Once inside, I try powering my phone so I can start calling Rory's family members, but it doesn't start and after a few tries at powering it up, I get tired.
"Come on!" I groan aloud, having a sudden urge to slam the phone to the floor in frustration, "it's supposed to be fucking waterproof!"
"Let me see." A girl with red hair says stretching her hand and I hand my phone over to her. After working on the phone for what seems like forever, she powers the phone up and the screen lights up. I give her a nod impressed with her skills and collect the phone from her.
The nurse walks over to me in the waiting room, "The doctor just asked for you." she says to me.
"Call Henry Gate, Phoebe, and Melinda, I have all their contact in my phone. They'll know it not a prank when you tell them it's because of Coronary heart disease (CHD)." I say, handing my phone to George before following the nurse.
We approach the ward where Rory had been taken into half an hour ago, and the doctor comes out to us. "How is he, doctor?" I ask as he gets to us.
"We were able to get all the water out of his system, right now he's stable but still unconscious."
"Is he going to make it out okay?"
"He's going to regain consciousness soon maybe a few more hours. It was good of you to have brought him in when you did, we would have lost him if another minute was wasted in bringing him."
I sigh heavily in relief, but know that it isn't time to get too comfortable, "Does that mean there's hope?"
He gives me a lost look before speaking, "From his test result, he had CHD which made his heart extremely weak, fragile and vulnerable and he risked it when he chose to get exposed. We fear his heart might give up before any replacement is found. The longest his heart is going to last is forty-eight hours unless we get a heart donor and so far he is number seventeen on the line of those that need heart replacement, I'd advise you to call his family."
"I'- I'm already on that." I stutter and the doctor pats my shoulder before walking away.
I walk back to George and his friends, "Were you able to get to them?" I ask the brunette girl.
"Yes we just called Phoebe, there are on their way." the red hair chick replies, before handing my phone back to me.
"What did the doctor say?" George asks, in a low whisper.
"He said we might lose him," I say with a sigh, collapsing on the chair close to the wall and burying my head in my hands, the beating of the rain against the roof has reduced and that's a good thing.
The door opens, "Where is my brother?!" my head snaps up to see Phoebe approach the nurses along with Jack. "Where is Rory?" she asks again, her voice breaking and terrified.
"He's in the ER." One of the nurses answer her calmly and I get up and make my way to them.
"Phoebe," I call and she turns to me, her green eyes has already lost their firmness and strength.
Her lips trembled uncontrollably "What happened to Rory, Keenan?" she demands.
"He got exposed," I answer and she gasps, losing her balance a little and Jack quickly wraps his arms around her waist for support.
Good things he's behind her though, the last thing I want now is another Gate getting hurt because of my neglect. She's pregnant and needs to be monitored so she doesn't do anything crazy.
"I thought he said he had everything under control, this isn't having things under control. He knew the consequences of being exposed, why would he do that?" she covers her mouth with her hand in shock.
"Where is my son?!" A deep hard voice thunders from the door.
The nurses around the counter jump and I, Phoebe and Jack and turn around to meet Henry's angry eyes looking around the hall as though wanting to devour someone or something and beside him is Jennifer and Melinda.
"Henry." I begin to walk towards him and his eyes meet me and they grow soft and pitiful probably because of how I'm currently looking.
"What happened to Rory?" he asks calmly, even though I can feel the war waging from within.
"He was exposed in the rain," I answer with the same reason I had given Phoebe just now.
"Why would he do that?" Melinda asks in a horrified voice.
I explain the events of the last few days to all of them and while some look angry, shocked, some were sad, and Phoebe was crying, probably because she felt guilty for keeping Rory's secret, hoping things get better and it didn't.
"I cannot believe Taylor would do that to him, leave him out there." Jack gasps out in disbelieve, pacing around the private waiting room we were given by the hospital attendance in order to keep us from arousing the suspicion of the other patients in the ward and their visitors.
"I never liked her." Jennifer bites out harshly.
"She has taken everything from him and she still isn't satisfied she wants him dead!" Melinda exclaims.
"Calm down," Henry begins to speak. "Let's not all jump to conclusion besides there is still hope. We really don't know what happened so we can't completely blame her."
"Your son is dying, Henry, this is not the time to keep calm!"
"What do you intend to do now? Storm to Taylor's house-"
"It's Rory's house!" Melinda cut him off, hissing in annoyance.
"It now belongs to Taylor, Melinda. Legally." he groans.
"Why are you choosing to pick her over your son?!" she demands in pure annoyance.
"I'm not picking anyone over anything, I'm just not going to be the one to point fingers when I know I played a vital role in everything that's happening." Henry snaps at Melinda and she flinches like he just burned her skin. "If Taylor wants revenge; she would get it, Melinda, you killed her mother and even though there is still no proof we all know you did! And you never for once apologized for it, so you don't have a right to tell me I'm picking sides when everything happening is your fault."
Phoebe and Jennifer gasp and stare at Melinda whose defence seems to have been broken.
"And I have been paying for that ever since. I lost my family, I lost my son and I lost you." A tear slides down her face.
"Mom-" Phoebe calls out with a low voice, reaching a hand out to her.
"No, Phoebe, lets put all the cards on the table," she raises her hand, "I never meant for her death, it was meant to be a threat, no one was supposed to get hurt, not deliberately. Even if I did something wrong, don't you think I've paid a thousandfold already?" she whimpers weakly, looking at Henry who isn't looking anywhere close, and Phoebe holds her close.
"I'm not the one you should be apologising to, it should be to your son and Taylor for ruining both their lives."
"Fighting won't resolve anything," I tell them reducing the tension in the room. "We should all hope for the best, pray if you can, but no fighting, please. Let's all respect Rory and realise that if he was here he definitely would not appreciate this."
"I'm going to go pray," Phoebe says, clenching hard to her purse.
"I'll come with you," Jack speaks up going and taking her hand in his before walking out of the room.
And I need a change of clothes.