(Jessica)
"Please," I begged, clutching on to my phone with both hands, as though squeezing the life out of it could make the impossible happen. "I don't care when or anything. Whatever is available, I will take it." Hell, if I had to, I'd get in my car and just drive down there. An airplane would be much easier and quicker, given I only knew the general direction I'd be going, and, ugh, driving in LA would be a nightmare, but if that's what it took... And I didn't even know where, exactly, in LA I'd be going once I got there... I just had the incredible pull, the need, to get down there, to get to him, to be there, to see with my own eyes that he was safe and OK. Everything else in the world was unimportant. I had to get to Avi. I'd never stopped thinking about him since the moment he'd left my side. When he was with me, I knew he would be OK, that his physical health was stable, that his mental health could be improved upon but I could boost it. I'd seriously never felt a connection with anyone as strong as I'd felt with him, and it hurt me so bad to know he'd been driven to hurt himself again. Mama bear activated.
"I'm very sorry, miss, but I've checked all the airlines and there's simply nothing available," the customer service representative told me.
"Nothing?" I whispered, distraught.
"No, I'm sorry. I'm just not... wait," she said, making me look up hopefully from the table I'd been draped over. "There's just, and I mean within the last few minutes, been a cancellation on Delta flight 66 for the 2:00 to LA. Would you—"
"I'll take it!" I said quickly, thanking sweet God in heaven that he'd found a way.
"OK, let me pull your information from your first ticket... may I put you on hold for a moment?" she asked me.
"Yes." I jumped to my feet, grabbing my things from the nurses' lounge—my jacket and purse. I could make it if I left right now. Thank God for my friends on the floor. One had covered for me when I went MIA in the male nurses' bathroom; another had gone directly to the DON and explained my 'family emergency.' OK, so technically he's not family, but he's as good as. I loved him as much as any of my sisters, if not more. The DON, who'd just gotten back to work after her own bereavement leave, had been very kind and understanding. I hated that her father had passed, but it sure was convenient and working out for me! I started out of the hospital still on my cell, and by the time I'd gotten to my car in staff parking, the customer service representative had come back on.
"Ms. Levine?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm here," I said, switching the car into gear.
"I have the arrangements made. Ticket and boarding pass will be available at the Delta check-in."
"Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome, miss," she told. "Have a good day and safe travels."
I sighed in relief as I pulled onto the road. OK, next issue. I gave Becca a quick call and left a voice mail when she didn't answer. That'd cover me on the family front. Now for bumping up hotel reservations. Stopped at a red light, I pulled the hotel information and found their number, letting Bluetooth take over and I drove forward.
"Radisson Hotel, this is Helen. How can I help you?"
"I have a reservation starting tomorrow through the first, but an emergency has arisen and I need to get to LA today. Can I please see about bumping up reservations?"
"Let me see here..." Uh-oh, she sounded doubtful. "What is your confirmation number, please?"
I bit my lip. "I am uncertain. I'm driving and unable to get to it right now. I can give you my name and last four digits of my credit card. Visa ending in -0117, expiration date May 31, 2017, name is Jessica M. Levine."
"Let me see if I can find anything in our system." Helen clicked around. "With your original check-in date being tomorrow, correct?"
"Yes."
"I see a name that might match yours, but the credit card information is not accurate."
Damn it. Had Becca bought them for me? I stopped at another red light and grabbed my purse, quickly locating the information. "Just a second. I pulled over to get the confirmation number... oh, here we go. 18765822." A car honked at me when I didn't gun it the second it turned green. Ah, shove your honks. I stuck my phone back in the cup holder.
"Yes, I've located you," Helen told me. "That was you after all."
"Oh, good." I turned left.
"Seeing what I can find for you. This may take a minute."
"That's fine."
That minute turned out to be more like several minutes. I was nearly at the airport by the time she got back with me.
"Ma'am, I am really sorry, but the hotel is at capacity tonight," she apologized. "We have you for tomorrow through the first, but nothing is available tonight."
"Nooo," I wailed. I knew this was a busy time of year, but please... please. It seemed like the odds were stacked against me no matter where I turned. I. Needed. To get. To Avi. Not a want, but a need. "My boyfriend has been in an accident and I have to get to him, please, please help me."
She sighed. "I understand, and I'd like to help you but there's not a whole lot I can do... trying to think of what your best options may be here."
