I Don't Like Badboys...Seriously | ✓

Chapter Thirty Five - The Emergency Room

Chapter Thirty Five – The Emergency Room

I finished the table of observation guidelines for different types of experiments and printed two copies out, stapling one to a summarised set of notes. I needed to go give them to Ace, but since it was a Saturday, I knew he wouldn't be home.

It wasn't too bad of an excuse to go shopping. I got changed, put the notes into a document wallet and left the house. Going to the shopping centre to give Ace notes had become a regular expedition. It would've been a lot easier to give them to him during school hours, but I never had time during the week to finish them up. Friday night gave me many hours to tidy everything up.

My mum had started to let the little things slide, because on the bright side, my study habits had picked up. I eventually convinced her that tutoring Ace was beneficial for me as well; it wasn't a lie.

On the way to the bus stop, my phone began vibrating in my back pocket. The call was coming from a private number but I answered it anyway.

"Hello?"

"Cathy? Thank God you picked up," came Dylan's voice, slightly panicked.

"What is it?"

"Ace's mum is in the emergency room at the hospital."

"What!?"

"None of us can find him, and his phone's off, and he's not home," he spat out. In the background, I could hear his rapid footsteps and short breaths.

Then I remembered, none of the guys knew about Ace's job. Even though I'd agreed to keep it a secret, this was far more important.

"Okay, okay. I think I know where he is. Meet me at the local shopping centre asap. Next to the cinemas."

Dylan hung up and I shoved the phone back into my pocket. What happened to Ace's mum? I remembered back to the time I'd overheard his parents arguing. A part of me was afraid his stepdad had hit her. What kind of condition was she in? Emergency room couldn't mean anything good.

Luckily, the bus was just coming down the road and I held my arm out to hail it. I got on, my heart pounding.

My palms where sweaty, my head pulsating. I was forced to tap my feet against the ground repeatedly for fear my legs would just turn to jelly.

The bus trip felt like the longest one I'd ever taken, and when it finally screeched to a halt, I barrelled to the door and got off, sprinting for the arcade. "Dylan!" I yelled when I spotted the other guys approaching from the other side.

"Where is he?" He puffed.

"He works at the arcade."

The guys all turned to me, waiting for an explanation, but we just sprinted off towards the arcade. I ran up to the front table and spotted his manager, Matthew. "Hi. Is Ace here?" I asked quickly.

"Yeah. He's just in the back. I'll get him for you," he replied. "Ace!" He yelled.

Ace came out from the room behind the till carrying a few boxes. When he saw the guys behind me, he gave me a weird look, but set them down and came out to the front.

"What's wrong guys?" He asked.

"Your mum's in the emergency room," Dean said. A flash of horror and fear came over Ace's head, and I knew he was running through all the possible scenarios. "I'll take you there now."

"What?"

"I don't know what happened, but we need to go."

The four of us got into Dean's car, with Ace in the passenger seat. The car trip was silent, everyone almost holding their breaths. Hunter and Ace gave a knowing look at each other, and I had a hunch they knew a little more about what could possibly have happened than I did.