Chapter 3

3

OSCAR

“Ireally think this project can be wrapped up in a few weeks. Everything is moving along greatly.” Shiloh says the words encouragingly to Princess Aster. The other man, clad in the brightest shade of pink I’ve ever seen, stares at my friend curiously as if he is trying to discern the truth behind the words.

“He’s telling the truth,” I chime in. “The end result is going to be amazing.”

I stare around the room in awe, the knowledge of how this project came to be making me feel a sensation in my chest that I’ve been avoiding for a while now. Quickly, I school my features to keep Shiloh from questioning me about how things are going with Keller, our mutual friend, and the man I’m madly in love with.

The man I decided to risk years and years of friendship to be with.

The man who is currently ghosting me because he thinks a little ‘quiet time’ will make me forget the smoking hot kiss we shared a while back. Fat chance of that happening.

“If you’re sure, then I’ll get Byron to make plans on the graphics for the opening. There’s a lot to do, and if it’s not timed just right then we could have big trouble, misters.” Princess Aster pops his hip out as he points a finger toward us.

“I promise that there is nothing more that I want than to make sure you are happy with the finished product - “

The ringing of my phone interrupts Shiloh as he tries to explain once again that he’d never leave a customer of his construction business unsatisfied. As it stands, Princess Aster is a friend, which means we want to do even more to make sure he’s happy with the finished product.

Looking down, I don’t recognize the number. “Hello? This is Oscar.”

“Hi, is this Oscar Emerson?”

Immediately, I’m on alert at the formal nature of her tone. “Yes, this is him. How may I help you?”

“I have you listed as the emergency contact for Keller Hendrix. We are reaching out to let you know that he was brought in by emergency transport. If you are available, we suggest coming in right away for updates and decisions on his care.”

“Keller’s on his way to the hospital?” I repeat her words to make sure I heard her correctly. There can be no way this is happening. She must be mistaken.

Her voice comes across the line softer the next time, probably because she can hear the panic in mine. “Yes, that’s right. He is here now. Are you able to come? Can someone drive you?”

Shiloh moves to stand in front of me, his expression stern. He nods his head, and I mimic him while responding with a yes to the woman on the line. She gives me the address to the hospital, then hangs up.

“Is everything ok?” I want to answer Princess Aster, but I can’t formulate words to let him know what I’m feeling right now. Thankfully Shiloh intercepts.

“Keller means the world to this idiot. They’ve been skirting around dating each other for years, and from what little I heard it now sounds like Keller’s life is hanging in the balance, so Oscar might be a bit hollow at the moment.”

Any other time I’d be frustrated at his summation of my friendship with Keller, no matter how right it is. Given the circumstances and my inability to feel anything other than fear, I let him off the hook.

Keller can’t die on me.

I won’t allow it.

He needs to pull through whatever this is so I can tell him how much he means to me and make him actually listen.

Within minutes we’re in the hospital parking lot. Shiloh must have navigated me from Princess Aster’s house and to my truck. He slams on the brakes as he parks, then I’m reaching for the handle and rushing to the sliding doors.

Inside, there’s not much happening other than a few people obviously fighting colds and a possible broken arm on a small boy cradled in his mother’s arms.

“May I help you, sir?” I turn to find a nurse staring at me curiously.

“Yes! My friend was brought in. He’s a firefighter.” Her eyes widen at the mention of his profession. I don’t know if that’s a good reaction or not.

“You’ll have to wait here. Let me go grab the doctor.”

I nod, even though I want to follow behind her as she scans her card and enters the back area. She has to know something based on the way she looked, right? Maybe when she comes back I can convince her to tell me.

Finding a seat, I try to be still as I wait. It only takes two minutes for me to be up and pacing the floor, my worry too strong to contain.

A nurse comes out as I’m pacing. “Family of Keller Hendrix?”

“That’s me.” Approaching her, I stand close but not too close. I’m a big guy and women often feel uncomfortable in my presence, especially when I’m agitated like I am now.

“I don’t have much information yet. What I can tell you is that he has a collapsed lung that they are working to correct, along with several third degree burns on his lower body. There’s also a broken bone in his leg that will take some time to heal. He’s going to be going into surgery soon, then afterwards the doctor himself will come out to update you.”