"I'll do anything," I said quietly. "You don't know how much he means to me." I navigated to long-term parking and set about finding a parking spot. Watch even that become a major problem. I was pleasantly surprised when I found one just a minute later.
"I can try calling our sister companies and see if they might have an opening for the time frame you need," Helen suggested.
"Please." I parked my car and looked sadly at my meager belongings—my purse and a bag with the remains of my lunch. Maybe I could root around in the trunk and see if I could find any of my camping stuff back there.
"Just a moment." She put me on hold and I climbed out of the driver's seat, taking to digging through camping paraphernalia in the back. Ooo, my red bag. I opened it and was happy to find two changes of clothes. Granted, one was dirty, but I could wash them. I waved over the Park-N-Go van and climbed in.
"Delta flight 66, please," I requested.
"Yes ma'am," he agreed, starting across the lot. He let me out at the Delta terminal and I made my way up to the ticket and boarding pass line.
Helen clicked back on. "Ms. Levine?"
"Yes, I am here," I confirmed, reaching down to hand a toddler the stuffed dog he'd just dropped.
"Thank you," his mother told me, juggling backpacks for the three kids and a diaper bag.
"I have located available space in the hotel down the street," she informed me. "I—"
"Yes! Thank you, thank you!!!" I gushed, grateful anything was available.
She chuckled. "You're welcome. It's a bit of an upgrade, a four-star hotel, but it will honor at the same rate your room was booked under, as it is a sister company like I said."
"Ooo." That'd be nice. "Thank you, Helen."
"I will put you on with Ben at the front desk and he will get you situated," she added. "Thank you for doing business with us and I hope you find your boyfriend well."
I grinned. Nice people do exist in this world.
Ben clicked on. "Good afternoon, this is Ben at Garden View Inn. I just spoke with Ms. Vance at Radisson, and I will be happy to assist you."
"Thank you so much, Ben." I inched forward in line with a glance at my watch. Tick-tock. "My name is Jessica Levine and I am in dire need of a room, starting today until the first." Oh, that person went quick. I stepped forward while the mom and her kids got squared away.
"Yes, ma'am. We do have two vacancies we can fit you in," Ben told me. "Would you prefer the single or the two double beds?"
Well, there's just one of me. I glanced down at myself. Oh God, I was still in my scrubs, the kitty cat ones at that. I probably looked ridiculous everyone here. "Single would be just fine."
"OK, got you in here. Looks like your credit card information is pulling over nicely. Are you ready for a confirmation number?"
One advantage of being in my scrubs was that I did have my notepad. I pulled out my five by seven and flipped to the first empty page. Attempting a delicate balancing act with my phone on my shoulder and my red bag in the crook of my elbow, I readied the pen and told him to go on.
"621760370," he read off. "Again, that's 621760370."
"Awesome. Thank you, Ben!" I slid the notepad back into my pocket.
"You are welcome."
The mother and her children moved on and I stepped up form my turn. Within minutes, I was the proud owner of a boarding pass. Avi, I'm on my way, honey, hold on. Security actually wasn't too terrible and I moved on to the gate, where boarding was already starting. I showed the lady my ticket and she scanned it, waving me on. I found my seat in the back and sat down just as Becca's name flashed on my phone screen.
"Hey Becca," I greeted her.
"Jessica, what the hell?" she exclaimed. "You're leaving? Today? For LA? You weren't supposed to leave until tomorrow!"
"I know," I said quietly. "Something came up and I have to get there today."
"Whyyy?" she whined. "We were supposed to get together tonight! Don't tell me you're dropping us for some famous boyfriend." She sounded like she was only halfway joking.
"No, Becca, I'm not," I said tiredly. "Like I said, something came up."
"What kind of something?" she wanted to know.
I buckled my seatbelt. "Something, Becca. Just... something. I called around and got this flight scheduled and rearranged hotel bookings. I'm on the plane right now, actually."
"Is everyone OK?" Becca asked quietly.
I sighed. "Yes, at this point, everyone is OK. But Becca, there's been a bit of a scare and I'm telling you, I love him. I gotta be with him right now. Got to."
"OK," she said after a pause. "I love you, sis, and I trust you are doing what is right for Jessica. Not even necessarily for Avi, but for you."
"I am," I promised. God, I loved my sister. Looking out for me, needing me to be OK. I glanced up at the flight attendant, who was giving me the universal phone gesture. "I gotta go, Becca. Love you. Bye."
