Page 79 of The Secrets We Bury

I don’t feel okay. I feel the exact opposite. I’m freaking out. I’m sliding into an abyss of pain and fear. How did this happen? Why her? Why my mom? I know that’s not fair to think, but it’s all that my brain can come up with.

“Nolan?” I lift my head from Juliet’s as the sound of my name being called echoes from down the hall.

Turning, I spot the second nurse with her body half tucked out of the double doors and a clipboard in hand. I recognize her as well as a newer nurse that’s only been around for the past couple of months. Still, she offers me a smile as she gestures towards her.

“Your mom’s being seen now. Do you want to?—”

She doesn’t even get to finish the sentence before I’m leaving the others behind and striding towards her. If I’m going to believe that my mom’s truly all right, then I need to see her with my own eyes.

JULIET

The three of us watch Nolan disappear beyond the double doors that lead into the belly of the hospital.

“I’ve never seen him like this,” I murmur.

Gio moves up to my side and carefully tugs me over to a quiet waiting area with lots of chairs and a few couches. “His mom’s never been in an accident before,” he replies.

I nod, but the sensation of Nolan shaking as he burrowed against me is still prevalent in my mind. He’d been so scared. “I hope she’s okay.”

“Eliza’s a tough woman,” Lex comments as he takes a seat on one of the couches and pats the cushion at his side. “Nolan probably freaked because the guy didn’t have any more information about what happened. It’s not what you know that can be scary—but what you don’t.”

With a sigh, I sink onto the cushion next to him and Gio nudges me closer as he takes the seat on my other side. I don’t think this little couch was meant to host two massive football players as well as one girl, but I like that they’re close, so I don’t complain. Leaning back against Lex’s side, I let my head fall to his shoulder as Gio pulls out his cell and starts jiggling his knee.

He types out a quick message to someone whose name I don’t read before switching to a puzzle screw pin game. Minutes pass as people come in and out of the hospital waiting area, stoppingto talk to the nurse at the desk before either finding a seat of their own or leaving. The phone rings and I look up as the nurse lifts the receiver and listens in on whoever’s talking.

“How long do you think we’re—” Before I get the rest of the question out, the nurse at the desk stands.

“Miss Donovan?”

I blink and straighten, jumping to my feet. “Yes?” Both Lex and Gio stand as well, though slower than me.

“It seems your friend would like for you to meet him in the back,” she says. Her face softens as I carefully approach the desk, my eyes darting to the doors behind her. “Nolan knows we’re not supposed to have multiple visitors at this time of night, but I’m sure he’d like his girlfriend there to help him. He seemed quite upset.”

“I’m not—uh, yeah, you think he needs me?” I cough, stopping myself from dissuading her from the notion that’s obviously going to get me back behind those doors. If she thinks I’m Nolan’s girlfriend, then who am I to correct her?

The nurse nods and bends down to press what I assume is a button under the desk. A second later the small black box anchored to the wall next to the doors beeps and the light there flashes green. “I think he does,” she murmurs. “Try to convince the poor boy that everything will be all right. I think he’s had a fright tonight.”

“Can his friends…” I look back to Lex and Gio, but there’s no need to finish my question. When I turn back to the woman, she’s shaking her head.

“I really shouldn’t be letting you back,” she says, “but Nolan looked so upset and Dr. Pillard said he might need someone since they wanted to run a few extra tests on Eliza.”

“Thank you,” I say. “I’ll see if he’s okay.”

She nods and the double doors beyond the desk unlock. “It’s straight back and to the left,” she directs. “There should beanother nurses’ station there if you get lost, but it’s pretty easy to find.”

I bob my head and turn to the guys. “I?—”

“Don’t worry about us,” Gio says. “Go look after our boy. We’ll wait here. Just text us and let us know if he needs anything, or Eliza.”

“I will,” I promise.

Then, I’m hurrying down the hall and through the doors. Once I’m on the other side, the hallway opens into a brightly lit tunnel with several noises—from people talking to machines beeping.

Straight back and to the left,I remind myself as I start walking. I follow the directions and am walking by several rooms with actual doors, though I spot openings with curtains to section off individual waiting areas farther down. My heart rate kicks up.

Just as I’m passing a darkened room with a cracked door, someone grabs my arm and whirls me out of place. I stumble, nearly tripping over my own two feet as I’m catapulted into a patient room and the door is quickly shut behind me.

“What the fuck?” Ripping myself out of the person’s hold, I whirl around and freeze.