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“The windshield was cracked when I got to him,” John said quietly.

Dr. Ortega nodded slowly. “Thought so. With his head injury, we assumed he wasn’t wearing a seat belt.”

John looked at the ground. “He wasn’t.”

The doctor took a deep breath. “With that being said, Jace had quite a few surgeries in a short amount of time. He had a tear in his liver and one in a valve to his heart. We were able to repair both and those should heal just fine. By some God given miracle, he’s breathing and in recovery.”

“Wha …” she stammered, blinking rapidly. “What? He’s alive? His heart was injured?”

John shivered in his chair, the hair on his arms rising at the sudden unexpected news. He was covered in goose bumps, a cold sweat breaking out. Jace … was alive? Hope trickled through his veins. Please …

Dr. Ortega nodded with firm, tight lips. “We placed him in a medically induced coma, but yes, he is breathing with help, Mrs. McConnell,” he sighed tiredly. “We implanted an ICP into his skull which is a device to monitor the pressure on his brain. It should be able to come out in about two days, hopefully. After that, the ventilator can be removed, but it all depends on your son. Every patient is different, so I can’t give you a definitive answer on how everything should play out. The fact that he is alive right now is almost unheard of, but it gives me hope. If he wakes up from this, he’ll have a long road of recovery ahead of him. I suggest calling family and loved ones and letting them know of his condition. Your son needs rest, and until he’s out of ICU, I’d rather he not have many visitors.”

Maryanne looked down into her hands. “You’re looking at his family, doctor,” she said quietly. “His father took off once Jace was born and we never saw him again. It’s always been just me and my boy.”

John hugged her to him, giving her support through his touch. A small sob escaped her, breaking him open inside. How could this be happening?

“We’re extremely concerned about his brain activity. All I can say is pray. Pray for your son because he’s going to need a miracle. In a couple of days when the swelling goes down, should it go down quickly, and he is taken out of the coma, we’ll run more tests to see what kind of state he’s in. I don’t want to give you false hope, but pray.”

Maryanne grabbed a few more tissues and wiped the new tears that had fallen down her cheeks. “Can I see him?” she asked, her voice heightened with hope.

“You can, but he’s in ICU so you can only stay fifteen minutes and then you’ll have to leave. I’m sure you’ll want to stay in the hospital, so I’ll make sure you have some blankets in the waiting room. Once you finish with your visit, I need you to come back to my office so we can go over wavers.”

She nodded and stood, grabbing John’s hand. “Come on, John.”

Dr. Ortega looked at John. “Are you sure you’re up to see this?”

No, he wasn’t, but what choice did John have? He never wanted to see his best friend hooked up to IV’s and monitors, but it wasn’t about him right now—it was about Maryanne and what she needed. If Maryanne needed him to see her one and only son in ICU, then he would be there for her. So he was going to suck it up and deal with it later. After all, if the positions were reversed, Jace would do it for him.

The doctor placed a hand on Maryanne’s arm. “I need to advise you that aside from the implantation, your son is bandaged and hooked up to many devices. There are wires crisscrossing, tubes placed in multiple places on his body and machines lit up. Prepare yourself.”

Jesus Christ. Taking the deepest breath he could, John exhaled and cracked his neck. He sure as hell wasn’t ready for this, but then whoever was? He was jittery, and his heart pounded against his ribs so hard he thought it was going to pop out. The walk to Jace’s room felt like forever as they followed Dr. Ortega down the quiet, low lit hallway. Anxiety was bubbling inside of him and he could only imagine what the woman next to him felt.

Stopping in front of the glass with internal blinds, the doctor turned and said to both of them, “Remember, you only have fifteen minutes. No more.”

Nothing could have prepared John for what he was about to see.

An hour later, they were both at Alyssa’s empty house, showered and clean of Jace’s blood. Luckily her mother was working the night shift and not there to question them like his parents would have been had they gone to his house. He wouldn’t be able to handle it. Truthfully, John wasn’t sure how they got back to her house. It was all a blur after seeing Jace’s unresponsive body lying in the hospital bed.

Dried blood matted in Jace’s hair, bruises marred his pale skin. He was unrecognizable and fear hit John hard. His breath caught in his throat.

Tubes.

IV’s.

White gauze.

The silent heart monitor.

It was all too much to handle and he almost broke down more than once in those fifteen minutes. But he didn’t … for Maryanne. His heart was heavy and he held it in until now.

Shaking his head, trying to rid the horrific image from his memory, John walked to Alyssa who was lying balled up on her bed. Her tight fists were propped under her chin and her swollen blue eyes were void of any light as she chewed on her bottom lip. Just looking at her, his heart ached for a different reason now. She had been by his side the entire time, holding him up quietly and squeezing his hand from time to time letting him know that she was there.

Seeing her when he walked out of Jace’s room …

John loved her for it. So. Damn. Much. He didn’t know what he would have done if she hadn’t been there tonight. He had not realized it before, but he loved her. John loved Alyssa.

He stood before her, only covered in netted basketball shorts as he stared down. The shorts he was wearing were too much and he felt confined. He needed to get them off and feel her skin on his. He needed to feel alive, whole.