First Punch ➟ Kellic

E I G H T E E N

"How in the hell are you gonna do that?" I ask him, still struggling to keep up with his fast pace.

"We need to call all of the hospitals and see if any of them are there," he explains.

"Okay, then where are we going?" I ask, confused as to why he's dragging me towards town.

"We need to get a cab," he says, not looking at me and seeming kind of frantic.

"We can just call a cab," I tell him, still confused.

"Oh," he mumbles, slowing down. "You're right. Yeah, let's-let's do that."

Now it's my turn to look concerned. Maybe he was putting on a strong front before, or was just in shock. Because right now, Jake seems to be completely unravelling.

He drops my hand and we both pull out our phones when something occurs to me. "Wait a second," I start, getting Jake's attention. "Carter said they were downtown when they saw him. What's the closest hospital to downtown?"

"Uh..." Jake zones out, both of us thinking for a second. "I guess it depends which side. There's St. Mary's on the north end and the University one in the south."

"Okay, there we go. We narrowed it down," I tell him, trying to stay positive. He still looks all pale and emotionless though, so I'm not sure that it worked.

"Okay I'm calling St. Mary's," he says, giving me the number for the University one.

"What are their names again?" I ask, only knowing two. "Lucas, Mateo and...?"

"Andres," he tells me, putting his phone to his ear. I nod, dialling the number and walking away a little just so that they can each hear us properly.

A woman's voice picks up and I hardly even register what she's says because I'm so overwhelmed with worry for Jake. I'm still holding a bit of grudge against his friends, but I care about him, like a lot. I'd fucking hate myself if I did anything to hurt him.

"Hi, sorry to bother you," I say, trying not to eavesdrop on Jake's conversation. "My...uh, cousins got in an accident and I'm not sure which hospital they went to."

"Okay I can search our database. What are their names?" she politely asks. I read off the mental list, cursing myself for not asking for last names. I can hear her typing and then the line goes quiet. "I have two Lucas's admitted. But no one by the other names. What's your last name, sir?"

I practically have a fucking heart attack. It can't be Lucas. Please don't make it Lucas. I also have minor brain fart as I realize I don't even know Jake's last name. Or can I just not think of it right now? Either way I try to get his attention, but he doesn't seem to notice me.

"Can you hold on just a minute?" I ask her, not knowing what to say. I think it's something with an M? Am I making that up? Fuck, I might be.

"Sure," her cheery voice replies. I quickly cover the microphone and rush back to where Jake's standing. He seems heated, angry almost. What's going on?

"Why can't you just tell me now?" he asks angrily, his voice just below a shout. Oh shit. Something's going down.

"Sorry, I'm going to have to call you back," I tell the hospital attendant. I don't even wait for a reply before hanging up.

"He's my brother! I don't want to wait!" Jake exclaims, making my heart shatter. Oh no. It's him. It's Lucas after all. At least he's not dead. If he's in the hospital he's not dead, right?

I reach out to rub Vic's back like he did mine, but he dodges me, not even glancing in my direction. Well that fucking stung. I get it though, he's angry and it's all my gang's fault. I'd probably avoid my touch too.