Finding You (By You #3) (19 page)

"What happened?" he said, still gasping. He tried to roll over and let out a groan of pain. "Fuck, that hurts."

Sarah put a hand on his chest, trying to stop him from getting up.

"Don't move, I'm going to call an ambulance."

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," Billie said. "It's going to cost a fortune, and there's going to be more questions than you're prepared to answer."

"He needs to go to the hospital, there could be something wrong, you know, on the inside, or something."

Billie rolled her eyes, and stepped over Huck on her way out. Before leaving, though, she crouched down over him, pointing a finger in his face.

"You got off easy," she said, fixing him with a glare before disappearing down the hallway.

Huck and Sarah both stared after her before their eyes met.

"Stay right here," she said. "I'm going to grab my phone."

Huck shook his head and put his hand on her forearm. He winced as he did.

"It's fine. I'll be fine. I think."

"You're going to the hospital if I have to drag you there myself."

He looked up at her, his jaw set and rigid. But he nodded.

"Okay, fine," he said. She tried to get up and get her phone again, but he held onto her. "But, no ambulance."

Sarah looked him over, again, her mind racing to think about everything that might be wrong with him, everything that might get worse if she didn't call an ambulance right away, but she couldn't think of anything. What did she know? She wasn't a paramedic. Hell she'd never even had stitches, before.

Footsteps echoed behind her, and she turned to see Reagan standing in the doorway, staring down in shocked confusion.

"Jesus, what happened? Are you two okay?"

Sarah let out a relieved breath. "God, I'm glad to see you. Can you help me get him up?"

Reagan jumped to the other side of Huck, and bent down to help out. Huck hooked his arms around their necks and they were able to lift him to his feet. Sarah clung to him, letting him steady himself against her.

Reagan looked between the two of them, confusion in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't think you two have met," Sarah said. "Reagan this is--"

"Huck. I know." She eyed him up and down, the concern in her face slowly being replaced with suspicion. "I recognize him from the pictures you had."

"Right." Sarah had forgotten the pictures she'd had when Reagan had first come over to her room all those weeks ago. They had been quickly taken down and packed away in a dark place after Huck had broken things off.

"I've got to get him to the hospital."

"Do you want me to come with?"

Sarah shook her head. "We should be fine. I'll call you if I need anything."

Reagan looked between them again, fixing Huck with a hard stare, before nodding.

"I'll help you down to the car, at least," she said.

"Thanks."

Reagan grabbed Sarah's things and the three of them slowly made their way out to her car. The other students stared after them as they walked across campus, but by the time they made it to the parking lot, Huck was almost able to support all of his own weight. But, still, Sarah wasn't about to take any chances. She insisted that they still go get him checked out at the hospital, just to be safe. His mom would never forgive her if she found out Sarah had done anything less. And, while Huck was an asshole that didn't deserve to even talk to her, she still thought of his family as part of her own.

They made the short drive to the University Medical Center, and Sarah couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the situation. At first she hadn't wanted to talk to Huck, or to even see him, and now she was going to be stuck with him at the hospital for who knows how long.

She just wished she were more upset with Billie than she actually was. It was a dangerous thing she did, but it was also nice knowing her roommate had her back when push came to shove. Maybe she wasn't that bad of a roommate, after all. At least, not quite as bad as Sarah had first thought.

* * * * *

The emergency room at the hospital didn't look too busy when they got there, but from what little experience she had with them, Sarah knew that they could still be stuck there waiting for a while. Especially because Huck didn't seem to be in any real danger, anymore.

After he signed in at the nurse's station, they found two empty chairs in the corner of the waiting room. Everyone looked at them in bored, sickly sorts of ways, and Sarah knew she didn't want to be there any longer than she absolutely had to be.

Neither of them had said anything during the car ride. Neither of them had brought up what they had been talking about before everything happened. She was still angry at Huck for everything that he had done to her, but that didn't mean she couldn't be an adult about it. Yes, he was an asshole, and no, he didn't deserve her forgiveness. But that didn't mean she wouldn't give it, eventually. She'd never forget what he'd done, but maybe one day they could be friends, again.

"So you're dating that guy?" Huck said. He didn't look at her when he spoke, rather just shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"His name is Jeremy," Sarah reminded him. "And yes, we're seeing each other."

Huck chewed on his lip for a second.

"Is it serious?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

His head slumped forward, and he rubbed his face with both hands.

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to pry, it's just...it's weird."

"Why is it
weird
that I'm dating someone? Did you think I was just going to sit around and be single the rest of my life?"

He shook his head. "That's not how I meant it. I mean it's just weird in general. We've grown up our whole lives together, and it's weird to think about you being with someone else."

"You know I dated guys before you, right?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but that was high school. Those relationships aren't meant to last."

She scowled at him. "Just because
your
high school relationship wasn't that serious to you, doesn't mean it's like that for everyone."

He let out a sigh and finally looked over at her. He looked defeated. Like he'd had the wind completely knocked out of him, and he'd given up trying to regain his breath.

"Do you like him?" he asked.

"Of course I like him, I wouldn't be dating him if I didn't."

Huck nodded as though he agreed it had been a stupid question. He chewed on his lip some more, looking like there was something else he wanted to ask. Finally, he came out with it.

"Are you in love with him?"

Sarah opened her mouth to tell him it was none of his business, but her words fell short as she considered the question. Love was a tricky thing, and she'd never really had to give it serious thought before. With Huck, she knew she loved him. It was just what she was supposed to do, it was how she was supposed to feel. They'd known each other for so long, shared holidays together, gone on vacations together. She knew everything about him. It had just made sense.

