The Struggles Of Waiting ✔

SEVENTEEN

2075

Alexander was sitting in the ambulance, shock stopping his words from forming. He knew the paramedic was talking to him, trying to calm him down. He could feel the blanket they had given him like a heavy weight on his shoulders.

He last words had been garbled begging to be let in the ambulance as it went to the hospital. After that, he'd gone silent, staring down at the body in the gurney. The paramedic was next to him, talking to him about something he couldn't understand.

Tears ran down his face. They dropped from his chin and landed on his blood-stained shirt. His hands trembled at his sides and he feared that anything he held would slip between his fingers.

"Sir? I know you're a bit shaken up but I need you to identify this man," the female paramedic said, his hearing coming back in a painful rush.

"Jaden," said, voice as quiet as a mouse. "His name is Jaden Summers."

"Thank you, sir," the paramedic said. "And yours?"

"Alexander Jacobi." If the paramedic recognised his name, she didn't show it, only nodded her head and continued to talk to the others in the ambulance.

He stared down at Jaden, prone and strapped into the gurney. There was a mask over his face to help him breathe, something that only made Alexander panic more. Something was beeping in the background and the roar of the engine was loud in his ears. There was too much noise.

The other paramedic was sitting in the back next to Jaden, spouting off numbers and information that made no sense to Alex. He looked worried and his voice was frantic, causing Alex's fear to grow and grow until it was unbearable.

The ambulance pulled to a stop and the doors were opened. Alexander watched with a gaping mouth as Jaden was pulled from the vehicle, trying to will himself to move and follow the gurney. He stared at Jaden again, at the cuts and bruises on his dark skin, at his closed eyes and the mask on his face, at the steady rise and fall of his chest.

He jumped from the ambulance, trailing behind the doctors that had grabbed him so that he wasn't in there way. He followed them through the emergency room, knowing that at some point he would be told he couldn't go any further.

The moment occurred when the doctors and surgeons pushed Jaden into the surgery room, leaving Alexander to stand outside and wait. A nurse told him that she would call Jaden's family while he waited. He hadn't even thought about calling them.

He would need to call Isaac and tell him what happened. They were best friends, he deserved to know, and Alex needed a familiar face while he waited. He sat down on a plastic chair in the waiting room, trying to ignore the threat of vomiting.

Of all the things that could have happened, he had never expected for Jaden to be hit by a car. All he wanted was to tell him that they might be soulmates, and instead, he might be watching the other man die.

He hadn't realised he'd called Isaac until the younger man was yelling at him on the other side of the phone. "Alex? Alexander! What's going on?" Isaac let out a frustrated sigh. "Please tell me you just butt dialed me."

"No," Alex replied, voice breaking. His hands were shaking, making it hard for him to hold the phone.

Isaac cursed. "What happened?" he asked. "Is he not your soulmate? Do you need me to come pick you up?"

"No, I'm- I'm at the hospital," he said. "Jaden was hit by a car. He's in surgery. I don't- I don't know what I'm meant to do." He broke, ugly sobs spewing from his lips. He hated the sound of them but he couldn't stop them coming.