Before he could answer, a shout came from above us in the cage. “Make way,” a man’s voice yelled.
I turned and saw it was one of the medics helping Hunter. They had put him on a stretcher and were trying to get through the crowd to what I guessed would be an ambulance waiting at the front entrance to the bar. People were still packed in tightly, so they put the stretcher down at the top of the steps while one medic went to clear space. The other stayed behind and watched over Hunter.
I peered down at the stretcher and got a clear look at Hunter. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach. His left eye was swollen nearly shut and his right wasn’t far behind. Bruises and cuts marred the area around his cheeks and eyes.
The worst was his nose. The medics had wiped away most of the blood and tried to clot it with gauze, but there was still plenty smeared around the lower half of his face. The way it was turned awkwardly to the left made it clear it was broken.
Tears formed in my eyes. Seeing the man I loved so horribly injured crushed my heart. “Hunter, I’m sorry,” I said, my vision a blur. “I’m sorry about this whole mess. I just wanted to see you one last time and talk to you. I’m sorry Hunter.”
His eyes fluttered open and he looked toward me unfocused. He opened his mouth slightly but no words came out. The small smile that crept onto his lips made me sick with sorrow.
“Dude,” Gary said unsteadily next to me, “are you with us? What’s your name?”
His eyes slid over toward Gary; they were badly dilated. “Hunter,” he slurred.
My heart leaped at the small positive sign. Even if he was slurring his speech, at least he knew who he was.
I looked up at the medic that had stayed with Hunter, desperate for any sliver of hope. “He woke up. That’s good, right?”
The man whose nametag said his name was Nick nodded. “Yeah, that’s good. If we can get him to the hospital quickly he should be okay. You never know, but waking up is positive.”
He should be okay. The thought that Hunter might not be okay—that something might be permanently wrong with him—nearly paralyzed me. Hopefully Nick was right and Hunter would be fine now that he had woken up.
“Lorrie?” Hunter said softly. His eyes darted from my face to the lights at the Bearded Squirrel and back to me lazily. The in and out movement of his breathing had slowed down to a normal rate, which seemed good. It was another sign he would pull through.
The thoughts that had rushed through my mind when I saw him on the mat—that I loved him, that I was leaving him, and that he was badly hurt—finally caught up to me. I began to cry. Sob after sob seized my body so hard I could barely breathe. How had things gone so wrong so fast in our lives?
I wiped my eyes with my sleeve, trying to calm down. “Hunter,” I choked out. “It’s not your fault I’m leaving. I’m so sorry. I wish I had a choice.”
“Lorrie no,” he slurred. He opened his eyes as wide as he could, but they had swollen so badly that it wasn’t much. It made me feel ill to watch him struggle.
He finally pulled his eyes into focus and stared at me through the purple and black of his bruises. “Lorrie, don’t go,” he muttered again.
I blinked away fresh tears. “I’m sorry, Hunter. I have to. If I don’t take care of myself right now, I’m afraid of what’s going to happen to me.”
“No, no no no,” he trailed off. His eyes drifted unfocused then shut.
My stomach dropped. What was happening to him? I thought once he had woken up he would stay awake. I looked up at Gary, who seemed to be in shock.
“Help!” I yelled. “His eyes closed again.”
Nick, who had been watching his partner clear a path to the exit, looked back at us over his shoulder. “Keep talking to him,” he said. “We’re almost done clearing a path.”
“Hunter,” I pleaded, clasping his hand. “Please wake up.”
I held my breath, every dreadful second dragging on. What if he didn’t wake up? Could I leave Studsen if I wasn’t sure Hunter would be okay?
His eyes shot open and relief coursed through my veins. He grabbed toward my hand clumsily, making contact with my fingers but not holding on. “I should have told you, Lorrie . . . You wouldn’t change. You could still see me.”
I shook my head, frantically trying to decipher the meaning of his words. “Hunter, I’m right here with you.”
He made another grab at my hand. “I’m sorry,” he said, trailing off. “You don’t have to go.”
His eyes shut once more. Gary, who had been silent, looked up at me, forehead wrinkled with worry. Hunter was breathing hard again with his nostrils flared. Gary’s face twisted in panic. “You’re stressing him out,” he answered. “You need to get out of here before he gets worse.”
My face burned with frustration. “Why do you keep blaming me for everything?”
“Because I’ve watched you turn him into a f**king trainwreck!”
I balled up my fists, barely able to control my rage. My jaw was clenched tight. “What does that mean?’
Rather than respond with something nasty, Gary watched as Nick’s partner came back.
“We’ve got a clear path here,” the medic said. He and Nick hefted Hunter’s stretcher up and began walking it to the ambulance.
“Where are you taking him?” I asked anxiously, walking alongside them. Gary followed close behind.
“Arrowhart College Hospital,” Nick replied.
I nodded, my heart racing. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Should be,” Nick said as we neared the ambulance. “It will be important that he recover over the next twenty-four hours, but once he’s in the hospital he’ll be in good hands. I would be very surprised if he had any permanent injuries from this. Nose might be messed up, but nothing worse.”
Gary sighed behind me. “God I hope not,” he said.
We stopped when we got to the ambulance. Nick and his partner paused in front of the vehicle’s back door.
“One of you can ride with us to the hospital,” Nick said.
“I will,” Gary and I said simultaneously.
Nick grimaced. “I’m sorry, but we can only fit one.”
“You’re not coming,” Gary said to me sternly. He towered over me, his stare rooting me to my spot.
Blood rushed to my face, making it feel extra hot against the cold wind. “Why not?”