But how was she supposed to know if she loved someone else?

She guessed she would just know it when she knew it. That felt like a cheap way of settling for something, but she didn't have a better answer for herself. She hoped that if the day ever did come that she fall in love with Jeremy, she'd know it right away.

Hopefully he will love you back
.

Huck was still looking at her, his soft eyes dying for her to answer.

"No, I don't think so. Not yet, anyway."

He nodded and rubbed his face with his hands, again. She watched him for a second.

"What about you? Are you seeing anyone in particular?"

He rolled a shoulder, noncommittally.

"No one worth mentioning."

Sarah nodded and tried not to feel like she'd just come out ahead, like she'd won some kind of race. It's not like she was in a competition to see who could settle down the fastest. She wanted to love, and be loved, genuinely. Not because it was something she was supposed to do. And definitely not so she could one-up her ex.

But still, the miserable look on Huck's face made her feel a
little
better. Not that she wanted him to be unhappy, but she wasn't exactly rooting for him, either.

"I'm sure you'll find someone," she said, trying not to sound patronizing.

He shook his head. "I don't know. What if I already did and I messed it all up? What if there's only one person out there for us, and if you miss your chance then you're doomed to a lifetime of unhappiness."

"I don't think that's how love works. I think you'll meet someone and you'll give your heart to them. After that, you just have to pray they'll give you theirs in return."

He looked up at her again, a compassionate look, like he were seeing something in her for the first time.

"When did you get so smart?"

She shook her head, her lip curling in a half-grin.

"I've always been this smart,
you
were just too dumb to realize it."

"You're probably right."

"I know I am."

His eyes fell down to her lips before returning to her eyes. Not too long ago that would have had some affect on her, but not anymore.

"I really am sorry for what I did to you. I know I was a complete asshole and don't even deserve to be sitting here next to you right now."

She gave him a hard look, battling the anger that still warmed her chest anytime she thought about what he'd done to her. But she kept it at bay. It was getting easier and easier to do that, lately.

"You're right. You are an asshole, and you don't deserve to be sitting here next to me." Huck got a worried look on his face as Sarah took a soft breath and steadied herself. "But that doesn't mean I don't still care for you. As much as I hate it, you're always going to be an important part of my life."

"Do you ever think that, maybe one day far away from now, we'll be together again?"

Sarah gave him a long and hard look while she thought about the question. He deserved at least that much, right?

"No," she said. "I'll never date you again, Huck. I respect myself too much to let myself do it again."

He winced, and looked away, but he didn't argue with her. He slumped back in his chair and rested his head on the wall with his eyes closed. She genuinely hoped that he had gotten off his chest whatever it was he had to say. She didn't have the answers he wanted to hear, but that was just the way it had to be.

Sarah sat back in her own chair and took a deep, relieved breath. She wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but she felt like a gigantic weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She was glad she'd taken the time to talk with Huck. Maybe it had been exactly what she needed, too--closure, so she could really move on from him.

So she could really move on to Jeremy.

Thinking of Jeremy, she grabbed her phone out of her purse. She was relieved that she hadn't missed any calls from him when she noticed that she didn't have any cell service inside the hospital.

"I'll be right back," she said, but Huck didn't even look up.

When she got outside, the service bars kicked up to full, and two missed calls came through along with a text message.

Hope you're having a great day. Can't wait to see you later.

Sarah grinned and punched out a response.

My day will get a whole lot better when I'm with you. =]

No sooner had the message gone through, than her phone lit up and buzzed. Jeremy's face appeared on the screen, and she couldn't help but smile.

"That was fast," she said, answering the phone.

"What can I say, I've been wanting to hear your voice."

"You're too sweet to me."

"What are you up to?"

Sarah hesitated for a second. For a split second, she wondered whether or not she should tell him the truth. She didn't want him getting the wrong idea about Huck, and why she was at the hospital with him.

But she pushed that thought aside. She had nothing to hide, and she hated lying.

"I'm at the hospital, actually," she said.

"Is everything alright? Are you okay? Give me a few minutes, I'll be right down there." His voice was quick and panicked, and she heard some scuffling going on in the background.

She let out a small laugh.

"No, no, don't worry. Everything's fine--
I'm
fine. We just had a little incident back at the dorm and I had to bring someone here."

Jeremy let out a relieved sigh that she could hear through the receiver.

"What happened? It wasn't your friend Reagan, was it?"

"No, it wasn't her." She hesitated again, knowing the hard part was coming up. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but it's Huck."

"Huck?" Jeremy's voice sounded confused. "Your
ex-boyfriend
, Huck?"

"Yeah. He stopped by because he wanted to talk about something, but when Billie saw him, she kind of went ballistic." She let out a nervous laugh. "In case you're wondering, that girl is packing some heat."

There was a long silence on the other end before Jeremy let out a deep breath.

"I'm starting to like her more and more." He paused again, before adding, "You're sure you're okay? I can come down there if you want company."

Sarah was taken aback by the complete lack of anger in his voice. She'd expected him to be at least a little upset with her for being there with her ex, but it seemed like his only concern was for her.

"No, it's fine. I hope we're not here too much longer." He really was too sweet to her, and even though she hadn't done anything wrong, she felt guilty for being there with Huck. "Can I come over when I leave here?"

"I'd like that," he said.

The smile on her face stretched from ear to ear.

"Me, too."

Jeremy drummed his fingers on his desk after he hung up the phone. His nerves were wound as tight as they'd ever been, and he felt like he needed to punch something and release some of that tension before he exploded.

He hoped Sarah couldn't tell how crazy it made him to hear that she was with Huck. He banged his hand into the desk as he thought about the two of them spending time together.