Lost In Us (Lost 1)

I take one last look at the room from the doorway, wishing to remember every detail; the sanctuary of the first night in which our kisses and caresses were preludes to much more than reckless passion.

As if knowing what I'm thinking, he whispers in my ear, "There will be more nights like this, I promise."

I smile and let him drag me through the sea of desks.

My phone starts buzzing when we reach the car, and I manage to get it as I slide in the car.

Jess is calling. I press answer just as James starts the engine and the voice at the other end of the invisible line instantly alerts me that there's something wrong. Very, very wrong.

"Parker? Why do you have Jess's phone?"

"Don't panic, please," he says in a tone that screams for me to panic. "I'm with her at the hospital."

A paralyzing coldness takes over every limb, every organ, every thought, as if I've just fallen into the depths of a melting iceberg.

It's only after a long pause that I manage to mumble, "What happened to her?"

"The moron she was with last night… I'll explain everything when you get here."

I dig my nails deep into my palm. "Which hospital are you in?"

"The one where you volunteer. We're on the fourth floor."

"I'll be there as soon as possible."

I close the phone and turn to a concerned James. "How fast can you drive?"

Hospitals used to terrify me. When I was six, I sliced my knee open on the playground, and kept it a secret from everyone, including Kate, for two whole days, using kitchen towels as bandages. I gave in to fever on the third day. Mum nearly fainted when she discovered the infected wound.

I despised hospitals and their incompetent doctors after Kate's death. But I despised them in a masochistic, self-flagellating manner that made me return to care for those who were confined inside them. I eventually accepted that Kate's death was not the doctors' fault. What can doctors do for someone who flirted with death so often?

Now, as I look at the concrete building towering over me, I'm terrified again. And I pray that I won't be forced to despise them once more.

I barely feel James's arm over my shoulders as we walk in. I stopped hearing him a while ago in the car.

Dani greets us as we get out of the elevator on the fourth floor.

"Where's Jess?" I ask.

"They're doing her some tests right now, you can't see her," Dani says.

"What happened?" James asks, looking at Dani concerned, scanning her as if checking to see if she has all her limbs.

"I don't know," Dani mumbles, staring at her feet.

"Dani?" I press.

"I really don't. I was outside the club talking to… someone."

James instantly tenses up.

"Yes, a guy," I say impatiently. "Please continue."

"There was some kind of fight inside the club."

"The moron Jessica was with started it," Parker says, appearing from a narrow corridor. "The whole place

was in chaos before long."