SLOW BURN

42. good news

Crystal waits with Josh and I after she comes back with some coffee and bagels. Josh takes the coffee but he doesn't eat. I force the damn bagel down my throat, hoping it will give me the energy that I need to get through this.

"Sorry I missed your calls," I say to Crystal around noon when I feel a bit more awake.

She looks down. "Oh, yeah. Don't worry about it."

I turn to look at her. "Is everything alright? Did you need anything?"

She takes a deep breath then looks at me. "I know it's not the right time to tell you this but I-I was calling to warn you about Brad."

I frown. "What do you mean warn me? You knew he was going to Newport?"

"I figured he was." She sighs. "Cassie came to the station and told him about you and Josh-"

"She what?" I interrupt. Josh actually turns to look at Crystal too and I feel relieved in getting any reaction out of him.

"She told him everything, Nat. Even that you were living together. I don't know how she found out. Brad was furious, obviously, and left in his car. I figured he was going to look for you or Josh." She sighs again. "I wish I would have done more. Follow him or something."

"I can't believe Cassie did that," I say angrily.

Josh clenches his jaw. "She had no business-Jesus Christ. What is wrong with her?"

What is wrong with her? She obviously did it deliberately probably hoping to hurt us. Does she know what she caused? She is part of the reason Brad is here too. If she wouldn't have opened her mouth, Brad would have never gone to Newport and Josh and I would have been able to speak with our parents then we would've all found a way to tell Brad and he wouldn't be here today.

Before either of us could say anything, we see Clint making his way towards us and we all stand up eager to know something about Brad's condition. He looks at Josh. "He is stable. The doctor says it's a good sign that he made it through the night. He'll be awake in a few days if it all goes well."

We all let a breath of relief.

"That is so good to hear," Crystal says first.

"Can I see him?" Josh asks quietly.

Clint puts his hand on Josh's shoulder. "Of course, son. See if you can convince your mother to come home to rest for a while."

Josh nods and I take a step forward. "Let me come with you, please. I can wait outside." He nods and I follow him down the hall.

I look around as we walk, hoping to see Cassie. I have some things to say to her and I have the urge to go look for her but at the same time, I know she's not worth any my time. I just hope that she's done after all the damage she caused.

We reach Brad's room and Josh goes in. I stay outside, not wanting to intrude, and look through the window. I can see Brad laying on the bed, under a white sheet. I notice that he has a cast on his right leg. He must have broken it. He also has cuts on his face. He has a tube through his mouth that is helping him breathe. I cover my mouth to keep myself from making noises as the tears run down my eyes. Oh Brad. What have we done to you?

I watch as Josh walks in. Louisa, who is sitting next to Brad, raises her hand and Josh takes it. He kneels by the bed and puts his head down. I bite my lip and turn around, leaning my back against the window. This is horrible. I can't believe that this is happening. All this time, I've been fighting against my feelings for Josh to prevent this. I wanted to prevent a tragedy.