A broad smile filled my face as I watched my team go through their exercises. I even found myself humming to some unknown tune in my head.
"Never knew watching the boys run around was so amusing," Pax teased.
"Shut up!"
Pax laughed as I walked away, nothing was going to dampen my mood, not today.
A few hours later I was going over some team play ideas when my phone started ringing. I let it go to voicemail, I was at work so I couldn't answer it, but it just kept ringing.
"Just answer it," Pax suggested in an annoyed tone.
I checked the caller ID and it was Blake. My stomach flipped a little, he never called whilst I was working. He might text but not expect a reply until lunch or later.
"Blake? What is it? What's wrong?" I asked.
"You need to get to Maplewood General, now!" he ordered. "Something's happened to Eli."
Instantly, I grabbed my keys and raced out of the room. I called back to Pax to finish up. The hospital was only a ten-minute drive but at that moment it felt like hours.
I parked up and raced into the main entrance. Blake was pacing back and forth down one of the corridors.
"Blake? What happened?" I asked as I neared him.
Blake eyed a window next to us. Behind the glass, several doctors and nurses were flitting around a bed.
My throat and chest tightened as a gap appeared and there was Eli. He had a breathing tube sticking out of his mouth, dried blood all over his body and bruises covering his full face.
"What the hell happened!" I demanded.
"A call came in at work, one of my neighbours reported sounds of a fight at my home. We rushed over and found Noah, Eli's ex, running from the scene with blood on him. A couple of cops chased him whilst I headed inside. Eli was unconscious on the floor in the living room and the place looked a mess."
My chest was in agony with the thudding of my heart, that was how hard it was beating. No! Please no! I can't watch someone I love die, not again.
---
An hour or so later, a doctor finally came out of the room. Blake's Chief and Officer Juan walked up as well.
"How's my brother?"
"He's stable. Your brother has three broken ribs, a broken cheekbone and quite a serious head injury. Either from falling to the fall or having his head banged against something solid. I'm a little concerned about the swelling in his head, if it doesn't stabilise we may have to go in and relieve the pressure but we will keep an eye on him for now."
"Thank you, doctor," Blake sighed.
"Any news Chief," he asked after the doctor had gone.
"We got the guy, a Mr Noah Greenward," Chief said as he looked at his notepad.
"That's Eli's ex," I added.
The Chief nodded and looked at his notes.
"He claims he found Eli like that and tried to revive him, that's why he was covered in blood. When asked why he ran, he claimed he was spooked and knew we would think it was him so he panicked."
"Yeah right!" Blake seethed. "Does he really think we'd believe that? He shouldn't even be here! That jackass cheated on my brother and Eli moved back home so he didn't have to see that asshole."
"So they ended on bad terms?" Chief asked. "Do you know why he came here?"
"I do," I piped up as Blake shook his head. "When we went to Baltimore for Eli's show, Noah showed up twice. The first time was accidental, he showed up at a restaurant we were at with a woman. The second time he actually came to Eli's show, with that woman again. Eli told him where to go each time."
I glanced at the window and sighed before turning back.
"Last night, Noah showed up at the bar. Eli took him outside and told me later what he said. Eli said that Noah at first was trying to convince him to come home, telling him to stop pouting and just do as he was told."
"He said Eli should have been happy with what he was doing. They would be rich. Apparently, Noah planned to seduce a high profile client's daughter intent on marrying her and having Eli as a secret mistress somewhere hidden away."
"He sounds like a douche!" Juan added.
"Yeah, a big one." I agreed. "Noah then blamed Eli for ruining his life. When Noah came to the show, the woman overheard everything. She dumped him, told her father, who then told Noah's boss, who then fired him."
"Eli said it was his own fault. First for cheating on him and tricking that poor woman. Then for bringing her to his show, and making a scene. If he got fired it was because he was a two-faced leech. Noah then hit Eli, but Eli punched him back and told him to get lost."