"Love you too. Bye."
I clicked off and listened to my obligatory safety speech. We took off into the sky and I glanced down at the ground I'd just left, knowing I was leaving Visalia and that nothing would ever be the same again. Leaving everything I've ever known for a man. I was taking a leap of faith, but in my heart, I knew it was right. Everything in my soul was pulling me to him. We belong together. I'm better with him. He pulls out the playful side in me, the adventurous side in me. I was not quiet little Jessie with him. I felt alive when we were together and the confidence I struggle to keep can come out, no longer putting everyone else's needs ahead of mine. I wasn't entirely sure what a man like him saw in me... but I knew he saw something worthwhile in me. I could see it in his eyes, the intense green eyes that seemed to see me right down to the soul. I could feel it in the way he touched me, softly and surely, the way he held me to his chest, so tightly and close to his heart, the way he kissed me, softly and tenderly. A bit scratchy with that beard, but I liked it. Showed me both sides of him. The kind and gentle man he truly was; the persona he showed the world upon the stage. And when we made love... God, he took my breath away and breathed his own spirit into my lungs. I could get drunk on his love. I truly could.
Seemingly having daydreamed the entire flight of my Avi—my Avi!—we touched down in LA. Naturally, the whole plane had to get off before I could, but at least I had my one little bag with me so I wouldn't have to chase down luggage. I bumped and bounced my way around the airport, trying to find the exit. If I'd thought the Visalia airport was busy, that was nothing. Yeah. Nature girl definitely in the big city here. I finally found the exit after nearly forty-five minutes of wandering around like a lost puppy. God, what was I doing here anyway? Oh yeah, Avi. I felt my lips curl upwards just thinking of his name. He made me so happy.
Stepping outside, I double checked the hotel's address and found a row of yellow taxicabs outside just waiting for passengers. Several people brushed past me and just helped themselves to the rides. I hugged my bag and purse to myself, half afraid I'd be mugged at any minute. Wow, were all these taxi drivers men? Big foreign men at that. Trying to put my trust issues and insecurities aside, I selected one with a tiny Asian man as a driver. He looked less intimidating that the others. I showed him the hotel's address.
"Yes ma'am," he agreed, pushing the meter and taking off. Traffic was pretty heavy, so it took us longer than I'd really wanted. I kept watching the meter rise. OK, this'd be a credit card purchase again. Good thing I have a well-paying job; this jaunt was racking up. He finally pulled up to the hotel, which I couldn't help but gawk at. Shiiit, this was nice! Nicer than my pocketbook could handle! I paid the taxicab driver and started inside, praying that Helen had told the truth and that I wouldn't get an extra thousand dollars added onto the bill for just setting foot in here.
The lobby was huge, with plush rugs, nice artwork, and tables full of sculptures that probably cost more than a months' worth of salary. I made my way up to the check-in desk, almost feeling overwhelmed at the ostentatious decor. I hoped the man behind the counter was Ben. He'd seemed really nice over the phone. He finished with the couple he'd been checking in and gestured to me. OK, Jessica, act normal and like you belong here.
"I'm checking in," I told him, smiling when I read his name tag. Yep, this was Ben. Good deal. "Jessica Levine."
He looked at me, a smile starting on his face as he looked at me in the damn kitty cat scrubs. Yeah, these needed an upgrade. Badly.
"I know, I'm a mess," I mumbled apologetically.
"It's fine," he told me. "I remember you. Didn't we speak on the phone?"
"Yes," I said with a nod. "You worked me in and I appreciate it."
"Oh, you're quite welcome." Ben grinned at me. "Are you a nurse?"
"Yeah." Obviously. I decided these kitty cat scrubs were officially beneath me.
"We have discounts for healthcare professionals," he offered. "Five percent."
"Awesome!" Ugh, I sounded like a dorky teenager. 'Awesome' would have to disappear from my vocabulary. Maybe with the five percent discount, I could get something a bit more... respectable.
"Do you have confirmation number or the credit card that you booked under?" he requested.
"Yes, I do." That sounded professional at least. I extracted my notepad and tore out the page for him.
"Great." Ben entered the information as a large group of guys came in being loud and rambunctious. One kept yelling at the others and another guy had a loud and barking laugh that he couldn't or wouldn't stop doing. Sure wished whoever was making him laugh would quit it. He was a bit much for me right now.
