“Your flight okay?”
It took me a moment for her words to register through the buzzing in my ears. “Yeah, good, thanks.” I stared out the window, not quite believing I was in Australia.
Since meeting Ryan Broadwater a few years back, Jayden and I had made half-assed plans to visit Ryan’s home country. Often it was linked to us giving our Aussie friend shit, but beneath it all, there’d been an edge of seriousness. But here I was, having traveled in a panic to see the man who should have been at my side.
A wave of frustration threatened to drown me when a series of what-ifs swept over me.
The asshole had run to Australia without me. And run he did. Why he’d done so was as clear to me as the bright blue sky I stared at out of Amber’s car.
It was my fault. I’d shut Jayden out, pushed him away. And all because of that damn kiss last year. Him making a statement. Giving haters and the media the middle finger to support Ryan and Nate may have been ill-thought-out. But fuck if it hadn’t been at the expense of my… fuck, I didn’t even know what.
Jayden was my friend, without a doubt my best friend. But that kiss had rocked my world in a way I’d never envisioned. Ever. And while I questioned every feeling, gesture, and conversation between us and spent too many hours going over that kiss, Jayden had acted like it was no big deal. I had no doubt he was right to do so, but that hadn’t helped me or my confusion.
“It’ll take us just over an hour to get there,” Amber was saying. “Most traffic is heading into the city, so we shouldn’t get too caught up.”
I offered a cursory smile. “No worries.” My mouth kicked up a little higher at the phrase Jayden and I used, mainly in a low, relaxed twang to mimic Ryan’s accent. “I just appreciate you coming to get me.”
She cast me a quick glance. “If you need to call anyone back home, you can use my phone,” she said. “I have free international calls on my plan.” She cast me another look, and I noticed her cheeks pinken. “Uhm, yeah, I know calls are expensive from an international mobile. No point in that when you can use mine for free.”
This time my smile was genuine. This young woman was worried about my cell bill, and I expected she knew that I earned several zeros on my paycheck like her brother once had.
“Thanks. I’ll just shoot off a few texts to Jayden’s family and mine, letting them know I’m here.” I did so, and we carried on the journey, with mainly Amber filling the quiet and not putting me under any pressure to respond in detail. I appreciated she was letting me offer simple grunts and one-syllable responses. I couldn’t give any more than that.
I tried to take in a little of the passing highway, hoping it would distract me. But the bright sun, the industrial buildings, the collection of forestry occasionally breaking up the monotony of chain stores, didn’t do much to make the journey pass by any faster.
A new tendril of anticipation threaded into my veins when we pulled off the highway. I sat up a little straighter as I focused on the cars of people going on about their day, heedless of the turmoil making my stomach ache.
The landscape changed again, and signs for the hospital caught my attention.
“Is this it?” I asked, just to break the silence, needing the sound to ground me.
“Yeah. Just need to park in the multistory.”
Wide-eyed, I nodded, my pulse picking up speed. What the hell was I even doing here? What if Jayden was so annoyed with me, he told me to disappear? What if he was injured worse than I thought, and I lost my shit?
I cleared my throat when Amber cut the engine after parking. “Does he know I’m coming?”
Her warm gaze met mine. “I don’t think so. He hasn’t been with it enough, I don’t think, but I haven’t heard anything from Nate for a couple of hours, so that could have changed.”
I bobbed my head and exited her car.
“I’m going to get you to his room. Ryan and Nate will be there, then I have to get back to Ivy.”
Guilt raised its head. I hadn’t even considered she’d left her kid to come and pick me up. We moved toward the elevator, and I shot her an apologetic smile. “I didn’t ask how Ivy was doing. Sorry. And sorry you had to come and get me.”
Amber waved me off as we stepped into the elevator, and she hit one of the buttons. “I don’t mind at all. She’s happy with Gran. And the last thing you need to worry about is my girl, not when you’re worried about your friend.”
My heart squeezed tight.Friend. What if Jayden no longer considered me his friend since I’d fucked up?
A huff of air escaped me as we stepped out onto a corridor. I followed Amber’s lead as we traveled along the mazelike path toward Jayden’s room.
A few minutes later, we were rubbing our hands in antibacterial gel and stepping onto a quiet, pristine ward. The whole place looked clean and weirdly calm. “This is the private hospital,” Amber commented, and I realized my brows had shot high when I looked around the place. “Saying that, the main hospital isn’t much different, just bigger. The whole hospital isn’t that old.”
She waved at a middle-aged nurse as we passed by the nurses’ station. “They already know who you are.”
Between the loud pounding in my ears and my heavy footsteps, I could barely hear her. I managed a weak “Thanks” before hesitating at the door she pushed open.
Curiosity filled her gaze when she looked back at me. The look morphed into understanding when she reached out and squeezed my arm. “You’ll be fine and so will he.” With that, she stepped away, and I had no choice but to follow her in.
