┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Critical ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ Chapter 32: Critical (Ava's POV) I pulled up to the hospital and by the time I turned the car off, grabbed the keys, and got out, rushing towards the doors, Rhys' parents had arrived too. I wiped my cheeks quickly and rushed up the entrance steps, pushing open the double glass door and running over to the front desk. "Hi, there, how can I help…" She trailed off, recognizing me. "We're really sorry, Mrs. Ava." "Where is he?" My voice shook with each word and a sob was just waiting to burst out. "Third floor, room number sixteen. He'll be shifted to that room but he's still in surgery." His parents appeared, asking the same question, all three of us rushing to the elevator. Which had a long cue. I bit back a frustrated scream, a few more stubborn tears slipping out. I glanced at the emergency staircase and ran over, pushing it open and quickly ascending to the third floor. I was out of breath by the time I got there, but I got there. I spotted the operation theatre and ran over, my heels hitting the tile floor loudly. I stopped in front of the waiting bench and grabbed the wall for support, catching my breath, crying all over again. I wanted to sit down but my legs wouldn't move to let me and it felt like I would fall if I let go of the wall. I lowered my head, a cry racking through my body. I managed to keep my mouth shut and not make any noise but I stood there and cried, feeling every little inch of myself break. I slowly let go of the wall to sit down and nearly lost my balance but somebody caught me in time. I turned around, meeting Ashton's eyes. "Ava," he mumbled, looking extremely distressed. He looked like he would cry any minute too. "Ashton he's…" I only bawled harder. "They don't know if he'll make it," I sniffled. "He has to make it! How could this happen?!" I was screaming now and I didn't care. "Ashton, I don't know what I'm going to do without him." "He's going to be fine," he nodded, trying to reassure me. He pulled me into a hug, patting my back. "Everything's going to be fine, don't worry. It's Rhys, of course, he'll make it," he forced out a chuckle. "Ashton I'm scared," I managed between my sobs. "I know," he mumbled, pulling away. He sat me down and fell into the seat beside mine. "I'm waiting for mom and dad to get here. Then I'm going straight to the police, okay? They're going to arrest him, I promise. I'll make sure they do. Don't worry, okay? You need to be strong." I leaned back, my head hitting the wall with a soft thud while I closed my eyes, still crying. "Ava, listen to me." He grabbed my hand. "You need to be strong. When Rhys gets out of that surgery and when he wakes up soon, he's going to need you. He'll need you to heal himself. He's going to need your help and support. You need to catch yourself. Don't fall apart, Ava, please." I glanced at the OT, my eyes welling with fresh tears. "Please, Ava. Please," Ashton begged, giving my hand a little tug. I turned back to face him. "What if he doesn't make it?" I asked softly, my voice breaking. "Don't say that, come on. He'll make it, you know he will. We all know he'll make it. He can't leave you, we know he won't. Everything is going to be okay." "Ashton," I cried again, putting my head on his shoulder. "I don't even know what happened." "Nobody knows, Ava. But Rhys is going to tell us when he wakes up, all right? And nobody saw it happen but the citizens all saw Liam driving away, they're making sure he can't leave town too. They're witnesses. Liam won't get away with it." "I don't care!" I snapped, pulling back to look at him. I knew people around were staring at me but I couldn't care less. "I don't care what happens to him! All I care about is Rhys! I need him to be okay, he has to be okay!" We looked over as my parents and Rhys' parents walked over. My parents were consoling his. Mrs. Gemma was just as hysterical as me and Mr. Phoenix was visibly trying to hold himself together but barely managing. Ashton looked torn between leaving me here and going to the police. But Liam needs to be caught. "Go," I exhaled, wiping my cheeks and trying with everything in me to hold myself together. "Go, just go. Go to the police," I said sternly. He stood up, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze, and then ran back downstairs. Ashton's right. When Rhys wakes up, he'll need me to be strong, his parents here will need their daughter-in-law to be strong. I have to be strong. I can't break, not now. My parents won't be living with us in the palace, Rhys and his family need me right now. I need to be there for them, they're my family too. We all shot up as the OT doors opened and the surgeon walked out while taking his mask off. He knew all of us. He sighed, taking the hairnet off. "He's very critical." Mrs. Gemma fell back into her seat. "What happened?" I asked, hoping my voice didn't waver as I spoke. "I assume nobody witnessed it, which is why nobody knew, but it wasn't just a crash. He was shot." I wiped away a stray tear. "The bullet grazed his heart but the shooter had bad aim. He lost a lot of blood between the crash injuries and the bullet wound. He should make it. He's out of danger, technically. But it all depends on how his body heals. We can't say anything. He needs to be taken care of and he'll be under watch twenty-four/seven. I'd suggest somebody stay here with him." "I'll stay," I said quickly. He nodded at me. "We'll shift him to his room soon, you can wait there." Then the doctor left. Bullet. A bullet wound. Liam shot him. He really wants him dead instead of king. "Dad," I said but both, my dad and Mr. Phoenix looked up. "I think someone should call Ashton and tell him about the bullet wound." I wiped my cheeks again when fresh tears fell. While my father went to give him a call, I walked to the water cooler, grabbing two cups and filling them up with water. I took them to Mr. and Mrs. Archer, handing them one each. "Please have some water," I requested. "He's going to be all right," I reassured. He has to be.