Two hours later, Brad and I were sitting in the waiting room at the hospital. The officer took our statements and I told him about the abusive history. One of the cops was still here, waiting to talk to Alex. Since he was a minor, they had to call social services. Luckily, Brad called his aunt after we spoke to the cop, and she was on her way. 

I went to the third floor to see my mom when we first got here. She was waiting in my dad's room and she told me the doctors said he had a severe heart attack and now is in a catatonic state. It apparently happened after I left him in the locker room. Shit. Why the hell is all this happening? I told her I needed to check on Gabby then I would be back. 

 "It's going to be okay, Hayden," Brad said when I sat back down next to him. I knew he was trying to make me feel better, but it wasn't helping.

 I looked to the double doors again and saw the doctor come out. I jumped up and ran to him. "How is she?"

"Are you family?"

 "I'm her boyfriend. I'm all she has besides her brother."

 The doctor hesitated. "She got roughed up pretty bad. She has a couple broken ribs, a lot of bruising, a head injury and there may also be some swelling around her brain. She's sedated for now. Once that wears off, if she wakes up, we'll be able to have a more precise idea of what we're looking at." 

  I was hearing what the doctor was saying, but at the same time it didn't register. My heart was pounding so loud in my ears, I'm surprised I heard any of what he said. Only one thing mattered though, so I asked, "Can I see her?"

 "I'm sorry. Family only."

 The doctor turned and started to walk away. Brad stopped me before I could argue with him. "Hayden, come here."

 He pulled me over to the corner of the waiting room. "The doctor won't budge. If you want to see her, you need to do it another way."

"How?" I was willing to try anything.

 He pointed down the far hallway. "When I went to get coffee I saw a door. Third door on the left. Someone came out of it and I saw a bunch of scrubs inside. Go to the bathroom and take off your pads. Then go in there and put on scrubs. Everything. Hat and the mask."

 "What if it doesn't work?" It had to work.

 "It's worth a shot. I saw her chart when the doctor turned. She's on this floor. Room 245."

 I stared at him for a long time before I pulled him into a hug. "Thank you."

 He pushed me away and smiled. "Now, who's the girl? Go on, man. Check on your girl. I'll be here when you get back. I want to keep an eye on Alex anyways."

 "Okay, keep me posted," I told him before I went to the bathroom he told me about. I took off my pads and jersey, but kept my undershirt on. I walked in the direction that lead to the coffee and counted the doors. When I got to the third one, I looked around to see if anyone was watching. When I saw a nurse coming I ducked down to act like I was tying my shoe.

 She walked past me and turned the corner. I stood up and tried the handle. I sighed with relief when the door opened and I went inside. I quickly undressed, hiding my clothes beneath some scrubs. I put on the hat and mask before stepping out. I didn't hesitate as I walked towards her room. I tried my hardest not to draw attention to myself. 

I nodded at the occasional doctor or nurse who walked by me. They seemed to buy it. When I got to her room I saw no one was inside. I went inside and drew the curtain closed. I pulled my mask off and froze.

 All the blood was cleaned off of her face but I could see all the injuries clearly. She had a breathing tube in her mouth, her eyes were swollen, her lip busted. There were fresh marks on her neck. Her left arm was in a sling and her right leg was in a brace. "Holy fucking christ." 

In that moment, I wish I shot that sick bastard. I was scared to touch her, I didn't want to cause her pain, but I needed to feel her. I very carefully clasped her hand in mine. I didn't know if she felt it, I didn't even know if she knew I was there, to be honest. 

Seeing her like this was killing me. I pulled up a chair next to her bed and just sat there for awhile, never taking my eyes off of her. I have no idea how much time passed by before the sliding door to her room opened. 

"Excuse me, sir? Are you allowed to be in here?" When I turned to answer the female voice, she gasped when she saw my face and asked, "Im sorry, do you need some kleenexes?"

I frowned, not knowing what she was talking about. "For what?" 

She pointed to her eyes and said, "You're crying." 

I felt my eyes and she was right. I didn't even realize I was crying, let alone crying like a motherfucker. "No, I'm good thanks," I said as I wiped my eyes. 

"I'm sorry sir, but I have to ask, are you authorized to be in here?" 

She was talking in a gentle voice, I could tell she was trying not to upset me further. I answered her as honestly as I could when I said, "Yes. She's the love of my life." 

The nurse seemed to buy it because the next thing I heard was the sliding door open and shut again. It crippled me to think about the pain she must have been in.  

My phone buzzed and I saw a text from Brad:

 Hey, my aunt is here. She spoke with social services and since she's worked with them before, they agreed to let her take Alex home. Social services stayed while he gave his statement and I was there the whole time. Social services left, but Alex and my aunt are still here. We're in the waiting room. He wants to see Gabby.

Thank God, Social Services is going to let Alex stay with Brad's aunt. That's one little win that we definitely needed.

Okay, thanks. That's good. Will the doctor let him back here?

Doctor said no visitors until tomorrow. I would leave soon, Hayden. The doctor is going to be checking on her. We have to come back in the morning.

 Thanks. 

After I sent the text to Brad, I stood up and took one last look at her before kissing her lightly on the forehead. God, I loved her. I needed to get out of here before I got in trouble and they banned me from the hospital. I would definitely be back tomorrow, and I will definitely be seeing her. 

I needed to go check on my dad, so I put the scrub hat and mask back on, and made my way back to the lobby we're Brad and Alex were waiting.

 ***

As soon as Alex saw me he came running. The poor kid was all black and blue with stitches on the side of his face, a busted lip and a black eye. "Is she okay?"

 "They have her sedated right now, and said we'll know more once she wakes up. But right now, the doctor won't let anyone back there and I nearly got caught. Listen, we'll come back first thing in the morning. I promise."

