Chapter 90 – News Spreads

The café was quiet.

Sarah stood behind the counter, wiping down a tray with a dishrag, lost in thought. Her body was present, but her mind was far, far away — thinking about Ryan, about the last few weeks, about the weight of everything left unsaid.

Her phone rang.

She reached for it absentmindedly, expecting it to be a supplier. But the name on the screen made her heart freeze.

Mr. James.

She answered instantly. "Hello?"

The voice on the other end was strained, too calm to be comforting.

"Sarah," he said, "you need to come to the hospital. Ryan—he's been in an accident. He—he pushed Anna out of the way of a speeding car. He's unconscious. Badly hurt."

The tray slipped from her hands and hit the floor with a crash.

Her knees almost gave out.

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no. Not my baby—"

She didn't even finish the call. She just said, "I'm coming," and hung up, grabbing her keys with shaking hands.

Her fingers fumbled against her phone again as she stumbled out the door. She didn't trust herself to drive. Not like this.

She called Jack.

"Hello?" he answered, cheerful.

"Jack." Her voice was broken. "It's Ryan. He's in the hospital. A car hit him."

Silence.

Then Jack said, "I'll get Ben. Meet you there."

Click.

At Ben's House

Jack burst through the door, his face pale and panicked.

Ben looked up from the couch, alarmed. "Dad?"

Jack didn't even hesitate. "It's Ryan. He was in an accident. We're going to the hospital now."

Ben's face fell. He dropped the controller in his hands and jumped up. "Wait—what? Is he okay?"

Jack just shook his head. "We don't know. Let's go."

No more words.

Just fear.

And running.

At the Hospital – Waiting Room

Anna sat in one of the cold plastic chairs, her face blotchy, her hands stained with Ryan's blood. She hadn't moved since the doctors took him in. Mr. James sat next to her, shoulders heavy with grief, staring into the middle distance.

Then her phone buzzed in her pocket.

Her hands shook as she grabbed it.

She dialed Richard.

"Anna?" his warm voice came through.

"Daddy…" Her voice broke on the first syllable. "Can you come to the hospital? Ryan… he… he saved me. He got hit by a car."

"What?" Richard's voice instantly sharpened. "What happened?"

"I—he pushed me. He saw the car and he—he didn't even think. He just ran. And now… he's unconscious. He hasn't woken up…"

"We're coming." His voice dropped into something deeper—something she'd only heard when he was truly scared. "Stay there. We're on our way."

She ended the call and stared down at the phone.

Then she scrolled and tapped one more name.

Savannah.

Savannah's Room

Savannah was painting her nails when the phone rang.

"Hey, Anna! You guys back from the store?"

Anna's voice came through shaky and hoarse.

"Savannah… Ryan's in the hospital. A car hit him."

Savannah sat up so fast the polish spilled. "WHAT?! What do you mean? What happened?!"

"He saved me," Anna whispered. "He got me out of the way. But he—he didn't move in time. Please come. Please."

"I'm coming right now," Savannah said, already pulling on her shoes. "Hold on. I'm coming."

Later – Outside Emergency Ward

Sarah arrived first. She didn't speak. Didn't ask questions. She just walked to the nurse's station with trembling hands and demanded to know where her son was.

Jack and Ben arrived minutes later. Ben's eyes were wide and scared, scanning the room until he saw Anna sitting near the wall with her knees pulled to her chest. He started walking toward her, but Jack gently pulled him back.

"Give her a second," he said quietly.

Then Richard and Evelyn arrived.

They barely said anything to anyone. But when Richard saw Sarah across the hall, the guilt hit him like a wall. They locked eyes briefly. It wasn't anger. It wasn't blame. It was just fear. Mutual, aching fear.

Anna saw her parents and rushed into Evelyn's arms, sobbing.

"He saved me, Mom. He saved me and now he might—" She couldn't finish. Her legs gave out, and Evelyn held her tightly, whispering that everything would be okay.

Savannah came running in, out of breath, face wet with tears.

"Where is he?!" she asked no one in particular, spinning in place.

Mr. James stood and guided her gently to a chair. "He's in surgery," he said. "They'll let us know soon."

Silence blanketed them all.

Everyone was there now.

Waiting.

Worried.

And for the first time in a long time, all of them had something in common.

Ryan.