

A few minutes later I excuse myself to leave Mr. Hunt alone with his son and to update my friends about Chris's condition. When I tell them how he is, they all say encouraging statements to keep me from bursting into tears.

Nate approaches me and whispers, "Can I speak with you alone?"

"Okay." What is this about?

We move to the other side of the waiting area and I wait for him to speak.

"I've been debating a lot whether I should tell you this or not." He pauses for a moment. "I probably shouldn't tell you this here, in this moment, but I cannot continue to hide how I feel. Chris is a very good friend of mine and he has been of great help to me with regards to this werewolf thing. I don't know how to tell you this so I'm just gonna come out and say it." He pauses again to take a deep breath. "I love you. I've loved you for the past few years but I never had the guts to tell you. I've always been scared to tell you how I feel. I know you're with Chris now but I will always be here for you."

I do not know what to say. I did not see this coming. He has always been a good friend to me but I never saw him as more than a best friend. He is a good guy and I trust him but I love Chris. I cannot throw away what I have with Chris, especially now.

When I do not say anything, Nate says, "You don't have to tell me anything right now. I know you have a lot going on with Chris being in hospital but I want you to think about what I said when you have time."

I simply nod because I do not know what to say.