Nodding at her, I watch her form retreating through the double doors. Oh, how I wish I could follow her to see for myself how bad it is.

When Shiloh finally walks through the doors, my arms wrap around him in the tightest hug we’ve ever shared. Being alone for that long while waiting on news for Keller has me wanting to hold onto those I care about just a little bit more than usual.

“I’m here, Oz. I’ve got you.” His whispered reassurance nearly unleashes the tears I’d been withholding. After another squeeze, I let him go. He directs me to a seating area off to the side that looks a bit more private. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

Quickly, I tell him what the nurse just shared with me before he walked in. He keeps a calm demeanor even as my panic rises with each word I speak. By the time I’m done, he has me in another hug and he’s telling me over and over again how things will work out and be ok.

It’s another hour before anything changes. Shiloh tells me he’s going to take a break for some fresh air just as a nurse comes out of the back room. I recognize her as the one I spoke with before. She comes straight over to me, no formal introductions necessary this time.

“Mr. Emerson, I’m only coming out to let you know that we’ve not heard anything new at this time. Mr. Hendrix is still in surgery. Normally we wouldn’t come out to say anything yet, but I could tell you were distressed earlier.

I laugh bitterly at her comment. “Ma’am, the man I love is in the room fighting for his life and there’s nothing I can do about it. I appreciate you letting me know. I’ll probably be a mess of epic proportions before this is all through.”

She smiles sadly, then goes back to her post behind the impenetrable doors of doom. At least, that’s what I’ve named them inside of my head.

When Shiloh returns from his walk, he is no longer alone. His boyfriend and the newest addition to my group of friends, Grayson, is with him. Apparently, Princess Aster called him to get him to come support us. He rushed straight here, and while I’m sure he’s mostly here for Shiloh, I’m happy to know that people care enough to come make sure we are alright.

“Any news?” Shiloh asks me. I shake my head, my voice caught at the sight of the love they share. It’s a reminder that I don’t have something like that of my own, and likely never will if Keller doesn’t make it out of the room.

“No news is good news, right? That means all of their focus is on taking care of him. On making sure he gets through this so I can tell him how pissed I am at him.” The tears I’d been holding back break free, each drop falling down my cheek in stream after stream of pain filled longing.

“There’s going to be a line. He’s got plenty of people who care about him. Let’s sit down for a while. That pacing only makes other people nervous.”

I freeze as I realize how right he is. The movement was subconscious after the nurse visited again. It’s a fight to keep still, but I do my best so that I’m not an inconvenience to others around me.

My phone goes off after a while, the ringtone of the guy I was supposed to meet for dinner tonight after the last job of the day at Princess Aster’s place. I wince at the memory, then step away in hopes that the others won’t hear the conversation I’m about to have.

Jarod, my almost date, sounds chipper when I answer the line. He’s someone I wouldn’t normally pursue given the fact that he’s the complete opposite of Keller, but in his case, I figured that going in the opposite direction of my obsession might be best.

“Hey, Oscar! I’m so excited for our date. I got here a little early. Just wanted to let you know.”

“Something has come up.”

There’s a pause of silence on the line. “So, you’re not coming?”

“No. I cannot make it.”

“You’re just going to leave me high and dry for this date? You can’t do that,” He whines.

“Something important came up.” I repeat my words from before, this time making sure he knows it was important.

“I can’t believe this. You’re going to stand me up for something important. You’re a plumber. What could possibly be so important?”

Ignoring the jab at my profession, I respond calmly. “If you feel that way, I understand.”

Jarod doesn’t take the hint that I no longer care about his opinion. “This was a big deal. A first date is huge. I don’t just go out with anyone, you know? I took a chance on you and those sexy tattoos. Now look at me. I’m sitting alone in a restaurant waiting for a man who isn’t going to show.”

My patience leaves me then. I lash out with my words, unable to care if they hurt him or not.

“Yes, I agree first dates are a big deal. If you weren’t so self-obsessed, you’d understand that other people have lives and sometimes emergencies come up.”

Something in my voice must give away my anger. Even worse, it seems to have made Jarod think I’m upset about losing him rather than being upset at his narcissistic ways.

“It’s fine. I’ll call you back next week, I guess. Maybe then you’ll have time for me.”

