I dropped the phone.
No.
I didn't believe her, I couldn't believe her, there was no way Bennett had been shot, because the four of us always had each others' backs. There was always someone to protect him.
I turned very slowly to look at Declan and Jordan, who were both shocked. Clearly Bennett didn't get hurt very often.
He didn't. He's not hurt. This is a joke, just a joke, Bennett getting his revenge on us for snapping at him, that's all it is.
"T-t-that's not possible," I stuttered, trying to keep my voice calm. I don't. I can't. I refuse to believe it.
The lady on the other end sighed. "He's just a teenager, and a very famously rich one at that, strolling unarmed around the city. It's very possible."
"B-b-but... but he... I can't—" I couldn't finish. This wasn't happening. It wasn't possible. He never left the base unarmed, and we rarely ever left the base.
He was distracted. By me. It's my fault. All my fault. We should have left him alone, I should have made sure he knew that I was loyal to him and him only.
It's all my fault. This is all my fault.
With that thought, I burst into tears, feeling them slip down my burning face as I slumped into a ball on the couch. I felt Declan's arms slowly wrap around me while Jordan grabbed the phone.
"What hospital is he being held at, ma'am?" he asked. His face was still pale and his voice was shellshocked.
The lady rattled off the name of the hospital but I wasn't listening. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault.
It's all my fault.
Declan stood up, as did Jordan, but I just slumped back onto the couch. It was my fault. It was my fault.
I should have told him that I would never leave him. But I didn't. It's my fault.
"Naomi?" Jordan asked softly. "What's wrong?"
Declan stood up quickly and glared at him. "Are you serious right now? Her boyfriend was just shot and you ask her what's wrong?"
Jordan sighed. "This isn't the Naomi that I know. The Naomi that I know would be rushing to get to Bennett, to help him. She wouldn't just shut down like this."
"It's my fault!" I blurted. "It's all my fault! If I had just told Bennett that I would stay loyal to him, none of this would have happened!"
"Shhh, Naomi, shhh," Declan and Jordan sat back down beside me. Declan slowly rubbed my back as I cried while Jordan put his hands in mine.
"That," Jordan declared, "is the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
Declan rolled his eyes. "Have you heard yourself yet?"
Jordan ignored Declan's snide comment. "Naomi, it isn't your fault. It's never your fault. This is our fault. It's our fault for not telling Bennett that we weren't going to try to make a move."
"At least, not out loud," Declan muttered under his breath, and I figured it would probably be best to pretend that I hadn't heard him.
They're wrong. It's not their fault, they didn't do anything wrong. It's all me. I guess it really is my fault.
"Let's just go," I muttered. I stood up quietly and the other two followed me, giving me uneasy looks.
Declan reached out to the coffee table and grabbed Bennett's keys; he'd left them out because he probably had at least ten backup keys.
We piled into the car, Declan driving, Jordan in shotgun, and me brooding in the back. I didn't even bother to buckle my seatbelt, because who cared if anything happened to me?
Bennett could be dying. If he dies, there's really no point in me living anymore.
(I just want to warn you that the last time I was at a hospital, I was four, so let's pretend I know what I'm doing)
Quickly, we sped over to the emergency room and parked the car, rushing into the building, pushing past other nervous people and up to the visitor's desk.
"Who are you here for—"
"Bennett, Bennett Frazier!" I shouted, and the lady that I had been talking to before came from around the corner.
"You're the girlfriend?" she asked, looking at me carefully. "And you two?" she asked, gesturing to us. "Is this some sort of reverse harem—"
"We're his friends," Declan cut her off. "His best friends. In the entire world. Yeah."
She looked unimpressed. "Naomi Lorraine?" she clarified. "And your names?"
"Declan Lynch and Jordan Wallace," I answered for them.
"I suppose they can wait along with you in the priority waiting room," she said, and we followed her into another room.
I could immediately tell that this was the waiting room for the ICU, because everyone here looked ten times more stricken. There were just a few families, and their faces looked gaunt, their eyes haunted.
That wasn't going to happen to us, was it?
"Wait here until I'm given the clear, and I'll bring you up to his floor," she told us, her voice emotionless and cold.
She left without a word, disappearing into one of the many, many hallways. We sat in silence, our hands linked together, just thinking, no, not thinking, anything but thinking.
They're wrong. It's my fault. It is.
I was instantly distracted when the door was thrown open and someone walked in to sit beside us. A young man with sharp, angular features, and ghostly skin, and ice-colored eyes, and dark hair—
It can't be Bennett. Bennett was shot.
I blinked, and then realized: the lack of earrings, the clean crew cut, the tailored suit he was wearing. Of course he was here, why wouldn't he be here?
"I came as soon as I heard," he whispered, and for once his arrogant voice was flat. "Naomi, I'm so sorry..."
"It's not your fault, Bentley." It's mine.
"My father told me to come instead. He's still mad at Bennett, said the stupid kid got what he deserved. I didn't think my brother deserved to get shot. But Benedict Frazier does what he wants, I suppose."
"Benedict Frazier. Like everyone says, you are what your name is," Jordan blurted randomly.
"Jordan," Declan said. "No one says that."
Jordan ignored him. "Like I said before, his name is literally 'Ben' and 'Di—"
I shushed him, gesturing to all of the innocent little kids sitting in the waiting room. "Jordan, you're going to get us thrown out of the hospital."
"No one gets thrown out of a hospital—"
"I would throw you out of my hospital if I was a hospital owner," Declan offered.
"Aww, you," Jordan replied, fake blushing at Declan's retort and batting his eyelashes.
"It wasn't a compliment."
Their squabbling was immediately shut off when the hospital lady walked back into the room. All four of us looked back up at her.
"All right. You can go and see him... but I'm a afraid I have some bad news..."
• • •
I am a terrible person hahahaha
Yes, there is going to be a part three, and it is probably be out this week if I have time.
Also, I am so sorry if I offended everyone with my lack of hospital knowledge, if anyone has any corrections, feel free to tell me!
peace out you guys