No Strings Attached (SUSPENDED)

Chapter 10

Not edited.

Oliver and I arrive at the hospital within twenty minutes. Oliver is starting to shake again. He's terrified. We run through the entrance and I approach the main desk asking for Carter McAlister. The receptionist checks her computer, giving us the floor number and telling us to sit in the waiting area as he's being operated on.

It's all a blur, we sprint the stairs to the fifth floor, not having the patience to wait for an elevator. We sit on plastic blue chairs opposite the double doors to the operating theatre. Doctors run in and out of the room, none of them saying anything to us.

Oliver is sat beside me, his leg is bouncing and his hands are clenched into fists to stop them from shaking. I reach out and place my hand on his leg. He looks up at me and that's when I see the tears in his eyes. He grabs my hand in his but I pull it away and wrap my arms around him instead. His back shakes as he cries in my arms. I squeeze him tighter as emotion clogs up my throat.

"Oli, it's going to be okay, he was still awake when the ambulance came, there's a high chance he's going to get out of this."

At my words he starts to shake even more.

"I can't lose him, Alex, I can't," he cries, his voice trembling just as much his body. I don't answer him, I can't promise him that he won't lose his little brother, and that breaks me. Tears start pouring down my own face as I keep my arms wrapped around Oliver. I keep muttering comforting words to try and calm him down but he doesn't calm down, he gets worse and worse the longer Carter is in there.

After what feels like forever another doctor emerges from the doors. Oliver sits up, looking at him expectantly but he doesn't approach us, he starts walking in a different direction. Oliver shoots out of his chair and storms over to the doctor.

"Hey!" He shouts, trying to get his attention. The doctor turns around, looking at Oliver waiting for him to say something.

"Why haven't we had any news? My little brother is in there and you can't be bothered to update us on how he's doing! You're a pathetic excuse of a doctor! You all are!" Oliver growls at him. The doctor just stares back at him, obviously used to the anger.

"Oliver!" I scold, looking at him with wide eyes. He ignores me.

"I swear to fucking God, if my brother dies in there I'm going to..."
"Don't threaten me, Mr. McAlister. Your brother is in good hands, we're doing the best we can to fix him but we need you to keep calm, anger isn't going to solve anything."

"The hell it is!" Oliver lifts his arm, as if he's going the punch the poor doctor. I grab said arm before he even has the chance to clench his fist. His bloodshot eyes shoot to mine.

"Stop it." His sorrow filled eyes glare into mine until he rips his arm out of my grip and storms back over to chairs where he paces back and forth.

"I'm so sorry about that," I apologize to the doctor. He shakes his head smiling.

"It's no problem, miss, these type of things bring out the worst in people. We'll update you on Carter's state as soon as possible." He walks off before I can even thank him.

Oliver is still pacing back and forth like a mad man when I return to the chairs. I stand there and watch him as he stomps around the room deep in thought. Suddenly he just stops and freezes up. I frown in confusion. That's when I hear it. The faint sound of a flat lining machine.

The doctor we just spoke to sprints back into the operating room along with another doctor in scrubs. Oliver tries to follow, but I hold him back with all my might.

"No! Alex, let me fucking go! Carter! No, please!" He's pushing against me, screaming, but I don't give up, pushing back just as hard until he cracks. The man in front of me crumbles. He falls into a heap on the floor, sobbing. His body is heaving with every sob. I fall to my knees in front of him and cradle his head on my chest as he wails.

"He's all I've got. He's my baby brother. No, please." He cries. His begging makes my heart hurt. I'm so close to breaking down myself but I have to stay strong for Oliver. He heaves as he sobs. His sorrow overtaking him.

The doors into the waiting room slam open. I look up to see a couple enter, both looking to be in their late 40's. The man's eyes meet mine. They're midnight blue, like the boys'. The wind is knocked out of me when I realise that Oliver's parents are stood in front of me. That's when I finally break down.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't help him, I'm so sorry." I sob, looking at his parents who stare at us in shock. Oliver looks up at his parents. When his mother sees his tear stained face she crumbles to the floor herself, her husband catches her but falls to the floor with her. Her wailing makes me cry even more. Oliver crawls towards his parents, wrapping his arms around his mother as they all sob together. I'm kneeling alone in the middle of the floor sobbing while watching the family.

The theatre doors open and I look up, the McAlister's not hearing the door over their cries. The doctor we had talked to earlier looks down at me in sympathy. He offers his hand to help me up so I take it. My legs shake as I wait for him to deliver the news.

"Something went wrong while we were trying to remove the bullet and it caused Carter's heart to stop but we got him stabilised. The operation is now complete, we're going to move him to a private room to recover. He's in a medically induced coma currently but he should wake up in a few hours." he informs me. I look over the family who didn't hear a word the doctor just said. I thank him before approaching the McAlister's.

"Mrs. McAlister?" I take her small hand in mine. Her blood shot eyes look up at me along with Oliver and his father as I grin. "He's okay, Carter is okay, they stabilised him, he's going to be okay."

The small woman erupts into tears again. Mr. McAlister grins as he crushes his wife to his chest and Oliver just stares at me in wonder.

"He's okay?" He chokes out. I can't wipe the grin off my face as I nod. Tears start sliding down his face as he beams. His hand caresses the side of my face, looking at me with awe before he throws his arms around me. I return the hug, squeezing him tightly. He pulls away and grins at me before standing up and pulling me with him. He then helps his mother up, wrapping her in a short hug too. His father stands up and takes hold of his wife's hand as Oliver returns to my side.

The doctor finally appears after a few minutes of silence. We follow him to a corridor with three large rooms and four chairs outside each room.

"Only two people are allowed in the room at once until he wakes up," the doctor informs us.

"Is he going to be okay?" Mrs McAlister asks. The doctor nods.

"Yes, we stitched him up and removed the bullet along with the residue. The police will be here for questioning some time tomorrow afternoon. He would never have made it if someone hadn't helped stop the bleeding in the minor cuts, which I'm assuming was you?" He nods to me. That's when I realise that I'm still in my pyjamas with Carter's blood staining my arms and pyjama bottoms and half of my top ripped clean off exposing my stomach. I nod.

"Well you saved his life. Would you like a clean top?" He asks. I nod again, he says he'll be right back and leaves to get me a new top.

"I can't thank you enough for saving my son's life..." Mrs. McAlister says, hinting for my name. I smile.

"Alex, I'm Oliver's... friend. It's no problem at all, I had to do something," I blush, looking at my feet. I'm suddenly wrapped in an embrace as the woman hugs me. I awkwardly hug her back. She releases me and then enters Carter's room with Mr. McAlister.

When the door shuts Oliver grabs my bloody hand, holding it in his grasp and squeezing.

"Thank you."
"I couldn't let him bleed out on the sidewalk, Oliver."
"I know, but thank you."

We're quiet for a while, just holding hands for comfort and staring at the wall in our own thoughts. Oliver breaks the silence.

"Go out with me?"
"What?"

"Go out with me, on a date?" He smiles, looking at me hopefully. I think about it for a second. We agreed no strings attached but I'm in pretty deep already, heck, I've met his parents and saved his brother's life in one night. Maybe he's just asking me because I saved his brother's life.

His earlier words come back to me. "One night wasn't enough, sweetheart. I need you."

I squeeze his hand.

"Okay."

A/N:

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