“Well, he’s out of surgery now,” Doctor Miller said, “and since we haven’t been able to locate any next of kin,” he paused and glanced at Redeye, who raised an eyebrow, “we’re going to let you go see him for a little while.”
“Is he going to be all right?” I asked.
“He’s not completely out of the woods yet,” the doctor said. “The bullet was lodged next to his spine, but I didn’t see any cord damage. We had to repair his intestine, and there was a lot of internal bleeding, but we got it all. I can’t tell you anything for sure until he’s awake, but it looks good right now.”
If Lo hadn’t been holding on to me, I probably would have fallen to the floor. Mo stepped up on my other side, and they both helped me back into the chair. Redeye crouched down beside me.
“That’s good news, Chloe,” Redeye said softly as he rubbed my shoulder. “Hunter’s a tough one. He isn’t going to let this stop him. It’s good news—focus on that.”
I nodded. Aiden was strong. He’d be okay. I had to believe that because anything else was too painful to think about.
“You can come see him now but just for a minute. He’s still going to be out for a while, and we need to let him rest.”
“Go ahead, Chloe,” Lo said as he gave me a gentle push. “Tell him we’re all out here rooting for him.”
I followed Doctor Miller through several sets of double doors and down a long hallway. There were doctors and nurses everywhere, some behind desks and others rolling patients around on gurneys. The doctor led me to a glass-walled room, and I looked at a bed with lots of machines surrounding it. He opened the door and motioned me inside.
“I’ll give you a couple of minutes alone with him,” Doctor Miller said. “Don’t try to wake him up or anything, but you can talk to him. You can hold his hand if you want. Just be careful of his IV.”
I walked in slowly, fiddling with the cap in my hands. The doctor closed the door behind me partway, leaving just a crack still open. I bit down on my lip and looked at the bed.
Aiden was lying there, hooked up to all kinds of equipment. He had a big plastic mask taped over his mouth, a needle sticking out of his hand, with a tube leading up to an IV bottle. His entire torso was covered in a huge bandage, and there were wires attached to him all over, leading back to the machines around the bed.
I pulled up a chair and sat by his side, leaving the cap to rest in my lap.
“Oh, Aiden,” I whispered. I took his hand in mine, but it was limp—lifeless. I swallowed down the sob in my throat and squeezed his fingers gently. “I’m here.”
I wiped tears away from my cheek with the back of my hand.
“Everyone is here,” I corrected myself. “Mo followed the ambulance, and Lo brought me to the hospital once the paramedics said I was okay. Lance and Redeye are here, too. I don’t know how, but I think Redeye convinced them to let me see you.”
The machines beeped rhythmically. Aiden remained motionless as scenes from his house flashed in my mind.
“Aiden…I don’t even know what to say to you,” I admitted. “You saved my life—I’m sure you did. You didn’t have to do that, Aiden.”
My throat was sore and my voice hoarse. I swallowed a few times before I tried to go on.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you for that.”
I tried to blink back more tears, but it didn’t help.
“You taught me so much, Aiden. Everything you’ve done for me…I can’t even comprehend this now. You have to hang in there so I can give you a proper thank you. You know that, right? You taught me how to live, but you have to stay with me, you hear that? You have to stay with me.”
“Miss Ellison?”
I glanced up at Doctor Miller as I tightened my grip on Aiden’s hand.
“Can I stay a little longer?”
“Not just yet,” he said. “You aren’t technically allowed back here at all, really, but we’ve made an exception. Right now, Aiden needs to sleep so he can recover. When he’s awake and stable, you can come back again.”
I nodded, understanding somewhere in my head that he was right, but I didn’t like it. I gripped his cap in my free hand and stood up slowly, holding on to Aiden’s fingers as long as I could. As I let go, I leaned over and kissed his forehead. I wanted to put the cap on his head just so he would have it with him, but I couldn’t with all the equipment in the way.
“I’ll be right out in the waiting room,” I told him. “I’ll see you again soon.”
A nurse led me back out through the hospital maze while Doctor Miller checked on Aiden. All the guys stood up when I walked back out.
“How is he doing?”