“I know,” she says. “Sage probably has a concussion, but I’m sure he’ll be fine. We need to stay optimistic. No point thinking the worst…” she trails off.
When I finally spot my dad in the crowd, I grab Miriah’s arm and rush over. “Have you heard anything?” I ask when I reach him and my mom.
“Not yet, no,” Dad says. “Never seen anything like that,” he grumbles, which doesn’t exactly help.
I pull out my phone, intending to call Tal when his name lights up on the screen with an incoming call.
“It’s Tal,” I tell them before I answer. “Tal, how is he?”
“Not great, but at least he’s conscious again. The ambulance is taking him to the local hospital for tests. That’s all I know right now.”
“We’ll meet you there,” I say in a rush. Not only am I worried about Sage, but this can’t be easy on Tal either – watching his brother go down and not wake up for so long.
“Good. See you then,” he says.
“He’s conscious,” I tell Miriah and my parents with a sigh of relief. “Tal says they’re going to do some tests. I want to go, to be there at the hospital even if all we can do is wait.”
“Jesus. I hope the boy is okay,” Dad says.
“Yeah, me too,” I agree.
For the next few hours, time slows down as I sit or pace in the hospital waiting room that is full of friends from Havoc. Everyone is uneasy. Linc, Sage’s dad, came out to tell us they were doing an MRI and it could take another hour or more to get the results from the doctor.
After about two hours or so, Linc and the twin’s mom Claire come out, both looking extremely relieved. “He’s going to be fine,” his mom says, which is met with applause from all of us.
“He has a concussion,” Linc adds when we all get out of our seats to give him and Claire a hug. “There is some swelling of his brain, so they’re going to keep him tonight to make sure it doesn’t get any worse. If it doesn’t, he’ll be able to go home tomorrow.”
“Thank fuck,” Mace mutters to which Miriah rolls her eyes and says, “Dad, we’re in public!”
“Thank fuck is right,” Linc says with a chuckle. “Anyway, we appreciate you all coming out to watch the fight and waiting around here. It means a lot to us. I could probably sneak some of you back to see Sage before you leave.”
Several of the guys follow Linc and Claire back to the locked doors, and Linc holds it open for everyone to go through. Then he turns to me and says, “Aren’t you coming, Eden?’
“Oh, well, I want to, but I wasn’t sure…”
“He would never admit it, but I’m sure Tal could use a friend after this stressful night.”
“Yeah, me too,” I agree. “I’ll be right back,” I promise Miriah.
“Go on, take your time. I can ride back home with my parents and brother.”
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Yes, go! Call me later,” she says when she gives me a quick hug.
“Okay. Have a safe trip home,” I reply before I jog to the door Linc is still holding open. “Thanks,” I say to him, meaning for more than the door but for letting me go back.
“You know we still think of you as family,” Linc tells me as he leads the way down the hall to the large group filling one of the hospital room doors.
I’m not sure how to respond to that, so I don’t say anything. At one time, years ago, I did feel like I was part of the Abrams family. Then the breakup happened; and while Linc may refer to me as Tal’s girlfriend, he’s mistaken.
Speak of the devil…Tal slips out of the room just as we approach.
“Hey,” he says before he throws his inked, muscular arms around me. I hate that he smells so strongly of alcohol and weed, but it occurs so frequently lately that I’ve started to find it…comforting. No matter how many times I’ve tried to get him to drink and smoke less, it hasn’t done any good. Tal doesn’t listen to anyone. The more you tell him not to do something, the more he enjoys doing it.
“How are you holding up?” I ask when I pull back.
“Me? I’m not the one who took that asshole’s knee to the head,” he grits out. “I’ll fucking kill Cyrus with my bare hands the next time I see his cheating ass.”
“The IFC will handle him. He’ll probably be disqualified from the league for the rest of his life,” I assure him. “Right now, you just need to worry about Sage. I’m so glad it wasn’t anything more serious.”
“Yeah, me too,” he agrees. “Concussions are no biggie. Every fighter gets one now and then, and we always recover.”
“Yeah,” I say, even though I know they can be more dangerous than he’s letting on.
“Come on. I know you want to see him for yourself,” Tal says with a smirk before he takes my hand and pulls me into the crowd at the door until we’re standing in front of everyone.
It is a huge relief to see Sage sitting up in bed in his hospital gown, not only awake but with a smile on his face as he talks to everyone.
When he sees us, his handsome face brightens even more.
“There’s my girl! I was wondering where you were,” Sage says. At first, I think I must have misheard him, but then the rest of the room goes completely silent.
“What did you say?” Tal asks, quickly dropping my hand while I glance over my shoulder to try and figure out which woman he’s talking to. I didn’t know he was dating anyone. In fact, that idea makes me furious since he broke up with me to focus on training.
But other than his mom Claire, who is on
