Chapter Thirty-Eight

Rocky

Time seemed to drag as the distance closed between Rocky as his home, where, apparently, a madman had fired a gun. Rocky took a curve at a breakneck speed doing his best to get to his boy. Not knowing what was happening was slowly killing him. Rocky was a protector. His instinct was to make everything better and in that moment, Rocky wasn't sure if he could because he wasn't fucking there.

Finally, Rocky's driveway came into view and as he made the turn, two things happened at once. His bike started to slip from under him and a second gunshot echoed in his earpiece and in the air around him.

Before the bike had a chance to go down fully, he leapt awkwardly from the seat, landing in a heap next to the fallen machine. He didn't take time to consider anything other than his boy, scrambling to his feet and racing for the door, hollering Aiden's name.

Rocky crashed through the entryway and made a beeline for the kitchen coming to a complete halt as soon as he took in the scene. Aiden knelt over the prone body of Drake Stallone, putting pressure on a bleeding wound. A quick perusal showed Aiden mostly uninjured, though Rocky thought he saw some swelling in Aiden's right wrist.

The relief that coursed through him at seeing his boy okay literally sent Rocky to his knees. Pain radiated through his lower limbs as they hit the hard floor, but Rocky hardly noticed.

Just behind him the other men of the club came barreling in and chaos soon reigned as Aiden shouted for someone to call an ambulance, and his brothers rushed to help the injured man. Rocky couldn't bring himself to care about Drake. The man had gone after Rocky's boy so Rocky had no sympathy for him.

What Rocky needed was to get to his boy. His legs wouldn't support him so he did the only thing he could do. He crawled to the love of his life and, as Spike took over applying pressure to the wound, Rocky lifted Aiden into his lap right there on the floor. For however long it took for the police and medical to show up, Rocky sat there holding Aiden tight, breathing him in, and assuring himself that his love was safe.

Aiden

The police had been asking questions, but Aiden wasn't really sure what his answers had been. His mind kept circling around one thought. Had he killed someone? He didn't know. Drake had been breathing when they'd rushed him out to the ambulance, but Aiden was here, answering questions that he wasn't even comprehending. Just as he was wishing to be anywhere else, Daddy stepped in, interrupting the next question.

"I think Aiden is injured. He needs to be seen."

Aiden was about to tell Daddy that he was fine, he didn't hurt anywhere, but then he followed Daddy's line of sight to his wrist. It did look bad. It was swollen and bruised and looked wrong. When one of the deputies cursed and went to get a medic, Aiden figured something had to be seriously off with him, because that wrist should be hurting.

It only took a moment before the deputy returned with an EMT who looked Aiden over and declared he needed to be seen at the hospital. He was in shock and needed an x-ray. Aiden didn't want to go to a hospital, he didn't want to be looked over and examined. The worst moments in his life had always begun with a doctor's visit.

Aiden fought to be seen at home by Daddy's doctor friend. At least that was one doctor that hadn't brought sadness and ruin with him, but Daddy wasn't having any of that. He told Aiden that Collin couldn't do x-rays from home. Aiden still wasn't convinced, but when Daddy reminded him that going to the hospital also meant an update on Drake, he allowed Daddy to buckle him in the car.

Aiden knew he'd still have to talk to the police eventually, but he was grateful for the small reprieve, even if it did mean seeing a doctor. And he really didn't think he'd be able to think of anything else until he knew Drake's condition. Part of him knew he'd simply been trying to keep himself safe, but he'd never shot anyone, and he really didn't want to have Drake's death on his hands.

Rocky

Rocky was worried about his boy. The day was affecting him. They hadn't had a moment of privacy to talk about it, or how Aiden was feeling. Rocky had hoped they could use the drive to the emergency room to talk, but the closer they drew to the hospital the more Aiden drew in on himself.

Rocky knew that Aiden's fear of doctors wasn't the cause. No, his boy was worried about the man who tried to kill him, because of course he was. Aiden might not have as many traditional social skills as a lot of other people, but one thing he did have was a huge, forgiving heart. The thought that he might have killed someone was likely eating away at Aiden and Rocky wasn't sure how to help ease that. Somehow he doubted "it was him or you" would be all that effective as words of comfort. Rocky just wasn't sure he could find soft words when talking about Drake Stallone right then.

Rocky was worried about Aiden's wrist as well, but the mental blows of the night were going to have more lasting effects than the physical ones. He needed to work out how best to help his boy.

Pulling into a spot outside the emergency department of the hospital, Rocky quickly parked and went to help Aiden from the car. He walked him inside and straight to the check-in counter. Aiden stood quietly, staring off into space as Rocky relayed all the information that the hospital needed.

Once he was checked in, Rocky led a listless Aiden to the waiting room. The longer they waited the less responsive Aiden became. Rocky was no longer certain that it was a case of simple shock, but he also wasn't sure what he should do. He really hoped that the doctor could see Aiden soon. Then, Rocky would have a better idea of what was happening and how to help.