Page 81 of Structure of Love

I felt so thankful for him, I didn’t even know how I’d pay this back.

A few times Cooper would pause and go “Gage?”

“Still here, still on my way.”

My assurance was enough every time, and he’d go back to talking to the dispatcher.

It felt like an eternity, even with Logan speeding the whole way, but we finally arrived. It was obvious we were at the right place, as two ambulances, a fire truck, and three cop cars were all on scene. Logan slowed, coming to a stop, and I was out of the Jeep the second he’d braked. A cop tried to intercept me, and I knew I had to explain to get past him.

“My brother’s in that accident.”

“You Gage?”

“That’s me.”

“Come with me, then.”

The cop seemed to accept Logan being with me, as he didn’t say anything, just led us past the traffic cones.

I saw a horrific scene as I hastily followed. A sedan lay on its right side, and from the roof, it looked like it had completely barrel-rolled until it came to a stop. My god, Cooper had survived that? The back window was completely blown out, as were the side windows, which wasn’t too much of a surprise. It must have been terrifying having the car flip. It horrified me just looking at the wreckage. Hell, just the sight of the scene nearly scared me sober. Relief hit me again that Cooper had somehow survived, but pity for his dead friend and those hurt welled up in my chest as well.

There was another car, also on its side, farther ahead, which was a surprise to me. Cooper hadn’t mentioned any other car on the phone, but then again, he was beyond rattled.

Sirens blared, but the main noises were all the first responders calling to each other and people crying or trying tospeak. I saw Dwayne, who was still out cold, being loaded onto a gurney. Jesse was also unconscious, and rescuers were carefully extracting him from the car. The first responders must have just arrived on scene if they were still pulling people out of cars.

Cooper sat in the back of the ambulance, being examined by a paramedic, and he was not a pretty sight. Tears streamed down his face, his eyes were bloodshot, his shirt was a disaster from blood and tears. He looked like he’d survived some war zone. The second he saw me, he reached out a hand.

I headed straight to him, hugging him to me, and it was like my touch was all he needed for the dam to burst. He started sobbing in my arms, and I held him tighter. I couldn’t find the words to say “It’ll be all right,” because nothing about this situation was good. He’d lost a friend tonight. That ghost would ride with him for a long time.

I was selfishly glad it wasn’t Cooper who’d been killed.

The paramedic tapped my arm to draw my attention. She was around my age, dark hair in a ponytail, with a very no-nonsense air about her. “Sir? Your brother needs an X-ray. I suspect he’s broken this arm.”

She’d been splinting the arm, so her remark made sense. “Can I ride with you?”

“Sure, but we need to load him in and go.”

I turned to Logan, and he promised, “Right behind you.”

“Thanks.” I seriously had the best boyfriend in the world.

I coaxed Cooper up into the ambulance. The EMTs got him situated on the gurney and an IV hooked up to him, which was honestly a great idea. He was probably dehydrated between all the drinking and crying. I sat on the little bench next to him, the doors were hastily shut, and we were off almost immediately.

“What about Jesse and Dwayne?” Cooper asked the EMT.

“We’ve got another ambulance on the way for them, should arrive any minute.”

I heard the sirens of another ambulance. “I think we just passed them.”

“We did,” she confirmed. “They’ll be fine, sir, they’re in excellent hands. Can you tell me what happened?”

She’d likely need it for a report. Hell, I wanted to know what had happened.

“We were…we were on the way to Kensington Park. Just wanted to take some shots and mess around, y’know? But as we were driving, Billy’s got this former friend he owed money to or some shit, and he spotted us and started chasing us. They’d had a fight earlier today over the money, and Billy wasn’t willing to stop and talk to him, said he’d lose him instead. So he stepped on the gas.”

“Was Billy drinking?”

“Only a beer. He was okay to drive.”