Flames || Rhink

Thinking Out Loud

I stayed in the waiting room for what felt like hours. I was angry, tired, and afraid.

I was still on edge. I didn't know if Rhett was going to be okay or not. The nurses would come by, asking me how I was doing. They wouldn't update me on Rhett, probably because they couldn't. They knew just as much as I did.

They offered me food and drink but I turned it all down. I was too nauseous to eat and I wasn't thirsty, although my mouth was dry.

I thought about Rhett, the way he sounded over the phone. Scared, hurt, and pitiful. I thought about Sara and how much I wanted her to rot in hell. If Rhett died, she was the one to blame. 

But an hour later the doctor came out, asking for me. He was a big burly man with a beard much longer than Rhett's. He was heavyset but he looked quite healthy.

"Link Neal?" he asked. I stood immediately, pushing my glasses in position. He looked at me with a smile, "Rhett would like to see you."

My body lit up. Rhett was okay. He was okay. 

I nodded eagerly, a grin forming on my face. The doctor lead me down the hall. An intense scent of sanitizer and medicine filled my nose, one of my least favorite things about the hospital. 

Once we reached the room, the doctor left me. I was anxious, but every part of me wanted to see Rhett. I missed him more than I had ever missed him before. 

I was tempted to knock, but instead, I opened the door slowly, not able to wait. My heart was beating indifferently, but I pushed away the fear once I saw him. I knew he was okay, even if he didn't look it.

He was laying in the hospital bed in the center of the room with monitors hooked up to his wrist. They were keeping an eye on his pulse, just in case anything were to happen. His cuts were properly bandaged and his head was wrapped in white gauze. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I was grateful that I wouldn't have to look at the damage Sara had done.

There was already a chair sitting next to Rhett's bed. I imagined he asked the nurse to do that for him. My heart grew.

"Link," he said with a hoarse voice. I sat next to him, "Hey buddy."

He smiled, and tried to turn his face to me, but it hurt, so he stopped, "How long have you been here?"

I shrugged. I really didn't keep track of time, because time didn't matter when it came to Rhett. But I looked at the clock, "Probably about four hours."

His breathing was heavy, "I'm sorry. They wanted to make sure I was really alright before letting anyone back. They did an x-ray of my skull and everything's fine. I was lucky."

I smiled, looking deeply into his tired eyes, "Y-yeah." 

He tried to turn to me again, fighting the pain, "She just lost it Link. She started throwing things and yelling. I couldn't fight back. She hit me over the head with that camera you got me for my birthday last year. I made it, but I'm not sure if it did. I'm sorry."

I shook my head, "It's okay. I'm just glad you're alright. I don't know what I would have done if..."

He sighed, "Yeah. I didn't want to leave you, either. You're the best thing in my life, the only one who's been there for it all."

And yet I had never noticed how beautiful Rhett looked in white? Or how sexy his beard was? Or how soft his skin looked? How had I never noticed?

"The doctors said they'd let me go tomorrow if everything went smoothly until then. They said you could stay but I won't ask you-"

"Of course," I didn't hesitate.

"Of course what?" he fiddled with a loose string on his hospital gown.

"I'll stay."

He smiled at me, his eyes bright with the slightest hint of sadness, "You don't have too Link. Plus, who's gonna film Tuesday's episode of GMM?"

Today was Monday, which meant "back to work." I laughed, "Rhett, I'm staying. I'll just call up Stevie, tell her we can't come in and have the crew make a super cool episode. We've got up and left in the middle of an episode before, it's not the much different."

"That was More," he stated simply, still smiling at me.

I shook me head, "I don't care. I'm staying and there is not a damn thing you can do to stop me."

"I can tell the nurses I don't want you here," he chuckled.

"Oh, shut up."

He was smiling wide now, those pretty eyes of his sparkling under the dim ceiling lights. He was quite for a moment, just starring into my eyes while I starred right back into his.

I saw everything. From the minute we first met back in dentition in first grade, to the first time we filmed a video together, to now. I saw our lives together in a perfect  screenplay.  A movie I would watch daily, until it was so worn out it wouldn't play anymore. 

"That would never happen, Link."

He broke my train of thought, his statement abrupt, "What?"

"Our movie won't wear out. It's too sturdy. Unbreakable, if you will."

I grinned. I guess I had been thinking out loud.

---------

How are you guys liking the story so far? I know it's been pretty intense since the beginning, but this is how Link tells his story. 

I love working on this. And I really hope you guys are loving it! I'm trying very hard. 

If you guys want to leave your comments telling me what you think about the story below, I would absolutely love to read them! I've loved all the comments I've already recieved for this book! You're all so kind!

Thank you all so much for reading! You're beautiful people!

And thanks for being your mythical best!

-Robin

(PS. I'm sorry if I got Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" stuck in your head. At least it's a good song.)