"Right, was there anything else Eli said or did?" Chief asked.
"No, after that he came back inside to us and then he went to mine afterwards and spent the night."
"He was with you all night?" Juan asked with a huge smirk.
"Shut up, Juan!" I blushed.
The Chief and a smirking Juan left and we turned back to the window. He looked so pale, lifeless.
---
A few days later, Eli had been moved upstairs after undergoing surgery to relieve the pressure in his head. The doctors said it went well but now they have to wait for him to wake up before they know if there is any lasting damage.
His parents had rushed back and we've all pretty much lived in that room since then. One morning, Blake came in and patted my shoulder, he nodded his head towards the door and I got the hint.
"What's up?" I asked once the door shut behind us.
"Noah has been charged but he's now claiming that Eli's new boyfriend had beaten him up and left the scene as Noah arrived. He says he was really just trying to revive him."
"What! That is ridiculous," I called out.
"Yeah, Chief has confirmed where you were, even showed Noah the clip of you guys training with the time code. Noah started floundering like a stupid fish then he lawyered up."
"I'm surprised he didn't do that sooner, guess he really thought he could talk his way out of it. Is that going to be a problem?" I asked, worried that he could get away with it.
"Nah, we have CCTV of him driving in the direction of my home, and Mrs Bobbins across the road has a surveillance camera which points towards our house. It shows Noah approaching the door and Eli answering, then he pushes his way in. That proves Eli was fine before Noah walked in. When Eli wakes up hopefully we can figure out what happened."
---
With each passing day, a sinking feeling grew bigger. My heart clenched as I watched his sleeping face. His eyes would flicker, the heart monitor would beep but he still hadn't woken up.
They'd removed the breathing tube a few days ago and he seemed to be breathing on his own, but he still …
"Cameron?"
I jumped at the small voice. Mrs Ramirez stood beside me with a small smile. She placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Why don't you go home for a bit?" she suggested.
"No," I sighed. "I want to be here when he wakes up."
"Cam, you've barely slept or eaten over the last few days. You need to take care of yourself too," she insisted.
"I know Mrs Ramirez but I can't leave. I can't leave him like this," I insist.
She patted my shoulder then took her seat on the other side of Eli.
"You really love my son, don't you?" she asked.
I nodded and lifted Eli's hand, she smiled as I gave it a little kiss.
"You've been so good for him," she smiled and I raised my eyebrow.
"When he lived in Baltimore, he always sounded so sad and frustrated the few times we spoke over the phone. When he came home he still seemed like he was not himself, at least not until he regained his love for photography. Something I sense has something to do with you, for that I thank you."
She brushed Eli's hair and smiled fondly at him.
"I noticed the way he would look at you or you at him. As well as the way he would blush when he talked about you."
"He talks about me?" I asked curiously.
Mrs Ramirez laughed a little, looking brighter than she had in days.
"After I saw the way you two were staring at each other that day you came to help with his studio, I teased him about you. He would blush so hard," she smiled.
"Then when he started spending time with you, he would come home looking all happy and content. It would always make me smile. When he told me about the show, he said that he wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for you."
I blushed too as I remembered all those pictures we did for his show as well as what happened afterwards.
"That blush tells me everything. Both Pa and I wanted to go, but Eli explained what the photos were about so we decided against it," she laughed.
My blush only deepened and she laughed harder. Though after a second she hiccuped as if she remembered where she was and why. Did she think she wasn't allowed to laugh ever again?
"I love him," I whispered, tightening my hold on his hand. "I can't lose him."
"I know, and you won't. This isn't like Matthew, he was sick for a long time. Eli is getting stronger day by day. He'll wake up, I know it."
I'm not sure if she said the last part for me or more for herself. The slight teary eyes she gave me told me it was both. I moved around to her side and gave her a hug from behind. She patted my arms and sighed into me.
"Mom? Cam?"