Page 34 of Frat Around and Find Out (Peach State Fratbros #1)

Ty

I pace the ER exam room, my nerves wrecked from everything that’s happened.

When I went to find Jaxon, I discovered him in his room with his earphones on, oblivious to the blaring alarm.

After telling him to head out to the yard, I thought I heard Lance shouting from upstairs, so I went up, where I discovered it was all filled with smoke.

When I reached Dax’s room, it was so clouded, I couldn’t even see Lance.

Everything else happened so fast, panic setting in as I scrambled to find my boyfriend.

I was relieved when I finally felt his hand, but he was coughing so much, and before I knew it, I was carrying him out of Sigma Alpha.

After we reached safety, my relief shifted back to panic as I discovered Lance unconscious in my arms. Jaxon grabbed Frat Cat, and I called emergency services, watching as smoke billowed from the back of our house.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been hard enough seeing our place being ravaged by fire, but my only concern was for my boyfriend.

Making sure he was still breathing. Getting help to him as soon as possible.

The EMTs arrived on the scene before the fire trucks.

“How are you feeling?”

“Relax as much as you can. You’re doing great. ”

The ride in the ambulance was chaotic as an EMT asked me questions while another worked with Lance, who was coming to but couldn’t respond easily.

“We’re going to intubate you,” the EMT said.

“This is fairly routine for smoke inhalation injuries. Just a precautionary measure to keep your airway open.” It was a struggle to watch them put that tube down his throat, but I didn’t give a fuck what they had to do as long as he was okay.

When we arrived at the ER, I answered another series of questions while hospital personnel took Lance off for treatment and testing, leaving me on my own in an exam room, and so overwhelmed, I struggled to work out what to do next.

I should check in with Jaxon, who’d texted to let me know he was taking Frat Cat to the vet.

But first, I needed to call Lance’s parents. An EMT had given me Lance’s phone to get ahold of them, and I talked to his dad briefly to let them know what was going on. They were on the road to visit family, a few hours out already, so it would take them a while to get back here.

As I’m about to pull out my phone, I hear a familiar voice from the hall. “Which room did they say?”

The hell?

I hurry out the door, spotting Ryan and Marty heading toward me in jackets and loincloths, earning looks from the personnel and patients in the hallway.

I want to call out to them, but it’s a strain to get words out right now, so I flag them down, and Ryan kicks up his pace, jogging over, Marty following.

“How is he?” Marty asks, still a few yards away.

“They said everything would be fine, but I figure they tell everyone that. And he was unconscious for a minute, and they intubated him to make sure he was getting oxygen. I think he might’ve passed out again…or they gave him a sedative. I can’t remember. Then they came and put me here. And…”

“Hey, hey, you’re good.” Marty steps to my side, resting his hand on my shoulder. “You don’t have to explain everything at once. We’re here to help and make this easier for you.”

“Easier? Nothing is gonna be easier right now.” I hate that I just barked out my frustration at a guy who’s only trying to be helpful, especially since I wasn’t expecting Marty, of all people, to be the one trying to soothe my anxiety.

“That’s fine,” he says. “Bad wording on my part. Let’s all take some breaths together.”

As he guides us back into the exam room, I mutter, “Take some breaths? That’s not what I need right now.

I need Lance to be okay.” When the door closes behind us, I spin toward them, my gaze drifting to their loincloths.

Ryan’s jacket isn’t even closed, and I can only imagine what the others waiting in the ER thought when they saw him in this state.

“What are you two still doing in those? You look like you just got back from a Tarzan convention.”

Ryan glances himself over as if unsure what I’m referring to, as Marty says, “We came right from the party. Given your text, pants weren’t exactly a priority.”

“How did you even get back here? Don’t they have security?”

“I told them we were brothers,” Ryan says. “Then this clown started rambling, trying to explain why we looked so different.”

“It sounded ridiculous ,” Marty snaps, sounding more like his usual dickhead, pain-in-the-ass self.

“Ash and Colin are stepbrothers,” Ryan says, “but they don’t go around qualifying it. Plus, it’s none of their business. They don’t know us. ”

Marty shakes his head. “This is not important right now.”

Weirdly, their spat has helped me relax—at least as much as I can under the circumstances.

“I told them we were brothers too,” I admit. “Seems to work in movies. They took Lance back for tests to assess his injuries.”

