ANGEL'S POV
My head was spinning by the time I got Sage out to the car. I frantically lie his lifeless body in the backseat of my car, rushing around to the driver's seat and starting the car up immediately.
I sped to the nearest hospital, arriving in record time.
I hurriedly scooped Sage into my arms, struggling a bit because he was bigger than I was.
I called for the first person I could find, and a young nurse retrieved a gurney in seconds, and I gently lie him down on it.
"I-I don't know what happened. I opened the door, and h-he was just th-there." She nodded and called another medical professional over and the two rushed him into a different part of the hospital, through a set of double doors. I had attempted to follow, but they wouldn't let me through, saying it was 'restricted', which only scared me more, not being able to be with him.
So, I sat in the waiting room, my head in my hands as I thought about what I should do. I sat up quickly and pulled my phone out of my back pocket, dialing Ben's number. He picked up after the second ring.
"Angel?"
"Ben, this is an emergency. I'm at the hospital," I said, my voice shaking.
"What? What happened?"
"It's Sage."
"What hospital are you at?" He asked.
"Wilson Mercy."
"Alright, alright, calm down. We'll be there soon. We'll all be there soon," he assured me. I bid him goodbye and pulled my knees up to my chest, burying my face my arms.
I got up a bit later and left the waiting room, growing impatient.
"Is he okay?" I asked the nurse who'd taken him first.
"He's still getting some tests done," she said, flipping through a chart without looking at me.
"Well, how much longer will it be?"
"Hard to tell." My jaw clenched.
"First of all, it'd be really great if you could look me in the eye when you're speaking to me," I snapped, and her head immediately bounced up to meet my sharp gaze. "Secondly, if you could find out how much longer he'd be, or at least try instead of being an ass about it, that'd be pretty helpful." Her cheeks flushed red as she glanced around, attention drawing to the two of us.
Just then, I turned my head to see Ben and Leo rushing in, Carlos and Terry close behind. When I caught Leo's eyes, he tapped Ben's shoulder pointed to me, and the four of them rushed to me.
"What happened?" Ben asked first, face covered in concern.
"I-I-I don't know. There was knocking on my door and when I went to open it, he was just lying there on the ground and I—" I shook my head quickly, eyes welling up as the image of an unconscious Sage flashed through my mind.
He'd looked so... lifeless.
I completely burst into tears, Ben encasing me in his arms.
"Shh, shh. It's okay. Come on, let's go wait."
We sat in the waiting room, my head on Terry's shoulder as I sniffed softly every few moments.
"What happened to him?" I whispered to myself. Leo and Ben looked between each other, then back to me and I stared at them.
"He hasn't been well, Angel," Leo said gently, as if not to upset me again. I shook my head.
"Yeah, neither have I... but I'm still conscious. I'm not... I'm not..." I shook my head and Ben cleared his throat, sitting up straighter.
"No, he... he hasn't been eating, or getting out of bed, or doing anything, really, but sleeping and crying," he explained. I stared at him, eyes filling with tears again.
This is all my fault.
I cried on Terry's shoulder for what felt like hours before a doctor finally came out.
"Sage West?" We all stood quickly and I hurried to the doctor. Dr. Thompson, his name tag read.
"Is he okay?" I asked hurriedly, wiping my cheeks dry.
"He will be." He sighed softly. "He was suffering from severe dehydration and a dangerously low level of blood pressure. Was he on any medications, or on a diet that could've caused this?" I covered my eyes and shook my head.
"He wasn't eating," I whimpered. Dr. Thompson hummed above me, scribbling something down in the chart. "Is he awake? Can I see him now?" He looked between all of us, nodding softly.
"He's awake, but only two people can be in the room at a time." Everyone agreed that I could go in last, so Ben and Leo went in first, followed by Terry and Carlos.
When they exited, Carlos met my eyes and nodded. I exhaled deeply, shutting my eyes before shuffling into the room.
Sage's head was turned away from me, facing the wall. When my shoes squeaked on the floor, he faced me, eyes flickering with sadness.
It broke my heart, seeing him that way. There was an IV in his arm, and his complexion was pale, dark circles beneath his eyes.
Tears immediately filled my eyes again, and I averted my gaze. You don't need comfort right now. He does. He's the one in the hospital bed.
