Page 90 of Grace of Spades

I follow the EMTs as they drive Grace through the hospital doors on her stretcher. Doctors rush over to her and I make room for them to help my beautiful Grace.

I hear words like "stable" and "contusions" and "head injury". I didn't know she hurt herhead again. Fuck.

I follow them all the way to a room but I'm stopped at the door.

"I'm sorry, young man. You're going to have to wait outside until we get her set up." The lady in pink scrubs explains. I nod.

"Just make sure she's okay. We need her to be okay." I beg.

"We'll do everything we can." She says gently before leading me into a busy waiting room where everyone is waiting for Grace.

33

Grace

God, is my throat ever sore! What the hell happened? Did I decide that eating an entire pack of lit cigarettes was a good idea? Maybe sand? Hellfire. That's gotta be it. I swallowed a shit ton of hellfire. It's the only cause for this much pain.

I open my eyes and find that I am not in my room. Where the hell am I? I look around the white room. Wires and tubes are sticking out of my hand. Oh, hospital.

My bed is clean and warm and Jai is laying his head down on my thigh holding my free hand. Why is he here?

"Kennedy!" I rasp. Or try to. My voice is gravelly and it hurts to talk. I'm fairly certain it just came out in Cough, my new language.

"Andras?" Good lord, I sound like a CB radio!

"Grace? Holy shit. YOU'RE UP!" Jai shouts, causing my brain to feel like it's been sliced in two. Ow!

"Don't fucking yell, Jai. Holy crap, that hurt."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Princess. We've been so worried about you. You had one hell of a concussion and damage to your throat." My throat? Fucking Tyler!

"What happened with Tyler and What's-His-Nuts?" I ask making him snort.

"Well, Liam, Alek and Kennedy beat the shit out of them and now they're being detained at the police station." He explains.

"The police? How long is that going to last?" I ask raising an eyebrow. Facial expressions hurt. No more of that for a bit.

"A bunch of students got his attack and threats to you on their phones. Your uncle is dealing with it." He smiles wickedly. Wow, okay.

There's a noise outside the door that sounds suspiciously like a stampede of hurricanes.

"I'll tell them to be quiet and grab the doctor." Jai smiles before heading to the door.

I take a few seconds to run inventory on my body. After Tyler's threats, I need to know. I don't know when or how I was found. God, I hope I was found before anything worse happened. I don't feel sore down there, but I also don't know if I'm on pain meds or how long I've been out. I need to talk to the doctor. It's the only way I'll know for sure.

The door opens to reveal a heap of people. The guys, Kennedy and my family are here. Those, I expected. The Heads... I didn't expect.

"Grace!" Andras whisper-yells with relief stark on his face.

"Jesus, how long have I been out?" I ask, looking at everyone.

"About twelve hours but they gave you meds to keep you calm and not in pain," Andras explains. "Your grandparents are out of town but they are on their way back now." I nod and look over to Kennedy.

"When was I found?" I ask hesitantly. Her eyes shine but she shakes her head.

"Keir, Liam, and Alek got there just as you passed out." Thank God.

"Thank you."