Ben gave me several pieces of paper. "OK, Ms. Levine, got you in room 303. You will take the elevator that is just around the corner..." He circled the area on the map he was showing me. "...and the room will be at this end of the hall, over here." He circled a room near the end, by a large bay window. Ooo, that'll be nice! I can look out at the... oh, this is LA. I'll be looking at traffic and cranes and machinery. I'd lost count of how many there'd been on the ride over. Ben gave the guys an irritated look. "Follow those guys. They're on the same floor and area."
"Oh joy," I muttered, making him laugh.
"They got some friends that are nice, but these are a little... shall we say, full of it and, well... loud," he had to admit.
I gave Ben a grin. "Thanks for the warning."
"Have a nice stay, Ms. Levine, and let me know if I can be of assistance." Ben handed me the key.
"Thank you very much." Hmm. Tucking my purse and bag under my arm, I eyed them again. Wonder if I could beat them to the elevator and escape upstairs before they could get there. I tried to cut through the lobby, avoiding other people, and circled past some vending machines, quickly pressing three. Hurry, come on, elevator, hurry!
Unfortunately, it took its sweet time and the guys came into the elevator corridor. I briefly wondered how rude it'd be to cover my ears.
"Y'all, please," one with wet hair complained. "Stop. Settle down. I'm telling you, I'm approaching a migraine here."
Ew, those sucked. Poor guy. I've never had one, but I was very aware of how debilitating they can be. The nurse in me wanted to help him. Course, step one would be to move away from his loud friends. They did, however, fall into silence for him. Oh thank goodness, I could hear myself think again. After a minute, the one with long brown hair spoke, and when he did, I couldn't help but stare at him.
"Did anyone press the up button?" he asked quietly in a very deep voice. Shit, where had that come from? His sounded as deep as Avi was.
"It was lit when we came in here," the loud red-haired one said, eyeing the button. "And it still is."
"Is it even working?" the blonde asked sensibly.
"I ain't taking the stairs," the large one in glasses declared.
Still trying to be an invisible mouse in cat clothes, I slunk over into the corner, behind the blonde that seemed the quietest to begin with, after the unfortunate migraine guy. That dark-haired one—his deep voice... I studied him from my corner. Did he look... familiar? I couldn't shake the feeling of having seen him before. God knows I wouldn't forget his voice. It was so freaking deep. Deep voices. I smiled, almost hearing Avi's in my ear, whispering how he loved me, how I felt to him. Avi. Would I forever grin like a silly teenage girl every time anyone said his name?
"Push it again," the red-haired one said in such a Southern twang that I pulled my eyes off the one with the deep voice.
He spoke again, the earth seemingly rumbling under its weight. "Don't matter how many times you push it, Austin. It's not going to come any faster."
"Well, I'm tired of waiting," the one called Austin complained, poking the button several times in a row.
"Not much we can do 'bout it," the one in glasses said dryly. I turned my eyes to study him when it dawned on me. These were the guys Avi and the others had been singing with! These were Avi's friends! The other a cappella group! Holy shit. Helen had put me in their hotel! Well, it figures famous people—singers—like them would be in a very nice hotel like this one. They sure wouldn't stay in a dump!
"It's a hotel, Austin," the blonde in front of me reminded him. "People are loading and unloading. Be patient."
"This was supposed to be a quick trip," he complained. "In and out. Get Chance's medicine, Adam's underwear, and be on out."
Adam's underwear? Okayyy... Wasn't sure which one was Adam, but his underwear? Was he not wearing any? And why the hell not?
"Shhh!" the migraine guy moaned and Austin shut his mouth.
"Thanks," the blonde informed him. "I wanted half the lobby to know I'm not wearing any underwear. 'Preciate it, man."
"Oh, uh... sorry," Austin apologized and glanced around. I tried to avoid his line of sight, praying that commando Adam and this plant blocked me from view.
So if this was the other a cappella group, I really only recognized the glasses guy. He had a distinct look to him that was impossible to not notice. Then this dark-haired guy... should have known he was a singer the minute he opened his mouth. There's no disguising his voice. He was singing—he was on stage—with my Avi! God, Jessica, get a hold of yourself! Avi... where was Avi? Was he nearby? Which brought me back to my original quest and why I was here in the first place: to find Avi. How'm I supposed to find Avi in this whole city? LA's huge! With a ton of people!