"Love, please don't cry," he murmured, and I sniffed, nodding.
"Sorry." I took a few more steps until I was standing beside the bed.
"Don't be sorry. I'm sorry." I frowned.
"Sorry for what?" He shook his head, fiddling with the bed sheets. He was quiet for a moment before speaking again.
"How are you? Are you okay?" I laughed softly, throat watery. "What's so funny?"
"You're literally sitting in a hospital bed, and you're worrying about my wellbeing."
"Well I can't help it," he mumbled, head lowering. My smile faded.
"You weren't eating..." He sighed heavily, picking at his nails. "Sage." I reached forward and turned his head to me. My hand rested on his cheek as he gazed at me sadly, and I sighed.
"I didn't want to do anything. Nothing matters without you."
"You matter."
"Not without you," he repeated, eyes falling. Everything inside of me was hurting, and I knew I was to blame.
"This is all my fault," I spoke, shaking my head. Sage frowned.
"Angel, what are—"
"I should've just stayed, you wanted to talk about it and I just left," I whined, rising to my feet.
The thought that I was responsible for Sage sitting in a hospital bed made my bones ache.
"Angel, this is not your fault." I shook my head, tugging at my hair. "Angel—"
"No, I can't— I did this."
Sage... hospital bed... unconscious... severe hydration... low blood pressure.
Everything was getting so knotted in my head and I couldn't think straight.
"Angel, please listen—"
"I-I—"
"Angel!" He snapped, voice loud, and I froze in place, staring at him with wide eyes. "I can't get up," he said, softer now that he had my attention, motioning towards the IV in his arm. "I need you to come to me. Can you do that for me?" He asked gently.
I slowly approached him, sitting beside him on the bed. He cupped my face in his hands, making me look him in the eyes.
"This is not your fault. Okay? You wouldn't hurt me, even if you wanted to. Right?"
"Right," I breathed sincerely.
"Right. Now, please, don't think about anything else. Just lay with me, yeah?" I nodded weakly and climbed into the bed with him, lying my head on his chest. It took a few minutes for us to get situated because we had to work around the IV so I wasn't tugging on it.
When we were settled, he kissed the top of my head and my eyes fell shut at the feeling of his arms around me.
I lie there silently until Sage's breaths grew even, and when they did, I glanced up and found him asleep, so I sighed before slowly wiggling out of his grip and standing up.
I watched him for a moment, sighing at how peaceful he looked. I shut my eyes with a gentle shake of my head, moving to the chair in the room when a nurse padded on in. She looked at Sage's sleeping body, then at me.
"Do you want me to bring you in a cot?" I nodded silently, thanking her when she returned. She gave me a pillow and blanket, as well, along with a cup of water.
"Thank you," I said again, nodding at her. She smiled warmly before turning to leave. That's when a thought occurred to me. "Wait. He won't have to be in here long, will he?"
"We just need to keep an eye on him, and if all looks good, he can leave tomorrow afternoon." I sighed, relieved.
Once she was gone, I set the cot up, placing the pillow on top and dropping the folded blanket. That's when I remembered my friends were still there.
I sighed heavily and trailed out to the waiting room, finding Terry, Ben and Leo asleep on the chairs. Carlos looked up from the magazine he was flipping through, smiling softly.
"Everything okay?" I nodded.
"They want to keep him overnight, and he'll be out tomorrow afternoon if everything is good." He nodded. "You guys should go home, I'll stay." Carlos sighed, looking down at a sleeping Terry.
He gently shook her, waking her up. Her eyes fluttered open, and she squinted under the bright lights. She spotted me and smiled.
"He's okay?" She asked. I nodded.
I repeated that process with Ben and Leo after waking them, before they all stood to leave.
"I'll call you guys if anything changes," I promised, and they all hummed sleepily in response, slinking down the hall.
I sighed deeply before returning to Sage's room, lying on the cot as I curled up beneath the blanket.
I struggled to fall asleep, mind adrift.
I was surprised Sage had been so upset that it physically injured him. I wished I'd spoked to him. I wished I'd stayed and let him explain.
With watery eyes, I exhaled softly and sniffled.
After some long, unforgiving thoughts, I let my mind be at peace, allowing my eyes to finally fall shut.