Life in Search ✔️

52 ~ Hospital

The hospital.

It's two in the morning and I'm speeding down the interstate headed towards a hospital I've never heard of before. More importantly, I don't know who I'm speeding towards.

It's a Rhodes kid and that's all I know. I want to know more but I don't ask, now isn't the time. She stays silent in the passenger seat, her phone spewing directions the only sound in the vehicle.

Words have always been easy but watching Scarlett shake as she mentally beats herself up leaves me speechless. So I don't say anything as I pull her closer, her trembles ricocheting through my body.

I want to say everything's okay, but I don't know that. I can't promise that.

I pull into a parking spot, expecting her to dart out of the car. Instead she looks in the mirror, shoving aside the fear to make room for her control. It's terrifying to watch her push down emotions like they're nothing.

She runs from the car as I'm stuck watching. I haven't seen her run that fast since the day Silver got hurt. I grab her bag before running after her, always a few steps behind.

By the time I catch up she's already in the waiting room.

"It's nobody's fault." She reassures Zev, who looks like shit. Actually, everyone looks terrible.

Stella's eyes are bloodshot, a sorrowful expression on her face. I'm grateful Sam has Ronnie, trying his best to distract her. Gabe stares at Scarlett, a puzzled look on his face. His eyes dart to me and then back to her.

Ella walks up, trying not to look upset when Scarlett pulls away from her. "I called John. They're in room 202."

She runs off again, here one second and gone the next.

Who is it? I want to scream and run down the hall after her, but I don't.

"Oh shit." Gabe whispers.

"She needs to be with them right now." Ella grabs my arm, dragging me to a seat. She's speaking it to me but I wonder if the words are for her to hear. To remind herself to not be bothered by her friend's actions.

"I know." She will put them first, even if she's about to fall apart.

Gabe is still staring at me, a dumbstruck look on his face that's officially annoying me. "What?"

"You two didn't-" he starts, pointing a finger at me.

Everyone stares at me. I focus on the tile. We did.

"Holy mother of God." Stella says in disbelief, for once unsure of what else to say.

That's one way to put it. I try not to think back to earlier, how our night went from being perfect to a nightmare. No one says anything for a minute, the silence saying everything they don't have to.

"Here's what's going to happen." Gabe starts, getting up from his chair. "You're going to button your shirt up to hide all of that before her uncle gets here. Or else we will have two people in the hospital tonight."

I nod, my fingers fumbling with the buttons. I don't even remember putting my shirt back on. One second we were in the room, the next we weren't.

"We will wait. We will not bother Scarlett or Sage or the twins. We do what they need whenever they're ready." He continues, sounding nothing like the careless idiot he was hours ago.

My heart stops, then that means...

"What happened?"

The girls share a look before Stella speaks. "The fire was smokey, Saffron had an asthma attack and the inhaler malfunctioned."