Preacher Man // ross lynch + driver era

29

Ross pulls out of the parking lot and heads toward the main highway.

"Babe, I know you want to be there as fast as you can, but you can't get pulled over either," I say in softest voice possible. I can see on the speedometer he's going 75 MPH in a 50 MPH area. I didn't want to flat out remind him that he will absolutely get pulled over and ticketed for reckless driving.

He nods and I feel him let up off the gas so the car cruises for a bit. "I know, fuck, I'm just panicking." His words are just as rushed as his driving.

I nod and put my hand onto his thigh. "I know, I understand. Did your dad say what happened?"

He shakes his head and drops one of his hands from the steering wheel. He intertwines our fingers together and lets our combined hand rest on his thigh. "No. He just told me they're at Littleton Adventist Hospital. I fucking hate that hospital, they tried convincing my parents when I was younger that Ryland only sprained his ankle meanwhile it was completely broken. They suck there."

I nod. "I've heard a lot of good things recently about the doctors there. Liv's doing her nurse clinicals there for school and she hasn't said anything bad so don't worry too much, okay? They probably got all new doctors since Ryland got hurt." I squeeze his hand tightly.

Just as I see the huge brown building of the hospital approaching, Ross looks over at me. "I'm sorry for literally dragging you here. I need you with me in case something happens."

"Absolutely, Ross. No need to apologize," I smile gently at him as he pulls into a parking spot.

We pull our hands apart as we go to step out of the car. We then hurry inside and up to the main desk. "Stormie Lynch?"

The woman asks, "and who are you?"

"Her son," he replies as he begins tapping his fingers onto the counter impatiently.

I see Riker and Ryland coming down the hallway just as they yell, "Ross!" Ross quickly looks over at them at the sound of his name. Without even acknowledging the woman at the desk any further, he grabs my hand and walks toward his brothers.

"Is she okay? What happened?" Ross asks once we are feet from them. The hospital is packed, people are walking everywhere and doctors and nurses are running down the hallways.

Ryland responds. "She fainted while she was making lunch. Thankfully dad was home though. She hit her head really hard and is still out of it."

Ross nods silently as you can see him processing it through his head. "Have you guys seen her? Where's Rydel? Rocky?" He asks. I stare up at him as I can see his brain is scattered everywhere. His eyes are quickly moving to observe the environment around us.

"No, we haven't been able to yet. They're both here. We're all in the waiting room. Only dad is with mom," Riker answers as we all begin to walk toward the waiting area.

I never liked hospitals. Sometimes people would walk out happy as they ring their bell signifying they beat cancer, but other times, families walk out with tears streaming down their face as they're dry-heaving from the pain. I'm the type to person to bounce off of other's emotions so when someone is excited, I am excited. When someone is sad, I'm usually sad too.

It makes going to hospitals hard for me. There are so many emotions everywhere and it's like my brain is electrified.

We walk into the huge waiting room and I spot Rydel and Rocky sitting in two chairs as they're both leaning into each other as they talk. The waiting room is a bit busy. There are people crying and others simply sitting there patiently. Some are talking, some are reading their phones, others are flipping through magazines. The fluorescent lights are bright as they reflect off the white walls and light blue chairs.

Rydel looks over at the four of us. "Hey," she says in a soft voice. You can tell she cried from her puffy eyes and lack of makeup.

"Hi, are you okay?" Ross asks as he leans down to hug her.

Rydel begins to sniff again. Once he pulls back, I hug her as well before giving her some space. "No," she cries. Rocky leans back into her as he has been doing since before we got here. "I'm so scared. I can't lose her."

Hearing her say those words made my eyes water slightly. Ross and I take a seat in the corner where we were both able to fit on one couch as the two other brothers sit beside us as well. "We aren't going to lose her, Delly. You're only going to stress yourself out more." Riker replies.

She nods as she rubs the sleeves of her sweater against her eyes. "I know, I know. I can't help it."

Ross leans over and rubs her knee gently. "It's going to be okay," he murmurs.

She nods and continues to wipe her face. Ross leans back against the cushion and glances over at me. I reach my hand out and place it gently onto his lap. "Are you okay?" I ask. The question that has been asked a handful of times to everyone.

"Yes," he replies into my ear. His hand rests intertwined with mine and he leans his head against the wall.

We sat in silence for the next two and a half hours. Nobody said a word, the only noises to fill our ears are others hushed whispers and nurses talking to patient's family members. I didn't want to listen in on anyone else's conversations because I don't want to hear someone being told unfortunate news so I kept myself focused on Ross' breathing. I was leaning against the wall beside me and Ross has his head pressed into my neck as he takes a small nap. Rydel and Riker were on their phones while Rocky and Ryland were napping as well. Their long legs stretched out with their arms crossed tightly.

I scan the room again as I see their father, Mark, walk out into the waiting room.

"What's happening?" Rydel quickly asks.

Nobody goes to wake up the other boys so I don't shake Ross. I simply look up at Mark and wait for his answer. "She's awake, but she's very weak. She isn't allowed visitors until tomorrow since it's already nearing 8 o'clock. I'm sorry."

She nods. "Okay. Please keep us updated, okay?"

Riker leans over and gently pushes onto Ryland and Rocky's knees to wake them. I put my hand onto Ross' arm and gently rub my hand up and down. "Wake up," I whisper softly into his ear.

I hear the lightest groan escape his mouth before he leans up and rubs his eyes.

"Mom's okay. She can't have visitors until tomorrow because she's super weak. So you guys should just head home. If you'd like, you can all come back in the morning," his father reiterates what the doctor has told him to the now awakened boys.

"Okay," Ryland replies as he stands up from the chair in efforts to stretch out his body.

Everyone said goodbye to their father. Rydel made him promise to her several times that if anything happens at all, to make sure he tells all of them.

As we were all walking outside, Riker turns to us. "Meet at mom and dad's at 10 to head back over here?"

You can tell everyone is exhausted as they simply nod their heads. Then we all disperse into separate directions since I'm assuming everyone drove here separately.

Ross and I walk back to his car. "Fuck," he whispers to himself as he rubs his eyes again. "I'm tired."

I nod in agreement. "Me too."

He leans over and places his hand back onto my thigh. "Thank you for coming with me and staying the entire time. I appreciate it. I'm sorry it was all waiting around."

I smile at him. "Of course. And you don't have to apologize for that," I reply, grasping his hand with both of mine.

"Fuck, I forgot your car is in the school parking lot too," he groans. "And I'm starving. Let's grab something fast on our way home then I'll drop you off at your car. Deal?"

I nod. "Deal."

As we pull out of the hospital parking lot, my mind wanders off to Stormie. I pray she will be better. If I remember correctly, Ross said the doctors thought she only had months left. And that was months ago.

I glance over at Ross to see his eyes focused on the road. His eyebrows are furrowed and he's squinting to see where he has to pull off to get food.

And I can't even begin to imagine what will happen if anything goes wrong with his mother.