 When he reluctantly nodded, I sighed with relief. Poor kid. "Listen, Brad's aunt is going to take care of you, so you don't have to go in the system. She's a foster mom. If it's okay with her, I want to come stay the night with you tonight. Then we'll wake up in the morning and come see Gabby."

 Brad's Aunt Jenny gave Alex a warm smile. "That's absolutely fine, Hayden."

  "I'm going to go check on my dad real quick before we leave, and I'll meet you back here." He seemed to relax a little more, which helped me relax more. 

I went up to my dad's room, and my mom hasn't moved. She was sitting in the chair next to his bed, reading a book.

 "Any change?" I asked. 

 She didn't turn to me. She just shook her head.

 "Mom, there's something I need to tell you."

 When she didn't turn around I went and knelt in front of her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for all of this."

 "How is she?" My mother asked.

 Brad gave her a brief summary of what happened. She was my mother and I couldn't keep lying to her. "She's...God, mom. She has a breathing tube. They said she had a head injury and might have brain swelling."

 My mother put her hand on my face and stroked my cheek. "Hayden, you did the right thing. This is not your fault. She was in trouble. Brad said his aunt is going to foster her little brother?"

 "Yeah. She's taking him home. I was going to stay with him tonight, but I can stay home with y-"

 "No," she said, interrupting me. "Go and stay with him. Poor thing has been through too much and going to a stranger's house won't help. Having you there will make him feel more comfortable."

 "What about you?"

 "I'm staying here. They're bringing a cot for me."

 "I'm going to go by the house to get some clothes. I'll get you some too since I'm coming back in the morning."

 "Thank you, Hayden."

 I stood up and gave her a hug. "I love you, Mom. Please let me know if there are any changes." 

 "I will, sweetheart. I love you, too."

 I left the room and met Alex, Brad and his aunt in the waiting room. "Let's get out of here."

 We walked quietly to Brad's aunt's car and all slid inside. The cops escorted us here, so my truck was still at Gabby's house. I'll worry about that in the morning when I take Alex to get some of his stuff. I hated being apart from Gabby, but I needed to be with Alex tonight. He was most likely in shock by what happened. God, knew I was.

 ***

It was a pretty quick drive to Jenny's. It was a nice one-story house, blue with white shutters. On the way over, his aunt explained there were three bedrooms in the house, two of them are guest bedrooms the other was her master.

Brad’s aunt made a quick dinner for us and we all ate silently. Everything was just so...surreal. Like a bad dream I couldn't wake up from. When Brad was going to leave, I walked with him outside to his aunt's car, which he was borrowing for the night.

Brad gave me a serious expression as he said, "We did the right thing tonight. I know it's rough, but don't feel guilty about anything. It could have been a lot worse than it was, Hayden." 

He wasn't kidding. "I know, just seeing her like that though, I couldn't even keep it together in there. What if she doesn't wake up? Or what if she has long-term injuries? She doesn't deserve that." 

"We'll find out more tomorrow. I'll come pick you and Alex up early so you can go get your truck, and then we'll go from there. Capisce?" 

"Yeah," I said with a tired nod, "sounds good. Thanks." 

Brad left and I joined Alex back inside. Although he was very grateful, Alex had way too much on his mind. We excused ourselves and I joined him in his new bedroom to try and talk to him about everything that happened tonight.

Alex sat on his bed and was quiet for a minute before he asked me, "Did I kill my dad, Hayden?" 

Luckily when we were at the hospital, Brad tried to get as much information as he could about everyone, including Alex's dad. "No, you didn't, Alex. The doctors said he made it through surgery, and if he survives, he's going straight to jail. They have him handcuffed to his bed, with armed security at his door. He wont be able to hurt you or Gabby again. I swear to you." It'll be over my damn dead body.

Some of the tension seemed to ease when he heard my response, and he let out a long breath. "I thought he was going to kill her, Hayden. I didn't know what to do. Just kept beating her and beating her."

Even though it was incredibly hard for me to hear what he was saying, I know he needed to get it out, and he needed me to listen. So I did. 

He ran his hands through his hair before he said, "God, when he pushed her down the stairs, and she didn't get up, I thought she was dead. That's when I grabbed the gun. I thought he was going to do the same to me." 

"I know this is incredibly hard for you, Alex. I want you to understand that you aren't alone. You and Gabby, aren't alone anymore. You both have people who care about you now, and will help protect you." 

He looked up at me then, and asked curiously, "Why did you do all of this for us, Haden? Not that I'm not grateful, I am. I just don't understand why." 

I wasn't sure what reason to give him or how to explain it exactly. "I love your sister and what your dad was doing was wrong. It's that simple. You both didn't deserve that." 

I stood up, getting ready to exit and stopped at the door. "I know it seems impossible, but try to get some rest tonight. As soon as we get up in the morning, we'll go and check on Gabby." 

"Thanks, Hayden." 

I shut the door behind me and went to the other guest bedroom to try to clear my racing mind. So much happened tonight, and I still was worried about, not only Gabby, but my dad too. 

All of this was just too much. How could anyone deal with all this? So many questions were going through my mind…What if Gabby didn’t wake up? What if my dad didn’t wake up? Could I handle that? Could Alex? 

I rubbed my face, feeling overwhelmed with everything. When I looked down at my hands, there was dried blood. Gabby. When I saw her body laying by the stairs, I ran to her and checked for a pulse. She must have had blood on her neck, too. 

I ran to the bathroom sink and tried to wash the blood off. It took three times to get it all, and I felt like I was hyperventilating. When I couldn’t control my emotions anymore, I sat on the bathroom floor and started crying. I didn’t even notice I left the water running