Sebastian (The Beck Brothers #2) (18 page)

  Sebastian woke up around 9:00 am.
He took a shower, grabbed some breakfast, then headed to Jared's to apologize
in person. Jared didn't see patients on the weekends, so Sebastian was going to
knock on his front door. He hoped he was home. When Sebastian pulled into
Jared's driveway, the SUV was there, so Sebastian was guessing that Jared was
home.

  Sebastian walked up the front
steps and rang the doorbell. He was actually a bit nervous. He didn't know how
Jared would feel about seeing him. Sebastian had pushed him around a little
bit. He wouldn't be surprised if Jared didn't want to talk to him. The door
opened a minute later, revealing Jared in gym shorts and a t-shirt, which was
weird because Sebastian has only ever seen him in dress pants, shirt, and tie.

Jared blinked in surprise. "Sebastian."

"Hey, Jared, can I come in?" Sebastian
asked.

Jared moved aside and let Sebastian into
his house. Sebastian thanked him as he walked by, closing the door behind them.

“How are you?" Jared asked,
clapping Sebastian on the back.

Sebastian frowned down at the man, confused
by his friendliness. "Better. I came to apologize for the other day. I was
way
out of
line."

Jared smiled and gestured for Sebastian
to have a seat on the couch. He sat on the couch, but left his coat on, since
he wasn't going to stay long. Jared sunk into a plush leather arm chair
adjacent to him. "It's fine, Sebastian. I completely understand. I'm
guessing you spoke to Raelynn?"

Sebastian nodded. "We talked last
night."

"And everything is okay with you
two?" Jared asked.

Sebastian smiled. "We're back
together if that's what you're asking."

Jared smiled. "Yes, that's what I
wanted to know."

Sebastian's smile faded. "So now
that I know you two are related, are you still able to be my therapist?"

"If you want me to be." Jared
nodded.

"I do."

"Good." Jared smiled again.

  A phone rang somewhere in the
house, but stopped after two rings. Sebastian assumed that Jared's wife picked
it up. Jared just opened his mouth to say something when he was cut off by a
heart-wrenching scream. Both Jared and Sebastian were on their feet and running
within seconds. Jared skidded into what looked like an office, with Sebastian
right on his heels. His wife was sitting on the floor with her head in her
hands, sobbing uncontrollably. The phone receiver lay on the floor next to her.
Jared grabbed the phone and put it to his ear.

"Hello? Jillian, slow down, what's
going on?" Jared listened for a moment before his eyes shot up and locked
on Sebastian's, his face pale. "Uh huh, what hospital? Okay, we'll be
there as soon as possible. Okay, bye Jillian," Jared murmured and hung up
the phone before dropping it onto the desk.

Dread twisted Sebastian's gut. What the
fuck was going on? Why was Jared looking at him like that? "What is
it?" Sebastian asked hoarsely.

"It's Raelynn,” Jared said grimly.

Sebastian started shaking his head.
"Don't tell me she's dead, Jared,” Sebastian choked, tears welling up in
his eyes.

"No, she's not. But she's been shot,
and they’re not sure if she's going to make it," Jared rasped. "We
need to get to Jefferson."

  Without another word, Sebastian
turned and ran out of the house. He jumped into his truck and tore out of the
driveway. He was frantic, every fiber of his being screamed at him to move. He
had to get to the hospital, he couldn't lose her. They just made up and needed
more time together. Sebastian fought the urge to puke his guts up the entire
ride. He parked his truck in the hospital garage and ran for the emergency
room. He skidded to a halt when a familiar voice called his name.

Sebastian spun to see Raelynn's best
friend, Nicole. She was in the waiting room, standing with a few other people.
Sebastian rushed over to her and grabbed her shoulders. "What's going on?"
he asked frantically.

Nicole gripped his elbows. "They
just took her in for surgery. Apparently, when she went to the home of the
suspected killer, he was there and shot her. She was shot in the chest and
stomach. Both bullets went through her vest. They need to repair the damage
from the bullets. She also fell down the steps she was standing on and cracked
her skull. Her brain is swollen..."

  Sebastian felt his knees go weak
and the blood drain out of his face. Nicole must have seen it too because she
helped him sit in the chair that was behind him. Sebastian rubbed his suddenly
aching chest with the heel of his palm. He swallowed back the bile that rose in
his throat. This could not be happening.

"Do they know if she's gonna make
it?" He croaked, gagging on the thought.

Nicole brushed away a tear that slipped
from the corner of her eye. "They're not sure," she whispered.

  A tortured sound tore out of him
before he could stop it. Sebastian shoved his hands into his hair and started
to rock slightly in his chair. It was something he always did when he was
upset. It used to soothe him when he was a kid, but now it was more like a
habit. It didn't really help to calm him anymore. What the fuck was he going to
do? He couldn't handle losing another woman he loved- this was going to be the
end of him - he couldn't go through another funeral. Oh god, he was going to lose
his fucking mind for sure this time.

  The waiting room filled up around
him with Raelynn's family and co-workers. Sebastian alternated between sitting
and pacing. He couldn't stand not knowing what was going on. They've only had
one update since she went into surgery, and that was about an hour ago. Jared handed
him water about half an hour ago without a word, he seemed to know that
Sebastian was in no condition to talk. It took one more hour before the surgeon
who worked on Raelynn to come into the waiting room.

