ROCK HARD XVII
880 Words
“Took you long enough.” Eric reached over and peeled something off the side of Jace’s neck. “What is this? Wax? What have you been up to, little man?”
Jace flushed. “Can I see Trey?”
“We got kicked out,” Brian said. “We’re supposed to wait in the waiting area until he’s out of surgery.” He nodded toward the lounge area near the elevators.
“Surgery?” Jace repeated. Typically a master of hiding his emotions, Jace looked like someone had punched him in the stomach, knocked him flat on his ass, and then pissed on his forehead. “I can’t let him go into surgery without seeing him.”
He didn’t wait for permission. He just barreled right into Trey’s room. “What the… You can’t be in that bad of shape if you can do that.”
Sed turned his head toward the open door. Do what?
Dare suddenly jetted across the hall and grabbed a tiny woman, who was dressed in green scrubs, in an enthusiastic embrace. He lifted her off the floor and bounced her up and down in his arms. “Dr. Angelo. Thanks for rushing here so quickly.”
She smiled. “My pleasure, Darren.”
Sed had the urge to demand the woman’s credentials before she went mucking around with Trey’s brain. As hard as it was for Sed, he knew he had to stand back and not interfere.
“You okay?” Jessica asked.
Sed nodded. She kissed the center of his bare chest tenderly, her fingers splayed over his rib cage. His heart thrummed against her lips.
Eyes on Jessica, Brian made a sound of frustration and stalked off toward the waiting area with Myrna on his heels. What the f**k was he so pissed about?
Dr. Angelo entered her patient’s room.
“Dr. Angelo!” Trey’s voice carried into the hall.
“Why haven’t you shaved his head yet?” Dr. Angelo said sternly. “And who are you? You have to leave.”
“S- Sorry.” Jace came out into the hallway, his face red.
The doctor’s sudden, no-nonsense attitude made Sed feel a hell of a lot better. He smiled and took Jessica’s hand. “Trey is going to be fine,” he said as they walked toward the waiting area.
“Of course he is.”
“Let’s go, little man.” Eric grabbed Jace in a headlock and hauled ass down the corridor.
When they entered the waiting room, Brian turned his back on the group and wiped his damp face on the hem of his T-shirt. Sed had never seen Brian cry and they had been through some seriously horrible s**t together. Brian’s earlier nonchalance, his teasing, had all been an act for Trey’s benefit. Sed’s heart sank. If the levelheaded one of the group had come undone, things were pretty bad.
Myrna took her husband’s head between her hands, her fingertips curled behind his ears, and pressed her forehead against his. She murmured to him, “He’ll be fine, sweetheart. You have to believe that.”
“But what if he’s not?” His voice cracked.
“Don’t let yourself think that way.”
Good advice. Sed just wished it was easier to follow.
Brian took a deep breath and crushed Myrna’s body against his chest.
Jessica placed a timid hand on Sed’s belly and he looked down at her.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.
Why did she keep asking him that? Since when did she give a s**t how he felt? And, no, he wasn’t okay. He didn’t know what to do. There was nothing he could do. He wanted to climb the sterile, white walls just to occupy himself.
“I’m here for you,” she whispered, her jade-green eyes watery with tears.
If ever a woman had said the right thing at exactly the right moment, that was it.
Whatever it took to make her love him, he’d do it. To hell with what Brian or anyone else thought. He refused to give up on her this time. She would be his again. And not just in body. That would never be enough for him and he knew it.
Sed drew Jessica against his chest, hugging her close. She hesitated and then her arms stole around his body beneath his leather duster. Her small hands splayed over his bare back and she snuggled close to his chest. His heart throbbed beneath her ear—so full he thought it might burst inside his chest.
Dare entered the waiting room. “Okay, which one of you started that fight so I know who to destroy if Trey doesn’t make it through this in perfect health?”
All eyes turned to Eric, who blanched. “Me? What about Sed? He’s the one who pulled Jessica off the stage and got the bouncers all riled up.”
Sed nodded. “He’s right. I started it.”
Dare sank into a chair with a heavy sigh and rested his forehead in both hands. “It had to be the big guy,” he murmured. “One more reason to pray the little pain in my ass makes it through this.”
- Writer
