Always the One (Always and Forever 1)

“Hello, I’m Dr. Bennett, her attending DO. Do we have someone here who is her next of kin?” he asks, and I feel Kingston at my side, placing his hand on my shoulder for support.

“I’m her brother, is she okay?” he asks nervously, his voice deep. This can’t be easy on him either, this is his sister.

Nodding, the doctor starts. “Good news, she’s awake. Bad news, she suffered from a minor concussion and she’ll experience some slight pain, but nothing too detrimental.” I grab his hand and shake it roughly, after Kingston, my actions sloppy. I feel the weight on my shoulders lift and the deep breath sitting idly in my chest release. Fuck, she’s okay, Trey. She’s okay.

“Thank you so much, thank you. Sorry, I know I said that two times but really thank you. Okay, I’ve said thank you like a hundred times, so thank you.” My dad chuckles and the look on the doctor’s face clearly showing me I sound moronic.

“Can I see her, Doctor?” Kings ask, beating me to it.

He nods. “Yes, she’s right through those doors on the left—Room 217.” Kingston and I both pick up speed and take off down the hall. We must look like two scary dudes, running rampant.

“Perfect,” I shout over my shoulder, already halfway to her room.

I’m relieved to see the door open, showing me a full view of my beautiful girl. The second she sees me, I take note of the tears welling in her green eyes, underlined with regret. It isn’t her fault; it’s that piece of shit branch’s fault. I ripped the branch off the fucking tree like the Hulk when I got to her, my anger uncontrollable at that point.

“Baby.” Running to her side, I grab her hand and kiss her lips.

“I’m sorry, I was just trying to play. I didn’t mean to get hurt or upset you.” I’m not sure why she thinks I’m mad at her; I’m more worried about her than anything.

“I’m not upset, not at all. You scared me back there, I was so fucking worried.” I can’t stop kissing her lips, my need to drown myself in her stronger than before. Most people would think I’m overreacting, maybe I am. But when you see something happening to the one you’re in love with, any kind of exposure to accident or danger can make a person mad.

“I know, I just wanted to have some fun. We had such a crazy night last night, I wanted to make today fun for us all.” She gestures her hand to the crowd around us. I look over, seeing Kathy and my dad side by side in an embrace, Lana standing in front of a concerned Kings. I don’t miss his hands on her hips, she’s his talisman, holding him still, calming his heart, and submerging him back to reality. He’s just as scared as I was.

Turning my attention back on Shay, my hands caressing her cheek, she nestles harder into my palm, soaking up my touch. “I know, baby, I’m not mad. I’m just fucking happy you’re okay.”

“Yeah, we all are,” Lana speaks up, making her way to the opposite side of the bed.

“You scared me too, Shay. So don’t do anything like that again. Your big guy over here may not be mad at you but I am, you could’ve gotten hurt, way worse than you did.”

“I’m gonna second that, don’t ever do that fucking shit again. Got it?” Kings says firmly, all humor erased from his face. He hasn’t moved from his spot a few feet away, standing eerily still. Shay’s his only sister, his best friend. His worry is warranted.

“You’re just saying that because you want to get laid,” Shayla says, winking at Lana. This is her attempt to ease the tension from the room, it’s radiating off everyone. She really doesn’t have an inkling of how much we fucking love her and how important she is to the people here.

“I know you are trying to be funny but, baby, it could have been a lot worse. Many people have…died from that,” I choke out the word; it tastes like poison on my tongue.

Squeezing her hand, she nods. “I know, it could have been, and I’m glad I have all of you here to make sure I’m okay. You’re all the best. Thank you.” I watch her closely, memorizing every detail of her face as she looks at every person individually, saying thank you. I could close my eyes and tell you where everything on her face is, and in great detail. I have made a profession out of loving her, I know her like she’s a part of me, another limb on my body.

“Get some rest, I’m gonna go book our flights home.” Scrunching her face in confusion, I kiss the back of her hand that’s placed in mine.

“I thought we were driving?”

“We were, but since you have a concussion I want to get you home a day early. That way you can rest before you have to go back to work.”

“That makes sense. Thanks, Trey, you’re too good to me.” Kissing her enough times to keep me satisfied for now, we leave the room so she can finally get some rest.

“MAYBE TRY MESSING WITH the bass control.” It’s been three days since we’ve been back from vacation, and I fucking miss having Shayla to myself. Getting back home meant getting my ass back in gear and finishing the Roes album, taking my twenty-four hour access to Shayla away.

“True. Oh fuck, that sounds way better. Good call, dude.” We’re back at the studio, working a ton of hours to catch up on the work we missed. Kings and I spent a lot of time building a damn good reputation. Part of that is spending a lot of hours a day, sometimes until midnight, working with the bands who come in and out of here. Word of mouth and reputation is our marketing at the moment, and it’s working.

“These guys sound fucking good.” Looking through the recording glass from where we’re sitting, we silently agree, nodding our heads.

“So what’s your plans tonight?”

I brush his question off my shoulders, hiding my plans from him in the best way I can.

“Nothing.”

Reading right through me, his questioning eyes hit me sideways, hard. “Okay, fucker, spill.”