"Where is Raelynn Reynolds'
family?" The doctor called.

  Raelynn's parents, grandparents,
sisters, and their husbands rushed over to him. Sebastian hated that he was
left out, but he wasn't family. He was her boyfriend, and in hospitals that
meant jack shit. Therefore, he waited, his hands laced together on the top of
his head. He was sure his hair was sticking straight up by now.

  The doctor spoke to the family for
a good fifteen to twenty minutes, long enough to make Sebastian antsy. He
shifted from side to side, and watched the doctor's grim face as he spoke. He couldn't
hear anything that the doctor was saying, but judging from the look on his
face, it wasn't good. Sebastian's stomach couldn't take much more. He has been
fighting off the nausea since he first found out. Finally, the doctor left and
Jared headed straight for Sebastian, his face closed off, which made Sebastian
worry more.

"What did he say?" Sebastian
swallowed hard. He tried to prepare himself for the worst, but he knew nothing
would prepare him for losing Raelynn.

"It doesn't look good, Sebastian.
The doctor said that she died in surgery twice but they were able to revive
her," Jared murmured, raking a hand down the side of his face. "They
were able to repair the damage the bullets made. The doctor said that the chest
wound was pretty bad. The bullet nicked her heart, and she almost bled out
before even getting to the hospital. The stomach wound wasn't as bad, and the
doctor was able to repair all of the damage with no problems. Now they are
mostly worried about the swelling of her brain. They’re putting her in a
medically induced coma to try to get the swelling to go down."

Sebastian scrubbed a hand over his mouth.
"Will she be okay?" Sebastian asked, voice trembling.

"Right now it's a waiting game. They
plan to keep her in the coma until the swelling in her brain is completely
gone. They don’t know how long that will take. He said if she makes it through
the first twenty-four hours, her chances of survival greatly increase. They are
also worried about infection."

Sebastian blinked, the tears that had
been building up finally falling. "Will I..." Sebastian cleared the
emotion from his throat. "Will I be able to see her?"

Jared sighed. "The doctor said
‘family only’ because they are putting her in intensive care. She is only
allowed two visitors at a time, but let me talk to Bianna. If she's okay with
it, I'll let you go in with her."

"You would do that...for me?"
Sebastian asked roughly.

Jared put his hands on Sebastian's
shoulders. "I know how much she means to you Sebastian. So yeah, I would do
that for you."

"Thank you," he whispered.

Jared nodded. "I'll be back, let me
talk to Bianna."

  Sebastian nodded and watched Jared
go to his crying wife. He rubbed her arms as he talked to her. Sebastian didn't
want to get his hopes up because Bianna might say no. She said something to
Jared, who replied. She looked over at Sebastian, her sympathy and
understanding clear in her tear-filled eyes. She looked back at Jared and
nodded. He smiled softly and gave her a gentle kiss before heading back over to
Sebastian.

"She says it's okay with her,"
Jared said.

  Sebastian nodded. He couldn't even
say anything. His throat clogged and tightened as he tried to hold himself
together. Sebastian put one hand over his eyes while propping the other on his
hip. He tried to take a few deep breaths, but nothing seemed to be working. He
really didn't want to sob like a fucking baby in front of Raelynn's family. Her
parents were here, and he hadn't even met them yet. It wasn't really the best
time to introduce himself.

"Jared, I keep seeing you come over
here. Who are you talking to?" an elderly female voice asked.

 
Shit!
Sebastian quickly collected himself and
dropped his hand to see who came over. It was an older woman, probably in her
eighties. She had the standard old lady hairdo and glasses. She actually looked
really great for her age. She was moving well and seemed mentally sharp. Her
light blue eyes scanned over Sebastian from behind her large glasses.

"Nana, this is Raelynn's boyfriend,
Sebastian Beck. Sebastian, this is Nana, Eloise Reynolds," Jared
introduced.

Nana's eyes lit up and a huge smile made
her wrinkled face look years younger. "Oooh, this is the man my little
Rae-Rae has been talking about?"

"Yes, this is him," Jared
answered.

Nana moved forward, her soft hands
grabbing one of his. "Oh my, you're a handsome one aren't you?" Nana
Eloise smirked up at him. She was shorter than Raelynn. Sebastian literally
towered over her.

Sebastian forced a tight smile. "Thank
you, ma'am."

"None of the ma'am stuff now. You'll
call me ‘Nana’ like everyone else," Nana said firmly, patting the hand she
held in hers.

"Okay," Sebastian whispered.

Nana frowned up at him. She reached up
and cupped his face. "I can see you're upset, honey, but my little Rae-Rae
is a strong woman, and she'll make it through," Nana said gently.

  Sebastian could only nod. Nana
gave his hand a squeeze then walked away. He wished he had met her during
better circumstances; she seemed like a wonderful lady. Hopefully, Raelynn will
pull through, and he could meet the rest of her family. She was always so busy
that she barely saw them herself, let alone has time to introduce Sebastian to
them.

  When the time came for them to go
see Raelynn, Jared put his arm around Sebastian's shoulders and led him
upstairs with the family. The ICU floor was quiet, except for the nurses moving
around. There was a waiting room for them to sit in, since only two people could
visit Raelynn at a time. Her parents went first. They both came back crying fifteen
minutes later. Both sets of grandparents went, and then her sister, Elise, and
her husband, Tim, went. Finally, Sebastian and Bianna got their turn.