Easton

There was a lot of stuff he was angry about.

He shouldn’t have told Liam, and even though the doctor had said he should have, Easton didn’t want to believe them. Climbing off the bed, he was going to find Liam and give that son of a bitch a piece of his mind.

Their weekend had been ruined because of his fucking mouth.

As he was walking out of the room, the nurse rushed toward him, but he ignored her. He wanted to throw her across the room so she would back the fuck off. Instead, she followed him out to the waiting room, where he spotted Liam and Scarlett, but also Axton, Taylor, Karson, and Romeo. There were a couple of other people, who he figured were waiting for their own loved ones.

Liam spotted him first and got to his feet, drawing the others’ attention.

He didn’t know why the fuck his friends were there. He didn’t need them in the hospital.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I called them, just in case.”

“Do you think I’m going to die?” Easton wasn’t impressed.

“Sir, I need you to go back to your room,” the nurse said.

“I’m here because I fucking want to be. Back off, now!” Easton yelled the words, becoming the center of attention.

“I’m thinking we should take this to your room,” Liam said.

He was tempted to scream at all of them, but if it wasn’t for the no cell phone rule, he’d have been filmed screaming at the nurse.

Turning on his heel, he entered his room but refused to sit down.

“You can’t have this many people in his bedroom,” the nurse said.

“You either let them in or I swear I will have your job so fucking fast you wish you kept your mouth shut,” Easton said.

His anger had hit an all-time high. He was livid and looking for anyone to take it out on. The nurse was merely an easy target for him, and one he really fucking needed.

“Easton?” Scarlett said.

“I don’t care right now what the fuck you think of me.” The door had been shut, and they now had privacy. “Why are you here?” He turned toward Axton, Karson, and Romeo.

“We’re your friends.”

“So. I’m fine.”

“Liam said there could be something wrong with you. We were worried,” Axton said.

“You didn’t tell them?”

“It wasn’t my place. I just figured they were your friends.”

This time, Easton laughed. “Oh, yes, we’re friends, aren’t we? The Four fucking Kings. The empire. All of it. We’re supposed to be the best fucking friends, but you know what, I don’t want you here.”

“You don’t mean that,” Taylor said.

His nostrils flared. “You know why I’m here?” he asked.

“You might be sick.”

“Since I got to rehab and even getting out of it, I’ve been having conversations with Carla. You know, the dead girlfriend from years ago. The one I knocked up, before I knocked up her.” He pointed toward Scar. “The girl who I pretended to care about.”

“Easton, you loved her.”

“No! I fucking didn’t. I didn’t love her. She was nothing more than a bet that I used to amuse myself, and it backfired. I cared about her. I won’t deny that, but I didn’t fucking love her. God!” He let out a scream. Behind all of them, Carla was smiling at him.

He ran a hand down his face.

This wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him.

“I fell in love with you,” he said, turning to Scar. “I thought you were poor. I thought you couldn’t handle my family. I didn’t want to lose you, Scar. I never did. I had no idea we’d made a baby. A really precious baby. A sweet, beautiful son. I wish I had known him back then. There are so many mistakes.”

The door to the room opened, and Easton growled for them to get out.

“I need to prep Mr. Long for surgery, now.”

Nurses, security staff suddenly rushed into the hospital room, and all Easton saw was Scar. Liam was in control. He would take care of him. Easton had no doubt. There was a look of panic on her face, and the world began to slow down a little.

He had a tumor.

They needed to operate.

Carla wasn’t a figment of his operation.

He was in fact, very sick.

****

Liam sat in the waiting room. He’d put a call to the parents Junior was staying with and asked to keep him one more night, and they were more than happy to keep him. Scar held him. They were sitting in the family room.

Axton, Taylor, Karson, and Romeo were also in the room. They hadn’t spoken since they had been led to this room nearly thirty minutes ago.

The doctor he’d called was the best neurosurgeon in the country, but even still, he’d warned him of potential complications, and they were prepping for surgery in such a short time.