“Family of Raiden Freeland?”he questions as Fury nods in response.“I’m sorry to inform you Mr.Freeland did not make it.His heart stopped in the ambulance just after they took off from the scene.They performed CPR all the way here where we took over measures to restart his heart.It was too late for him.”
“No!”Fury yells out and I hear people behind us scream in fear while feet scuffle around the waiting area.“You’re lyin’ to me.You’ve got him mixed up with someone else.Take me to my brother.”
“I’m sorry, Mr.Freeland.You’ll be asked to identify the body in time, but I can’t allow you to go back right now.Was the young woman brought in with him his wife?”the doctor questions us as I watch Fury lose his shit.
Fury starts punching the walls as he moves to the hallway away from everyone in the waiting area.Tears are streaming down his face and his dad and uncle can’t get close to him.I know the doctor was answered by someone, but I don’t know who spoke or what was said.No one knows about Razer’s personal life other than his blood family and me.When I can’t stand to see Fury destroy anything else in his despair, I run up behind him and wrap my arms around him so he can’t lash out any longer.The two of us sink to the floor and I hold my best friend as he breaks down in the middle of the hospital hallway.We’re once again surrounded by the members of the club to give us some sense of privacy.
I can literally feel Fury shattering into a million pieces knowing he’ll never get to see his baby brother again.His entire body is shaking and he can hardly breathe with how hard he’s sobbing.Razer and Fury have been inseparable since they were little boys.They’ve gotten through every storm together and have relied on each other more than anyone else.Now, my best friend has lost his brother and I don’t honestly know how he’s going to handle the reality of that situation.I’m not handling it very good, breaking inside while remaining strong outside for Fury.He needs me more than I need to lose my shit.He’ll need us all.Demolition and Vulture too.The next few days are going to be long, hard, and full of grief as we prepare to bury one of the best men any of us has ever known.
Chapter Three
Wren
WAKING UP, IT takesme a minute to realize where I am.I’m in a hospital room.The sterile smell and beeping machines alert me to that fact without me having to look around.I’m alone in the room, but that’s not surprising at all.No one is ever with me.In no time at all, everything rushes back to me.The fire.Pulling the man from danger.Him putting a chain in my hand and saying the word ‘Fury’.I have no clue what that means, but I’m sure someone will.I’m just not sure who I could ask about it.That’s something to think about another time though as the pain finally registers in my body.My chest burns and my throat feels raw.There’s a nasty as hell taste in my mouth and it’s so damn dry.I believe I was hit with debris from the explosion in my back and it hurts.The back of my upper thigh also hurts really bad.Even my eyes burn slightly.I feel as if I went ten rounds with a boxer and I was definitely on the losing end of the fight.I’m not sure what happened after I fell on top of the man other than I do remember hearing shouting and two names.Did I leave someone else in the fire and explosion?So many more questions rush through my mind as I try to recall more details about what happened.I don’t even know how long I’ve been passed out or in a hospital.
The last time I was in the hospital, I wasn’t the patient.Tristan, my former foster brother, was that time.He was injured in a football game.They thought he broke his leg when he was tackled wrong, but that wasn’t the case.He somehow injured his knee and had to be put in a brace and use crutches for several weeks before starting physical therapy for the injury.Tristan missed the rest of the season that year, but he was able to play the next one.Zach and him were on fire together on the football field.They could read one another better than anyone else and make plays I thought looked impossible.Every single game I attended, I was amazed by their performance.Tristan was always the more outgoing of the two of them, preferring the spotlight.It made him the perfect quarterback in my mind.He could throw the ball anywhere and Zach could always find a spot on the field the defense wasn’t able to get to in time.I smile when I think of that night and the chaos Zach created.
Zach and I were finally allowed back in the exam room with Tristan.He’s been here for over an hour and we’ve had to wait in the waiting room while they perform their initial assessment of his injury.I’d say he broke his leg, but I wasn’t close enough to see what really happened when he got hurt.I’ve been sitting next to Zach with fear and panic filling me because football means the world to Tristan.He’s the happiest on the field or preparing for each game.It’s the only time he truly focuses on something and I worry he’s about to lose it all.
“You guys are here,” Tristan says, a forced smile on his face as Zach and I enter the room we were shown.
“We’ve been here,” Zach informs him, still wearing his football uniform because he left the game when Tristan did.Neither one of us were going to let him be alone while he was in the hospital.
I take the seat next to Tristan’s bed and start fussing over him.I pull up the blankets higher on his body so he won’t get cold and move his helmet from the bed next to him and place it on the small table next to the bed.He rolls his eyes, but lets me make a big deal out of taking care of him.Tristan won’t ever tell me no because he knows this is how I deal when I’m scared in certain situations.
Zach is standing behind me when a doctor walks back in the room.Tristan’s entire body immediately tenses as he grabs my hand and holds it tight in his much larger one.
“We’ll need to get different imaging done.There’s no injury to your leg as we first suspected.At this point, we believe it might be your knee that’s injured.It’s hard to tell because the swelling starts in your lower thigh and goes down to your shin.Someone will come get you in a few minutes,” the doctor informs us and I watch as Tristan’s face falls because a knee injury is so much worse than a broken leg.In a matter of hours, he could be told he’ll never play football again.
Zach moves from behind me as Tristan continues holding my hand.I watch as Zach crosses the room and begins to start looking through all the cupboards and drawers.He pulls out gloves and blows them up before tying them off and tossing them at Tristan.There’s nothing he’s not touching and inspecting.When he finds the blankets, he turns to look at Tristan and me with a smile on his face.It’s rare to see Zach smile, but since it’s the three of us alone in the room, he’ll smile and laugh.
“You warm enough, Tris?Wren, do you think he’s warm enough?Do we need to get him a few hundred more blankets because you’re freezin’ so you think we are too?”Zach questions us as I start laughing because he’s not wrong.The boys always tease me about being so cold on a daily basis.They could be wearing shorts and no shirts while I’m wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt and still cold.
“I’m warm enough, Zach.Wren doesn’t need to worry,” Tristan answers him while I continue laughing at their facial expressions.
“I think he needs five hundred more blankets so he’s warm enough.Maybe half of them could be those heated blankets people are lucky enough to get some times,” I respond as the guys start laughing even harder.