Page 76 of Ring Rust

“That’s me.”

“My name is Liz. I’m calling from Western Mass Hospital.”

Jasper tried to remember if he’d been there lately for a specialist appointment, or maybe he’d missed a bill, but his mind came up blank.

“Oh, hmm. Okay. Hi. If this is about a bill, I?—”

“I’m a nurse in the emergency department. You’re listed as Ryan Sullivan’s emergency contact, is that correct?”

“Uh,” Jasper said, swallowing. He stood up from the wall and pressed his fingers to his mouth. “Yes? That’s correct. Is he… Did something happen, or…?”

“Yes. We’ve been trying to call you for a bit. He’s in surgery now, but he?—”

“Surgery?What happened?”

“I can’t give you details over the phone, but I can tell you he’s doing okay last I checked. Are you able to come here to?—”

“Yes! Of course, I’m on my way. I’m, uh,” Jasper said, his hands shaking as he lifted the phone from his ear. He didn’t even know why he was looking at the screen, just searching for something to ground him. “I’m about half an hour away. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay. Go to the information desk, and they’ll send you in the right direction.”

“Okay, thank you,” he said. He hung up the phone and stood frozen by the doors, unsure what to do next. Go to the hospital, of course—but he needed to tell Beni. But he didn’t even have any information about what happened to him, so what did he even say?

His screen lit up. A text from Stevie.

Nina wantsto stay to watch the big kids. Froyo delayed. Did you reach Ryan?

Jasper rubbeda hand over his face and typed out a reply with trembling fingers, sure it would be the wrong thing to say. He’d deal with the fallout later.

I’ve confirmedhe’s alive. I’m going to find him now.

Chapter Twenty-One

Not for the first time,Jasper was grateful the hospitals in Western Massachusetts were small enough that it wasn’t like being in an enormous, commercial-sized maze. When he’d been driving back and forth to Boston to help his parents during various health events, everything had taken longer—hallways blurred together, parking garages required photographic evidence his car was ever there, unbelievable wait times for every single appointment.

He’d made it from the dance hall to the hospital’s information desk in thirty-five minutes, something that never would’ve been possible in the city. The whole drive, he’d tried turning Ryan’s presence at that hospital into something reassuring—if he wasthere, not a larger hospital in Boston, maybe things weren’t as bad as they could’ve been. And if they hadn’t called again, he was probably still alive.

Alternatively, maybe his injuries were so grievous they couldn’t get him to Boston in time. And maybe they hadn’t called back because they were trying to figure out how to tell Jasper his partner was dead.

The hospital didn’t know they weren’t technically together anymore. He wondered if it was an easier phone call when it was to an ex.

Shaking his head of the darker thoughts infiltrating his mind, he tapped on the information desk anxiously, standing on his toes, searching for the person who should have been sitting there telling him where to go. After a few agonizing moments, a woman shuffled towards him with a kind smile on her face.

“Hi there,” she said.

“Hi. My name is Jasper Sanborn. I got a call about my, uh. Ryan Sullivan? He was brought here and they said he’s in surgery, but I don’t know why. And I don’t know if he’s okay. And I need to see him.” He stared at the woman for a second, before adding, “Please.”

“No problem. Let me take a look.”

Jasper breathed deeply as he watched her—older, gentle, but slow as anything he’d ever seen—search through the computer system. She started clicking her tongue and making confused-sounding noises, until finally, she smiled.

“There he is! I couldn’t find him at first because he’s been moved to recovery. We have old systems. They don’t always communicate.”

The relief was so great, Jasper’s legs went numb, nearly collapsing underneath him. He leaned against the counter and put his face in his hands before he felt a tingle in his nose. He looked up at the woman and found her smiling, tilting her head affectionately. She reached for a box of tissues without a word and slid it towards him.

“Take this hallway to the elevator. Go to the third floor, and someone will bring you to him.”

He was already halfway down the hall before she finished her sentence, and he yelled a quick thank you before pressing the elevator button. It took so long to arrive, Jasper gave up andblew through the staircase doors, taking the stairs two at a time before he ended up on the third floor and ran to the nurse’s station.