The elevator finally arrived. I let these guys get on, figuring I'd take the next one. Or even take the stairs if it continued to be pokey. I didn't really want to pull any dumb moves with, ah... what were they called again? Something Free? With Avi, I could be myself. He was grounded; he had a degree of realness about him. These five... they were wild cards. I didn't know them. I'd make a fool of myself, stuttering and stumbling around. A quiet shy girl. These five were out of my league.
"Um... Rob, shut the door?" I heard Austin ask, sending me back for cover in the corner.
"There was another...," the Rob one started before sticking his head out the elevator door and glancing around.
"Rob, you're getting on my nerves," Austin whined. "Elevator took forever. It's here, so let's go up!"
"There was somebody else here. I could swear it!" he insisted. "Some lady!"
Oh shit, he'd seen me, he'd seen me, he'd seen me! I moved a leaf, hoping it'd cover my beet red face. Go, just go, please, forget I'd ever been here!
"Oh, the chick in the cat scrubs?" said the deep-voiced one that had been singing bass with Avi.
Oh God. I glared down at my clothes, ready to burn them.
"I didn't see anyone. Rob, Tim, come on, let's go," the one in the throes of a migraine said tiredly.
" 'Cuz you're walking around with your eyes three-fourths of the way closed," the bass remarked. Tim, was it?
"She probably walked on," said a fifth voice, probably the blonde.
"No, she didn't," Tim declared.
"Oh, give it up, y'all!" Southern Austin ordered.
"Tim, hold the doors," Rob said, then stuck his head back out.
Shit, shit, shit. I tried to decide if I should continue trying to hide (which clearly wasn't working too well) or if I should make a run for it. Which option would be less creepy? Rob stepped out and glanced both ways. I hoped the pair of thick black glasses was indicative of very poor vision and that maybe, just maybe, he'd think I was part of the plant life. He looked back my way... and kept looking. No, no, not here, not... I dropped my head and buried my face in my hands. Watch him think I'm a creepy stalker now. I startled when Tim stage whispered, "Behind the ficus, Rob!"
Shit. My face was red and I was embarrassed from head to toe. I heard footsteps move towards me and started—damn it—to cry.
"Go on up, guys," Rob said. "Adam, let the button go. Chance needs his icky-trex and you need your, well... you know."
Icky-trex. I tried to suppress a giggle through my tears. That would have to be Imitrex, singer-dude.
"If you're trying to hide...," Tim began, spreading the top leaves apart. "...I'd recommend an oak, a sequoia, maybe even a maple, but not a ficus."
"Sorry, Ijustwannagotomyroomputmystuffdownandfindmyboyfriend," I mumbled.
"Come again?" he asked as Rob came up behind him.
"Why are you hiding?" Rob asked me.
"My room," I mumbled, still barely able to look up at the men I'd seen on my TV.
"Pretty sure your room isn't behind this ficus." Tim reached down and moved it, picking it up by the planter it was in.
"Hey." Rob touched my arm briefly. "Don't know what you're doing or why you're crying, but things'll be OK. Where's your room at? Where's your luggage?"
"Third floor," I muttered. Yep, here's mousy, shy, and awkward Jessie again.
"Conveniently, that's where we're going," Rob told me, taking my elbow and trying to nudge me along. "Come on, sweetie. You traveling with a husband, a family, or friends? We can help you try to to find them if you got separated."
OK, try to be a big girl here. Try to use established words. I stepped out with him, trying not to let my nerves show. "No. On my own."
"On you own?" Tim asked seriously. "In LA? It's a huge city. Where're you from?"
"Northern California," I was actually able to answer as Rob pressed the up button.
"What brought you to LA?" he asked me. "No offense, but you seem out to place, and you don't seem like the type to try to 'make it big' in Hollywood." He made quotation marks with his fingers at the last phrase.
'Cuz I'm just a little nurse that's fallen hard for one of your friends. I swallowed. "I'm trying to find someone."
"One someone in a whole big city?" Tim asked. Not meanly but very matter-of-factly. "That's like finding a needle in a haystack."
"I need my needle," I whispered. My needle needs me.
He chuckled. "I need my needle, the nurse says."
"What's your name, sweetie?" Rob asked me. "I'm Rob and this is my friend Tim."
