Fracture (Unbreakable Bonds 6)

“A nurse will tell you when you can see him. For now, he’s limited to one person at a time and only immediate family, please.”

With each word the surgeon spoke, Jude’s anger rose in his chest like a black, hungry thing at the thought of someone taking fists to his brother. He stood in front of the doctor, heart pounding hard against his ribs, and felt helpless. He hated the feeling.

Rebecca had joined them. Standing next to Carrick and Anna with Carrick’s hand on her shoulder, she looked utterly drained from her long shift and the news of Jordan’s condition. Carrick looked as if he alternated between trying to comfort his mother and girlfriend and trying to digest the news the doctor had dumped on them.

He met his brother’s eyes, seeing the same anger and confusion muddied there.

God, Jude needed to do something. Anything. He looked at his mother. “I’m going to run to his apartment and get him a few things, and I’ll be right back. You can sit with him.”

Anna grabbed his arm before he could get more than a step away from the group. “Wait. You need to see him before you go. The doctor said we could go back in about an hour. Just wait and see him first.”

Jude could easily read between the lines. She wanted him to see Jordan in case something happened while he was at the apartment. Sanders had made it very clear that Jordan’s condition was going to be incredibly delicate for the next few days. Anna wanted to make sure Jude had a chance to see Jordan in case he died.

His rage threatened to boil over at the very idea. Clenching his teeth, Jude nodded and dropped down in his seat rather than risk shouting at his mana. Emotions bounced wildly about in his chest, leaving him wanting to scream at everyone around them that they weren’t doing enough to save Jordan or that his brother shouldn’t be there in the first place. But instead, he sat silently, his skin crawling and his leg bouncing as his anxiety mounted.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed until the nurse finally came back to usher one of them to see Jordan. Anna placed her hand over the fist resting on his leg and nodded for him to go first. He wanted to argue with his mother that she should go, but he couldn’t get the words out. When he got to his feet, Snow slid into his chair, placing his arm around Anna’s shoulders. Snow would watch over his mother while he was gone.

Following the nurse to Jordan’s room, he was vaguely aware of her telling him things like visiting hours and other restrictions, but he couldn’t really pay attention. Her words were just garbled noise as he looked around. He’d seen this part of the hospital a couple of times in the past, but not often. His days usually had him limited to the emergency room and the meeting rooms for the paramedics.

But even having been there before, it all looked so foreign to him. There were fewer than a dozen rooms, and the walls were mostly glass. They were only big enough for the beds and all the equipment that surrounded the patients. The usual mind-numbing noise of constantly beeping machines was mostly missing. There was still some beeping and the hum of machines working, but it was all muted so as to not disturb the patients as they healed.

The nurse directed him to Room 6, but Jude got no farther than the open doorway. He gripped the metal frame, keeping himself upright as his knees tried to buckle. A choked sound jumped from his lips that was half moan and half sob. Jordan…

This couldn’t be his brother.

He looked so thin and frail in the large bed. His usually tan skin was papery and nearly as white as the sheets he lay on. A tube snaked out from under his arm, drawing the air and moisture from his chest to help preserve the vacuum and keep his lungs inflated. There were bandages across his chest and wrapped around his fingers as if they’d been broken. But most disturbing was his face and head. There was a thick bandage around his head like a turban and a brace around his neck to protect it from movement. Ugly bruises covered his face while both eyes were swollen shut. Jude couldn’t begin to imagine how Rebecca had been able to recognize him, looking as he did.

“Here we go,” the nurse gently said. A firm hand grabbed his elbow and she expertly maneuvered him into the chair just inside the door before he could no longer hold himself up.

“How?” he whispered, his voice fracturing around that one word. “How is he going to get better from this?”