Chapter 144: A Terrible Feeling
Chapter 144: A Terrible Feeling
ETHAN
Shit. I just needed to call a damn taxi.
I had planned everything. Get done what I needed to do and get back as quickly as possible. Then, get enough sleep on the flight and go straight home to crawl into bed with her.
Everything was going smoothly… until now.
I had to screw up and forget the damn charger in the checked bag.
Fuck. I took a deep breath, trying to convince myself it was due to the rush—and that, despite being mentally exhausted, I had done well.
Unfortunately, even sleeping through almost the entire flight hadn’t been enough to fix that.
Finally finding the charger, I yanked it out from the middle of my things so hard I almost broke the cable.
Closing the suitcase, I plugged the cable into an outlet and waited for the phone to turn on, looking around.
Since it was early morning, the terminal was almost empty, which spared me the embarrassment of being seen opening my suitcase in the middle of the airport.
A minute later, the phone finally turned on.
However, I barely had time to unlock it, because the moment it found a signal, notifications started flooding the screen.
First one.
Then another.
And then dozens.
A flood of them, one after another.
Not just messages, but also missed calls.
What the fuck was going on?
I felt my whole body tense and my heart race with apprehension as I stared at the names repeating on the screen.
Ellie.
Ben.
Will.
Zoe.
My mom…
Fuck.
This couldn’t be good.
I had a terrible feeling.
With trembling fingers and feeling a knot begin to form in my throat, I clicked on one of the notifications with Ellie’s name.
Shit.
Reading her first message was enough to alarm me. But it was the desperation in all of them that made my chest tighten.
There were many, and as my eyes scanned each one, I felt my distress grow, making me break out in a cold sweat.
She seemed desperate, pleading for me.
But the reason wasn’t clear. And not knowing what was happening nearly drove me insane.
So, I dialed her number.
She had to be okay.
I waited, feeling my anxiety increase with each passing second, only to hear the message that her phone was off or out of range and then be sent straight to voicemail.
Damn. How was that possible? What was going on?
Running a hand through my hair, almost desperate, my first impulse was to go straight to her apartment, but I decided to call Ben first.
He had to know what was happening, since he had called me so many times.
“Ethan?” he answered on the first ring, sounding both hesitant and surprised.
“Yes. Who else would it be?” I replied, finding it odd. “Can you tell me what the hell is going on? And why can’t I reach Ellie?”
“Shit…” he cursed, letting out a loud sigh, sounding relieved.
Then, the line went silent.
“Yes, it’s him,” I heard him say to someone.
“Ben?” I called impatiently.
“Shit, man… I thought you…” he sounded distraught. “Tell me you’re okay.”
“Yes, man. I’m fine,” I confirmed, confused. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I need you to tell me if you’ve spoken to Ellie.”
“Yes, we’re with her.”
“At your place? Is she okay?”
“No. We had to bring her to the hospital. But you…”
Hospital? Shit…
“What happened? Is she okay?” I interrupted, feeling true despair take over.
“Don’t worry, I think she’s out of danger now.”
“You think? Fuck… Tell me where you are. I’m on my way,” I said, yanking the charger from the outlet, hoping it had charged enough.
✽
Ben was waiting for me outside the hospital when I got out of the taxi.
He didn’t have much time to explain, since my phone died again, but from what I understood, they thought I was lost or dead because there had been an accident with our friend’s jet.
That would explain why he still seemed a bit shaken and tense when he approached to hug me.
A tight hug, enough to let me know he truly believed I was dead.
“Don’t ever do that again,” he warned, struggling to hold back.
“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling guilt consume me.
I had made a mistake. A stupid mistake that had caused a big mess. Worse, it had put the most important person to me at risk.
And if something had happened to her, I would never forgive myself.
“Please, tell me she’s okay.”
“She is. She’s recovering,” he said, finally stepping back.
“I need to see her.”
The truth is, I wanted to run into the hospital to make sure she was okay with my own eyes, but I was trying to be understanding, given the situation.
“Yes, but I think some people want to make sure you’re in one piece first. For example, our mom.”
“Shit. She’s here?”
He nodded. My mom’s presence only confirmed how much this whole mess had gotten out of control.
“We thought we had lost you. You’ll have a lot to explain.”
“Shit, man… I’m sorry for this mess,” I said, starting to drag my suitcase toward the hospital entrance. “Like I told you, I gave up the ride just before boarding after seeing the weather forecast.”
“That must be why your name was still on the passenger list.”
“Yes, but you know, I couldn’t take the risk… now that I’m going to be a father. Anyway, all this happened because I slept and forgot the damn charger in the suitcase,” I said as we were nearly at the door. He suddenly stopped, forcing me to do the same.
The combination of his hesitant silence and tense expression was enough to make my anxiety explode.
“Ben…” I hesitated, afraid of the answer.
“I’m sorry, brother…” The sorrow in his eyes was like confirmation of the worst.
But I didn’t want to believe it, because if it were true…
“What? What the fuck do you mean by that?” I blurted out, feeling the knot in my throat resurface and every muscle in my body tense.
“She’s okay, but… the baby…”
No. It couldn’t be true…
“No…”
“I’m so sorry.”