“And you’re okay?” Ryan asks.

“Other than freaking out about him, yeah. Brianne said they might want to do some tests for me as well, but the nurse who checked me out didn’t seem too concerned.”

“Who the hell is Brianne?” Ryan asks.

“One of the EMTs.” No idea how the hell her name suddenly came to me like that, but I’m barely thinking straight.

“Well, you still got some black and gray smudges on you.”

Brianne had given me some wipes and helped me with some of it, but I’ve clearly missed some spots.

“Not my biggest concern,” I tell Ryan. “And I need to call his parents again. I told them I would once we got situated here.”

“Marty was right, though. Maybe take a few breaths first.”

I’m as annoyed as when Marty suggested it.

“Their son’s in the hospital, and they’re probably freaking out because—” I bite my tongue.

I can’t betray Lance’s confidence and reveal what I know about his brother.

Yeah, his parents would be a mess even if Lance was their only child, but given their history with Kacey, I can only imagine how painful it must be knowing he’s injured and that it’ll take them a while to get to him.

“I can do it,” Marty offers.

“No, it should be me,” I insist. “I was there. They deserve more than a quick, panicky chat from me. Wish we’d gotten to meet under better circumstances, but here we are. ”

I force myself to focus, get some good breaths in, and though it’s not helping much, it’s better than nothing. Then Ryan and Marty leave me, saying they’ll be in the waiting area.

I remind myself what Marty said, that I need to be cool when I talk to them.

Not get them even more concerned than they already are.

When I FaceTime them, his dad answers. They’re still on the road, his mom driving.

While she veers over to the side of the road, I catch them up about everything that’s happened since our last conversation.

I tell them the facts, but I don’t mention how difficult it was seeing him pass out and then straining to talk to the EMTs, how hard he was struggling with breathing before they intubated him.

But even trying to keep my cool and get through the events that transpired after we got out of Sigma Alpha, I choke up a few times.

And I see the worry written all over their faces, poking at a fear that lingers in me too.

That somehow something will happen, this will all head south fast, and Lance won’t be okay.

By the time I’ve finished, his mom has parked, and they’re both on the screen.

“We appreciate the call,” she says. “We don’t want to stay on much longer because we’re still about three hours out, but we’ll let you know when we’re close.”

“Okay.”

“It’s nice meeting you,” his dad says. “Even though this isn’t how we were hoping it would happen. But we’re glad you were there and got him out of that house. Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you,” his mom adds.

“You don’t owe me a thanks. I should’ve insisted it was a bad idea to split up, gone with him up to that room, and gotten Frat Cat out myself.”

“It sounds like everything happened quickly,” his mom says. “And you both did the best you could. Now we can just hope for the best. Thank you, Ty.”

I tear up because there’s still a part of me that’s worried…that has this deep fear that something terrible is gonna happen.

I can’t imagine they’re free of it either.

After we say our goodbyes, I pull up another number in my phone.

Grant’s.

My hand trembles.

If I ever needed him, it’s now when I’m scared as fuck that the docs are gonna come in and tell me they couldn’t help Lance or that he’s irreparably injured with something he’ll have to live with his whole life because of less than a few minutes of exposure to the smoke.

Grant would have been able to be here for me. Even when things were hard with all he was dealing with, he always had a way of making me smile.

“I wish you were here right now,” I mutter.

Of course, it’s not just to help me because of what’s going on with Lance, but so much that we’ve missed out on.

Tears break free, rolling down my cheeks.

Fuckin’ A.

I push through my uneasiness and call Mom, realizing just how bad it is that I’ve contacted so many people and she’s the last on my list.

“Honey? What’s that on your face? Where are you?”

I have no doubt she recognizes the inside of a hospital room. We’ve seen enough of them.

I hesitate before forcing out, “I’m at Peachtree Springs Medical Center. I’m fine. Mostly. I don’t know. I’m not injured, but my boyfriend is. ”

Now’s not the time to ease her into this shit. And she needs to know how important he is to me. How hard this is right now.

It’s difficult to tell if Mom is more shocked by that than she was when she first noticed my face and the hospital room, but I say, “There was a fire at Sigma Alpha tonight, and Lance, the guy you know as the prick president from Alpha Theta Mu…only he’s not a prick…

like, not even a little bit…and he’s hurt. ”