“Is she – ”
“No, man. No, she's alive,” he said. “But it was bad. We really almost lost her today.”
“What happened?” I asked again, this time hoping to get a solid answer.
What had happened between us earlier, catching him with Hadley, didn't even matter anymore. Any anger I might have had with him was long gone, replaced by a shared fear that we might lose the woman we loved.
Seeing the look on Jared's face, I knew that he cared for her as much as I did.
“She left after you two spoke, and then drove around,” he said. “We followed her, were worried about her, and she stopped at Wilson's Creek – ”
I closed my eyes. I remembered Wilson's Creek, the memories of us swimming there late at night. Just her and me, sneaking out and trespassing for a little alone time. It had been our special place. A knot formed in my throat as Jared recounted the story of how the bridge collapsed underneath her and the two of them had to save her.
“She was unconscious,” he said. “Evan gave her CPR, and I was useless, man. Absolutely useless.”
Jared fell against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on his butt with his back against the wall. He held his knees in close to himself, hugging his body tightly. I joined him on the floor. No matter what happened between us, no matter what, we were still brothers. I could never turn my back on my brother.
“She's going to be fine,” I said, hoping that my words were true.
He nodded and wiped at his face.
“I just wish I could have done more,” I said. “I caused this. I shouldn't have fucked her, shouldn't have let my feelings get in the way of you two – ”
“Listen, Jared. That's in the past,” I said. “We'll deal with it later. For now, let's check on Hadley.”
He nodded, and I helped him up. I asked at the nurse's station, and she directed us toward the room. Evan was sitting beside the bed, holding her hand, a dreamy look on his face. He glanced up as we walked in.
Hadley looked to be sleeping peacefully, except for the monitors that had been hooked up to her. She had a breathing tube and the room was filled with the constant hum and buzzing of hospital equipment. None of us said a word for the longest time.
I walked over to her, took her hand from Evan and held it. I kissed her knuckles gently. Tears welled up in my eyes, and even though I wasn't the type of man to cry normally, I let them fall.
“I love you, Hadley,” I said. “Please don't leave me.”
With my brothers on either side of me, we sat there for what felt like an eternity. No one said a word. We just stayed with her, holding her hands and kissing her whenever we got the chance.
The realization hit me hard, like a pound of bricks to the head.
Nothing else mattered but Hadley.
***
“There, there,” the nurse said, adjusting Hadley's pillows. “Hopefully that's more comfortable, dear?”
Hadley had barely opened her eyes, but there was someone there. Either Evan or Jared rushed to grab a nurse at the first sign of life. It had been three hours – three agonizingly painful hours – but finally, she was coming back to us.
Her eyes flicked to me, then Evan, then Jared. Then back to me.
I fell to my knees beside the hospital bed, taking her hand in mine. I kissed it, and she seemed surprised, her eyes opening wider.
“You scared me,” I whispered against her skin. “God, you scared us all.”
“What happened?” she asked, her voice coming out a bit hoarse and dry.
“You almost died,” Jared said. “Right in front of us.”
“I don't remember any of it. Outside of falling into the creek, that is,” she said, her fingers intertwining with mine, and she smiled softly. “You're here.”
“I am here,” I said. “And I'm not going anywhere.”