Chapter 39

Miguel dropped me off at the entrance to the emergency room and went to find a parking spot. It was Saturday night, so the place was packed. I hadn't gotten far into the waiting area when I heard someone call my name. I turned to see Marco heading my way. I went right over to him, and he pulled me into a tight hug. It was strange and wonderful to be held by someone bigger than me. "How are you holding up?"

"Not great," I admitted. "Miguel had to go all sergeant major on me to get me to move. Have you heard anything?"

He shook his head. "Liam went in a little while ago to see if he could get an update."

"Do you know if my parents are here?"

Again, he shook his head. "The police weren't able to reach them. When I told them you had been contacted, they stopped trying."

"Jesus Christ. They're never around when we need them." I looked around the crowded waiting area. "Where's Marissa?"

He gestured behind him. "She's sitting with another friend. She's pretty shook up."

We both turned to go back to where Marissa was sitting. She spotted me as soon as I turned the corner. "Zach!" She burst into tears before I even got to her. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I wanted to go to Kim Marie's after the concert."

I took her in my arms and soothed her. "It's not your fault. How were you supposed to know Scott would show up?"

"He was there when we got there. He kept trying to talk to Allie, and she kept putting him off. Finally, he started apologizing and telling her how much he missed her and wanted to make it work with her, so she told him she'd talk to him outside." Another sob escaped her. "I should have never let her go."

I tried to comfort her some more, but I really needed to get in to see Allie. I was the one who could make medical decisions for her. Miguel came hurrying up as I extricated myself from Marrisa's hold. "Any news?" he asked.

"Nothing yet." I held up the power of attorney papers. "I'm about go ask them to let me in."

"I texted Liam," Marco said. "He's coming out to get you."

"Does he work here?" I asked.

"No. He treated her at the scene before the ambulance showed up. We followed them here. He just kinda waltzed in like he owned the place."

"How did you even get involved in all this?" I asked.

"Marissa is friends with our friend, Andrea," Marco replied. "When we realized it, we decided to all sit together. We tried to keep Scott away after Marissa told us about him, but Allie decided maybe talking to him would get him to leave. When Allie didn't come back after a while, Marissa got worried and went looking for her. She heard the screech of tires and heard Allie scream. She saw Scott drive away."

I clenched my jaw as rage flooded me. "If I get my hands on him, I'm going to kill him."

Marco put his hand on my shoulder. "Easy, soldier. It won't do anyone any good for you to be in prison. One way or another, he'll get what's coming to him."

Before I could question his cryptic response, Liam found us. From the look on his face, it wasn't good news. "Hey, Zach. Marco said you have power of attorney. They need you back there."

My throat constricted and my chest felt tight. "Can Miguel come with me?" I croaked. "I need him with me."

Liam nodded, his expression grim. "Sure. Follow me."

I took Miguel's hand in mine, trying to remember not to hold it too tightly. Liam led us into the back, where there were rooms with monitors beeping and alarms going off. We came to a room at the end where the curtain was pulled all the way around so we couldn't see in. "Wait here," Liam said. "I'll get someone to come out to talk to you."

I felt like I was coming out of my skin while we waited. Every noise behind the curtain set me off. The worst part was I didn't hear Allie's voice at all. There were machines beeping and people talking in clipped tones. Finally, after an eternity, a woman in scrubs and a surgical mask came out. She took off her mask to speak. "Mr. Kelley?"

I stepped forward. "Yes, ma'am. That's me."

"I'm Dr. Ainsley," she said. "We've been working on your sister for a while now. I understand you have power of attorney?"

I held up the papers. "I do. What do you need from me?"

"We're going to need to get her into surgery. She has internal bleeding that we have to stop."

"Whatever you need to do," I said quickly. "I'll sign whatever needs to be signed."

She nodded. "You'll need to give that to the charge nurse to scan into the system. We're waiting for an operating room to be available. It shouldn't be long."

Liam brought us to the nurse's station, where I gave them all the information I could about Allie. While we were standing there, the nurse let us know my sister was going up to surgery. We could go up to the surgery floor and wait in the waiting room there. The three of us returned to the ER waiting room to gather the rest of our friends, and we all headed up to the surgery floor.

Miguel was texting with his parents and sister, giving them updates and getting updates on Cody. My nephew had finally fallen asleep next to Diego and Sofia on our bed. Miguel's parents had gone to a hotel, and Isabella was still awake because she was worried.

I couldn't sit still. I tried. I really did. I even texted my parents, trying to get them updated. They never answered. Whenever I did sit, Miguel would take my hand in his and hold it until I was up again and pacing. Liam had been quiet the whole time. Too quiet. Like he knew something he didn't want to tell me. Frankly, I was too scared to ask.

Finally, a man in scrubs came out into the waiting room. He looked around and focused on me pretty quickly. "Mr. Kelley?"

"Yes. That's me. How is she?"

He pursed his lips and shook his head, and my world fell apart. "I'm sorry. We did everything we could, but her injuries were too severe. She lost blood faster than we could replace it."

My knees buckled, and I only remained standing because Miguel had his arm around my waist and Marco was behind me, holding me up. "No. God, no."

Everything was a blur after that. The police came and asked me questions about Scott. I'm sure I told them everything I remembered. Then, there was a social worker and another doctor. Someone said something about contacting a funeral home. None of it made any sense to me.

The only thing that kept me grounded was Miguel's quiet, steady presence. When they brought me to a small room to say goodbye to her, he was with me. He held my hand while I wept over the little sister I had vowed to protect and utterly failed.

I must have said that part aloud because he grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. "Listen to me, Zachary Kelley. You did not fail your sister. You did everything you possibly could to protect her. Scott is responsible for this. He is the one who will pay for what he's done."

I looked down at his beautiful face and fierce expression, and I almost smiled. I kissed his forehead. "Thank you."

We all parted ways in the parking lot. Marco and Liam promised to come by the apartment later in the day. Marissa offered to go with me to Allie's apartment to get Cody's things. I couldn't even think about that.

By the time we made the short drive from the hospital to Ocean Grove, the sun was just about to crest the horizon. Miguel pulled into the first parking space next to the boardwalk and urged me to get out of the car. He led me onto the boardwalk, where we sat on a bench holding hands and watching the sunrise.

"We'll get through this," he said hoarsely. "I'm with you all the way."

I couldn't speak. My chest was so tight I could barely breathe. I simply held Miguel's hand. It was the only thing keeping me from walking into the ocean until the waves swallowed me whole.