I debated giving a fake name. Would Avi even have mentioned me? Then again, these two may be my best hopes of finding Avi. "Jessica."
"Jessica. Nice to meet you, Jessica," he said with a smile.
"Who're you looking for, Jessica?" Tim pressed the up button himself. "Slowest. Elevator. Ever."
"My boyfriend," I answered.
"Ah-ha!" Tim grunted. "Down to LA for a man! Got it! Figures!"
"Tim, can it and be nice," Rob snapped protectively. "Just 'cuz love treated you poorly doesn't mean it's not worth pursuing!"
The elevator opened and out came Austin, the migraine guy, and the blonde. All three stared at the three of us, the migraine guy with half-opened eyes.
"Are you a nurse?" the migraine guy asked me.
"Um, yes?" It came out more a question than an answer.
"This is Jessica and she's from northern California trying to find her boyfriend," Tim introduced me, making me blush. God, it sounded so stupid.
Austin laughed that irritating barking laugh. "Good luck with that!"
Rob snapped at him. "Austin, either be nice, shut it, or go back to Scott's car!"
I looked up, my heart skipping a beat. Scott? Scott? Oh my God! I'd talked to him some, and I was sure he could help me find my Avi! And maybe I could actually talk to him like a human!
"I'm just being reasonable!" Austin strode off and, without thinking, I started to follow him.
The migraine guy grabbed me. "How long's it take Imitrex to kick in? I'm in a bind; I got stuff I got to do and my head's starting to scream at me."
I paused in my step, torn. Avi. Migraine guy. Scott. This guy needed help. Avi. Oh my God, this guy had piercing green eyes too, even though he was trying to hide them under his eyelids. "Thirty minutes to an hour."
"OK, good. Thank you," he mumbled, letting go of my arm.
"So, about this boyfriend you're trying to find," Rob started. "Where does he live?"
"Dunno. LA?"
"Work?"
"Somewhere in LA?" Where had he said this concert was would be at?
"Lord, this is fixing to be impossible," Tim groaned. "You don't know where he lives or works but you say he's your boyfriend? You sure he's your boyfriend?
"He travels a lot!" I actually found myself snapping at Free's bass singer. "He travels a lot for his work! We met at home home, LA's seemingly his primary residence right now, and I got to find him because he's hurt! Badly!"
"All right, sounds like a hospital might be the best place to start," Rob surmised.
"I'm sick of hospitals," the migraine guy groaned. "Austin. Tim. Mitch. Avi. Who's next?"
Avi. My heart squeezed at his name. Gotta find him, gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta. "Which hospital—"
"Try San Miguel. That's where we just came from," the blonde (I thought his name was Adam) advised. "Up on 81st Street. And Chance, you don't have to go with her; she's trying to find her boyfriend. We'll find her a ride—hey, I bet Scott or someone could even point her in the right direction. We'll get—what'd you say your name was again?"
"Jessica, she's Jessica," Tim answered for me. "Came down from northern California on a wild goose chase."
Adam froze and stared at me wide-eyed. "Jessica? From northern California? Where in northern California?"
"Vis—" I hiccuped. Damn it, what a moron I am. "Visa—" Hic! "Visali—" Hic!
"Boo!" Rob tried to scare them out of me.
"Jessica?" Adam continued to be flabbergasted. "Jessica from Visalia? Shit, guys, it's Avi's girlfriend!"
Hmm. So he had mentioned me. I nodded slightly.
"You're that Jessica?" Rob breathed.
"Oh my God." Tim stared at me as though I wasn't real. "That makes things so much easier."
The migraine guy (Chance, he'd been called? Could that be right?) opened his eyes all the way to look at me. "Wowww. You came all this way for Avi?"
"Just three hours away," I muttered, staring out the window. "They... said he was hurt. I came. I had to." I tried to blink tears away. They had to think I was the world's biggest lovesick idiot.
"Hey." Adam put his hand on my shoulder. "It's OK, all right? He had a scare with his stitches coming apart on him and he went to the hospital. The doctor fixed his stitches and gave him a couple of blood transfusions and kept him for a few hours for observation. Avi's outside in the car right now. Do you want us to go get him? Would that make you feel better?"
"Yes, please!" I couldn't stop crying.
"Come here," Tim said quietly, holding his arms out to me. Rob skipped that step and just walked over to me, enveloping me in his arms, quietly reassuring me until I got my shit together.