“Don’t worry about calling back,” I bite out. “I’m good with you moving on.”

I nearly fling the phone across the room in frustration after dealing with him. Every muscle in my body is coiled and ready to attack. I have to pace in the small area I stepped away in to help calm myself before returning to Shiloh and Grayson.

After an hour or so passes, a doctor comes out looking utterly exhausted. “Family of Keller Hendrix?”

I stand, my friends right at my back as I face this man. “That’s me. How is he?”

“He made it through surgery. The next forty-eight hours are where we’ll see the most change. I can’t make promises, but that man in there is a fighter. Something was worth him living because he’s giving it his all.”

“And for when he leaves? They couldn’t tell me what all the damage was before.”

He mentions the same things the nurse did, along with some medical terminology I don’t fully understand. I make a note to research them later.

“Basically, he’s going to be in a lot of pain. He’ll need a lot of physical therapy. He may even need to see a therapist in case any type of PTSD forms from his experience.”

The idea of all these changes is scary, but I’m more than willing to do it all if it means I get to have Keller living and breathing in this world.

“We’ll do whatever he needs. How soon can we see him?”

The doctor runs a hand across the back of his neck, his fingers working the muscles I’m sure hold tension from the hours of surgery.

“Honestly, he’ll be in the ICU for at least one night. It’s a one-person limit right now. After he makes it through the night, we’ll shift him to a regular room. There you’ll have full access to help him until the doctor on that floor says he’s capable of heading home.”

With a brief nod, I extend my hand to thank the doctor. I’d love to hug him for all he’s done, but I know that it would probably be frowned upon.

“Thanks for all you’ve done, sir. I appreciate you more than I could ever say.”

“It’s all in a day’s work. No need to thank me.” He turns to leave, taking with him the worry I’d harbored about Keller. The road to healing will be long and winding. At least there’s healing to be had. It could have been much worse. I still need the details of what exactly happened.

Shiloh and Grayson offer to go get me some clothes. I think they both realized I’m not leaving this place until I see Keller with my own eyes.

As they head out, I notice three familiar faces running in still wearing their gear. I don’t hold back from hugging each of them. Whatever happened today, they made sure Keller got here in enough time for the doctors to save him.

“What happened, Zach?” I ask him the question because I know he’ll be able to explain it without holding back on account of my feelings. The few times I’ve met these guys, he’s always been the one to keep it the realest.

“It was bad man. I’ll have nightmares for the rest of my life about that one.”

Goosebumps cover my arms as I wait for him to continue. Zach doesn’t scare easily, plus the expressions Rolando and Damien are sporting don’t fare much better.

“The apartment caught fire. It was too close to the buildings downtown, so we needed to get it out quickly. There were also suspected people inside. Keller went in solo as we all fought to put out the blaze. One of us was to go in behind him, but things went to shit fast.” He scrubs a hand over his face. “Turns out the only person missing was a small boy. Keller found him and managed to get him out a window to us. On his way back down, we felt like we’d made good progress. We thought there wasn’t much left to the blaze until we heard the explosion.”

“Explosion!?” My heart beats out of my chest. What the hell blew up?

“Yeah, man. It came out of nowhere. Keller was almost out. We could see him in the entry, his outline clear as day. Then the boom and next thing we knew, the building was crumbling on top of him. We rushed to help him, but it took a bit to get to him because of all the rubble. We’re sorry, Oscar. We did everything we could.”

I realize the looks I thought were worry over Keller were actually guilt. They all feel like they let their brother down and they are beating themselves up over it.

“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known the building would blow. And you said Keller saved a little boy. That’s good. He’d have been more devastated if the building had fallen on the kid than him.”

They laugh at the truth of my words, then sober as sirens sound from another person being brought in.

“How is he,” Rolando asks.

“He’ll make it, but this is going to be one of the hardest things he’ll ever go through. I’m sticking around until I can see him. Do you guys need to get back to the station?”

Damien shakes his head. “The rest of the group all went back. We flat out told them we’re staying for Keller until we know he’s good. You’re stuck waiting with us.”

“I can’t be too mad about it. I need some type of distraction, otherwise I’ll focus on things I can’t change.”

Like how I want the man in the other room to wake up with a change of heart about us.