Unseen

Chapter 9

"Dalton!" I hear Maddie scream, but my whole body feels like it's encased in cement. I can't move and breathing hurts so much that I try to keep that to a minimum as well.

"Fuck, no, fuck, what the fuck!" Is that... "Dalton? Fuck, D, open your fucking eyes." Flynn?

"What is going on in here? Mr. Irwin? Everyone, back up and give him some room!" Why is everyone so goddamn loud? It starts to sound like I'm underwater, which I'm grateful for since it dulls the sound. My head is pounding and I really don't want to deal with people screaming at me right now.

♡♡♡

"Eighteen, male, approximately six two, one hundred eighty pounds. Unconscious on arrival, possible head injury, bruising on the abdomen." I feel someone poking around my stomach and when they get to the left side, a sharp pain explodes throughout my body and I lurch to the side, vomiting over the bed that I'm lying on. "Have Dr. Benson on standby, we'll need to get him in for surgery STAT."

♡♡♡

"The surgery went well. His spleen ruptured and suffered from internal bleeding, but we've patched him up just fine. We encountered some swelling on his brain caused by the trauma of the fall, but it isn't major enough to require surgery. He may experience confusion, headaches, dizziness, disorientation, and memory loss when he wakes, but we won't know the extent until that time."

"Thank you, doctor." A door closes and then someone sobs. "It's okay, my love. He'll be okay."

"What if he's not, Ash? Ruptured spleen? Brain swelling? Memory loss? I'm going to kill him. I'm going to hunt that fucker down and..." More sobs.

"Luke."

"Don't fucking 'Luke' me, Ashton! Our son is lying unconscious in a hospital bed right now, how the hell are you so calm?"

"Because I did the panic thing twenty years ago with you, and I know it doesn't do any good. Trying a different tactic this time so I can compare notes." A choked laugh followed by more sobs. "He's going to be okay, baby. He's a fighter, just like his pop."

What the hell happened twenty years ago? I want to ask, but I can't even make my eyes open much less my mouth. The air shooting up my nose tickles and it's uncomfortable, I want it to stop. My stomach is killing me and I have the headache from hell, and... and it's going away. Oh, that's so much better...

♡♡♡

"You're really fucking brave to show your face here," Pop growls.

"I know, I just... is he okay?"

"Do you care?"

"I never meant to hurt him, I didn't..."

"Bullshit! You've been hurting him for years and never batted a fucking eye. For someone who claimed to have been his best friend for a decade, you sure turned into a piece of shit. You are so fucking lucky that –"

"Luke, enough. Flynn, why are you here?" Dad interrupts. I really wish I could open my eyes and watch this whole thing go down. A sick part of me is curious because I've never actually seen Pop mad before. Hell, he rarely ever swears, but here we are.

"I wanted to know if he was okay, but nobody would tell me anything."

"Nobody told you because it's your fault he's here!"

"Luke, go to the cafeteria and check on Maddie. Now." The door clicks shut and I hear Dad sigh. I can picture him running a hand through his hair in frustration as he shakes his head.