Love Her Wilde

Aces Wilde: Asher

"Is she alright?"

"Same as this morning," Shayne's voice answered.

I sighed, a weird mix of relieved nothing had happened, and sad that there were no improvements. "What's up?"

"When are you off?"

I looked at my watch and noticed it was three. "I don't know. I can basically leave whenever I want to, but it's not like I have anything to go home to."

"That's too bad. Thought you might want to see your girl."

I blinked rapidly as tears instantly clouded my vision. "What?"

"Dad finally said he's okay with it. Not sure if that's because he really is or he's tired of me pestering him, but whatever. I'm taking the night shift tonight and he wants to go home and shower and change and check on Noodle, so I thought maybe you'd want to come keep me company for a while."

I felt my heart thumping in my chest. "Are you serious?" I asked, my voice nothing but a hoarse whisper.

Shayne gave me a soft chuckle. "Yes, Asher, I'm serious. You can come whenever you want."

"Thank you, Shayne. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Shayne took a deep breath. "Just... be prepared, Ash. I know you want to be in here, but... it sucks. And it's really hard seeing her like this, okay? Seeing her so still, and not... not awake or making sassy jabs or... it's fucking terrible."

"I understand."

I could tell Shayne was battling his own emotions by the thick quality of his voice. "Yeah, I thought I did too. Doesn't make it easier though."

"None of this has been easy."

"You're fucking right there."

"Do you want me to bring anything? Do you need food or clothes or something?"

"No, I'm okay. I'll probably just head to the cafeteria at some point tonight."

"Okay. I'll um... I'll wrap up what I'm working on and head over."

"Good. See you soon."

I left the office a little over and hour later, and even though he said he'd be fine, I stopped and grabbed fast food for Shayne and myself. I'm sure he could've gotten a burger in the cafeteria, but sometimes a person needed the comfort of those golden arches. I didn't bother to go home and change, just slipped out of my tie and blazer and abandoned them in the car. I had more important things to worry about than my own comfort.

I was almost vibrating with nerves when I finally got to the intensive care unit. Earlier, I had dismissed Shayne's warnings, but now, approaching her room, I was beginning to question if I could truly handle seeing Dylan in her current condition. She was always the loudest girl in the room, the most vibrant. Her laugh, in the last five months, had become one of my favorite sounds. Her smile lit my world up like some glorious, holy beacon, and I knew that when I walked through the door, I wouldn't see or hear any of that.

But I had to go in. I had to see her. I had to touch her. I had to beg her to come back to me, because even though our time together had been short, I was absolutely positive that I couldn't live without her.

I softly pushed open the door, instantly lifting Shayne's attention from the book in his hands. He gave me a soft smile and shook his head.

"I told you that you didn't need to bring me food."

"I don't like eating alone," I smirked. My gaze quickly turned to the almost statue-like version of Dylan in the hospital bed, and I felt my jaw clench.