Chapter 21

21

C laire's eyes blinked open, and she looked around the room. She vaguely remembered the details of being at the concert and the fear that washed over her when she saw Charles before passing out. She woke up again in the ambulance, and the paramedics assured her she was safe and on her way to the hospital.

She reached down and felt her stomach—the bump was still there. A nurse approached her bed.

"Hi Claire. My name is Kathy. Do you remember where you are?"

Claire nodded. "At the hospital. How's my baby?"

"Your baby is doing just fine. Still snug inside you. Completely unharmed."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Kathy continued, "I'm going to check your vitals and then we are going to move you into a room for the night. I hear you have a large group of people who are eager to see you."

Tears sprang to Claire's eyes. "Yeah?"

Kathy nodded. "You have quite the support group out there."

Emotion tumbled through her. Going from being controlled for the last several years to having everyone from the tour take care of her had been mind-blowing to her. She forgot what it had felt like to be loved and cared for.

"That's nice to hear," Claire whispered.

Kathy set a hand on Claire's uninjured arm and gave her a light squeeze.

"Everything looks good, so I'm going to call a nurse to get you moving so you can see everyone."

"Thank you."

It felt like forever before a man came over and introduced himself. He wheeled her bed down the hallway and into an elevator before going down another hallway and setting her up in a hospital room. Claire looked out the large window that overlooked the city. The lights were bright, but the streets were quiet. She leaned back in her bed and let out a breath as she stroked her stomach.

"I'll never let that asshole near you again," she whispered.

A knock on the door had her looking up to find Ben, Jake, Liam, Theo, Will, Lonnie, Miranda, and Celine entering the room.

Ben immediately came to her side and hugged her.

She hissed through her teeth as pain seared through her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Ben said and pulled back. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm okay."

Ben set a hand on her cheek. "It's so good to see you."

The unspoken word "alive" hung in the air.

Tears sprang to Claire's eyes, and she took a deep breath. "It's good to see you, too."

Ben then stood back and everyone took turns giving her hugs or a shoulder pat. Jake was left for last. He stepped forward and immediately sat on the side of her bed before pressing his face to her neck and kissing it once.

She wrapped her hand around the back of his head and held him there. They remained like that for a few minutes until someone cleared their throat.

Jake pulled back immediately, and Claire's face flamed. She had forgotten everyone else was still in the room. Her eyes flickered over to where Ben stood with a small smile on his face.

"Claire, I said it to Jake in the waiting room, and I'll say it to you right now. You two are perfect together. Be together. You don't have to hide it."

Claire's heart swelled. Keeping her relationship with Jake a secret had been hard, and she hadn't realized how much it weighed on her until this very moment when she received his blessing.

"Thank you, Ben. That means a lot."

Jake took Claire's hand and stroked his thumb over the back of it.

"Can we stop making hospitals a habit now?" Liam asked.

They laughed, and Jake gave Claire's hand a squeeze.

These were her people, and she would not give them up again.