Inferno

***~114~ I'm Dying First***

Ellie's POV

We stay in the hospital room for quite a while. We're having trouble getting Luke to leave Trace.

"This reminds me of when they were little, remember? They would literally hold onto each other and sob when we were ready to leave" Taylor says with a small smile.

Wes nods. "I remember. It used to irritate me. I never knew their friendship would turn into this" he says, shaking his head in awe.

Emma has fallen asleep on Trace's bed, snuggled up against him. Trace has been silently holding her hand. He occasionally will kiss her forehead or wipe hair out of her face.

"We need to go. Sasha doesn't need to be in the waiting room anymore by herself. She started to go into shock today" I say as I stand up.

"She did?" Taylor asks, alarmed.

I just nod.

"Started to?  How did you get her out of it?" He asks.

"We're not going to talk about it now" I say quietly.

"Eleanor" he says, too tired to argue, but not going to let this go.

I sigh. "I made Mason hold her" I say, daring him to pitch a fit.

Surprisingly he doesn't. "He kept her from going into shock?" He asks simply.

"Yeah. Only because I begged him. Lance got shot and Nick was holding another kid who was in shock. All the other adults were helping other kids. He was the only one left. I had to beg him, Taylor" I say, getting choked up.

Taylor sighs and nods his head. "I'll have to thank him" he says simply.

We finally get Luke to leave, promising that we will
bring him back first thing in the morning. Taylor wakes Emma up gently. She kisses Trace goodbye and holds onto Taylor as we walk out.

We get to the waiting room and Sasha has fallen asleep, with her head in Liam's lap. Jake is still here, waiting. Suddenly we see Mason and Nick walk in.

I walk over to them.

"How are you?" Nick asks, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm good" I say with a smile. He gives me a look and then looks at Taylor.

"How is she?" He asks. He doesn't believe me.

"They got the bullet out. She will probably have a cool scar, but she's fine" he says. He's exhausted. Then he looks at Mason for a minute.

He holds out his hand. "I heard you kept my baby girl from going into shock. Thank you" he says, seriously.

Mason hesitates, and then shakes his hand.

Taylor isn't smiling. It's obvious that he still hates Mason, but I am so proud of him right now.

"Trace?" Nick asks, looking at me.

"Somehow he survived. He saved Emma's life" I say, getting all choked up again.

"You saved Lance's life. They said he would have bled out in minutes if you hadn't been there. They said the tourniquet was put on perfectly. He's in surgery right now, but he should make a full recovery" Nick says. He's shook. He's just as traumatized as the rest of us.

I see Mason glancing over at Sasha. She's still sleeping on Liam. He looks away quickly, and Taylor pretends not to notice. He does notice, though.

"Has the death count risen?" I ask quietly.

Nick shakes his head. "No. Mr. Hendrix, the janitor, and two freshman. Plus Porter" he says quickly.

"Man. That is really bothering me. He was friends with Luke and Trace" Taylor says, shaking his head.