The band decided to stop at a restaurant and get a late-dinner/early-breakfast on their way back to the hotel. Bree devoured a huge stack of pancakes. She was so hungry from all the drama, she could’ve eaten even more. The bandmates laughed and enjoyed each other’s company for the first time in as long as she could remember. She hadn’t noticed before how much drama surrounded Cat whenever she was with them, but now that she was out of the picture, everyone else seemed to breathe easier. It was like an invisible weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
By the time they reached the parking lot, Trent’s legs were burning. Not from carrying Bree. She was light as a feather, but he had walked through the fire to get her out of the room, and he was pretty sure he’d sustained some damage because of it. He couldn’t slow down until he was sure she was out and safe, though.As soon as he saw an ambulance, he rushed over to it. The paramedics immediately moved to help Bree. Trent didn’t know if she was burned, too, but he had a feeling she must be. Everything started happening so quickly. She was laid
Confusion washed over Bree as she opened her eyes and couldn’t remember where she was. She heard a beeping and looked around. The gauze on her hand reminded her of what had happened. She was in the hospital. The hotel had caught on fire, or had been set on fire, and she and the others had had to run for their lives. She prayed no one had been hurt or, God forbid, killed.A few moments after she awoke, the door opened and a nurse walked in. The middle-aged woman dressed in green scrubs wore a soothing smile that implied she had just the sort of bedside manner one
The medication Dr. Holloway gave her helped a lot with the pain, but by the time Bree got home to Nashville, her fingers were beginning to throb again. The bus took them back to the recording studio. Trent had to help her down the steps as the pain was starting to make her light headed.Zelda and several others were there to greet them “How are you dear?” her manager asked, not touching her, but coming close. “Are you okay?”
Trent sat in the waiting room with his hands folded and his elbows on his knees. A nurse had come out a few minutes ago to tell him that the skin graft was going well, that they’d removed the skin from Bree’s thigh and they were getting ready to start working on her hand. He was glad to hear everything was going as planned, but the entire situation made him nervous. He wished it was him in there instead of her.Even though he’d been the one to run through the flames, the burns on his legs were not that serious. The doctor had given him some cream to
Bree woke up groggy again, but this time, she knew exactly where she should be. A nurse was there to help her take a few sips of water. Her hand was still fairly numb, but she had some pain in her thigh. “I can give you something for that,” the nurse assured her.A few minutes later, the nurse returned with some medication for her. Bree rested her head back, hoping it started working before the pain got any worse. At least her hand wasn’t throbbing. “The doctor will be in to speak to you soon, but she won’t mind if I go ahead and le
“The police have footage of Cat coming in a side door, using her hotel issued key card, and she’s carrying what looks like an accelerant in her hand,” Zach was saying. Trent could hardly believe his ears. While he had been under the impression that it was possible Cat might have been responsible for this, hearing someone say there was proof of it was horrific. How would Bree handle hearing that someone she’d thought had been her friend had tried to kill her?“That’s… disturbing,” he said, watching Bree’s eyes wide
Sleep was a welcome visitor as Bree rested her head back on the pillow, her eyes closed. The medicine was making her tired, so she decided to take a little rest while Trent was out calling her parents.Reality and a dream state were starting to mingle. She thought she was back on the beach for a moment, Trent’s hand in hers as they stared at the waves, deciding they were going to be together forever. She thought she heard the door to the hospital room open, but she wasn’t sure, and then she heard the pounding of the ocean surf and the birds squawking overh
Trent had only stepped away from Bree’s room for a few moments--probably not even two minutes. He’d only told her parents she was awake and doing fine and would be calling them after she took a little nap. But as he went back into her room, he had the strange feeling something wasn’t right.He glanced down the hall, and someone caught his attention. A nurse, almost at the end of the hallway, dressed unlike any of the other nurses, with a familiar cadence to her walk, had his eyebrows arching.