Broken Hill Halo (Broken Hill High 2)

“My…” I shake my head, unable to get the words out as I hold onto my sore lower tummy. “Please. Hospital.”

“Shit,” he grunts as he flies back to his feet in a panic. “Ok. Um… right. Ok. Hold still.”

He races from my room and I listen to him sounding like a heard of elephants running around his room, probably finding a pair of pants and a shirt. “JESSE,” he yells at the tops of his lungs as I hear the familiar sound of car keys. “Get up. Get mom and dad. Tora needs the hospital. Something’s wrong.”

“What?” Jesse responds as his own door is ripped open.

“Get mom and dad,” Nate repeats urgently. “Meet me out the front.”

A moment passes and next thing I know, both boys are in my doorway, Jesse looking confused while deep lines of concern are etched into Nate’s face. Jesse looks me over for a quick second before his expression becomes horrified and he dashes out the door.

“You’ll be alright,” Nate says as he walks forward. He grabs my clothes and pulls my top over my head before helping me struggle into my pants. Next up, he takes my phone off the bed and slips it into his pocket before bending down to me. “I’m going to pick you up, ok,” he warns me.

I nod my head and take a deep breath knowing this is bound to hurt. Nate scoops me up and the pain is unbelievable. I take quick breaths through my mouth as I cling to him, but nothing could have prepared me for the way it feels as he gets me down the stairs. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs, looking haunted as he presses his lips to my forehead.

I don’t respond, just keep my eyes trained on the front door. One step at a time.

“What’s going on?” Trish demands as I hear both her and Caden rushing in from the other side of the massive house.

“I don’t know,” Nate says through clenched teeth. “She’s hurting. She needs the hospital.”

Caden and Trish catch up to us and both their eyes widen as they take me in. “Oh, honey,” Trish says as Caden races ahead to open the garage door for Nate.

“Put her in the Range Rover,” Caden says. “She can lay down.”

Trish comes around and opens the door of Jesse’s Range Rover while someone presses the button to open the automatic garage door. Jesse is suddenly there, helping Nate get me through the door of the Range Rover while trying not to jostle me too much. “You’ll be alright,” Nate whispers as they lay me down on the seat.

Nate races around to the other side of the car and gets in beside me so I can rest my head on his lap. Jesse dives in the driver’s seat and starts the engine. “We’ll follow, Trish says through the driver’s side window before looking back at me. “I’ll give your mom a call on the way, sweetheart,” she tells me.

I go to tell her not to bother my mom, she’s already going through a lot today, but Jesse is already peeling out of the garage.

Jesse drives like a maniac as Nate runs his hand over my hair in a calming motion, silently letting me know that he’s here for me.

We pull up at the hospital and I do my best to help the boys get me out, ignoring their objections. Nate scoops me back into his arms and Jesse races ahead, hopefully, to warn someone that we’re on our way.

As Nate walks through the doors of the ER, the place becomes a scurry of activity. Nurses are rushing around, doctors in white lab coats are coming at me. A bed is pushed from somewhere. Nate is saying something.

I tighten my grip around his neck but he pulls at it, trying to get me on the hospital bed. “Please, babe,” he murmurs. “The doctors can’t check you like this.” Reluctantly, I loosen my grip and he lays me on my back.

I cry out as a stabbing pain hits me and I try to roll over to my side. Nate’s right there helping me, watching me with worried eyes, eyes that tell me he’d do anything to take the pain away. I pull my legs back up into my chest and try to curl around myself as best as possible.

Someone pushes the bed and before I know it, I’m pushed into a room where a doctor comes in and starts looking me over properly. People start poking and prodding at my stomach, sending blinding pain right through me.

Tears flow from my eyes as Nate talks to the doctor while squeezing my hand, but I don’t hear a word he says. Trish and Caden come barging through the door with Jesse, but all I can focus on is the feel of Nate’s hand in mine.