Surrender by Rachel Ryan, Eve Cassidy

they telling us what’s wrong? Why are they taking so long?” I just need to know that he is okay.
    “Ava they are still assessing him, they are making sure he is okay.”
    “What if he’s not Jer? What if it’s bad? I can’t lose him Jeremy. I just can’t.” Tears start to well in my eyes and I’m about to lose my strength. Out of the corner of my down cast eyes I see Jeremy get down off his chair and kneel down at my feet. He reaches up to my chin and raises my head to look at him.
    “Dundee, you won’t lose him. He just got you okay he wouldn’t leave you. You mean everything to him, more than the band. You are his…soul mate.” I hear the struggle in Jeremy’s voice as he says the last words. Looking at him dead in the eyes I can see that he has surrendered. He finally sees that Brody and I are meant to be.
    “Thank you.”
    “Ava I mean it. I can see how much you care for him and how much he cares for you. You have a connection and I have always seen it, I just pushed it aside. It’s time for me to realize the best guy won and I’m not going to stand in the way of the only real happiness he has ever known.”
    Smiling at Jeremy I wrap my arms around his neck and just hold him. Just as I’m about to speak I hear a commotion coming from around the corner. Tori, Luke, Hunter, Emma and Jo come round the corner followed by a nurse. Tori’s voice booms down the corridor.
    “WE ARE FAMILY.”
    The nurse looks across to Jeremy and I to confirm their family connection to Brody. Jeremy looks across to them, then stands and walks over to the nurse. I can’t hear what they are saying but eventually the nurse walks away leaving us with the rest of the group. The girls rush over to me and envelope me in a massive hug. I can’t hold the emotions in anymore and I start to sob, I can feel all of my heartache pouring out of me and I don’t know how to stop it. I feel the girls slowly pulling away from me and a pair of warm muscular arms wrap around me. I know just from the smell that it’s Jeremy and I relax deeper into him and just let him hold me.

Jeremy
    As I hold Ava in my arms I realize that I have missed holding her. I have missed the feeling of her arms wrapped around my waist, but surprisingly, my body isn’t feeling the flutters or stirring that it used to feel. It feels like I’m hugging a friend.
    She’s sobbing in my arms and my heart is breaking for her. I wish there was some way for me to reassure her that he is going to be okay, but the Doctor’s haven’t told us anything yet. I’m so sick of the fucking waiting. I lower Ava into a chair and sit down beside her, our hands tightly clasped as I look around at our little group of friends.
    All I see on the faces of my friends is sadness and worry. My eyes connect with Jo’s blue eyes and I can tell she has been crying. I gesture for her to come and sit in the empty seat beside me and I wrap an arm around her shoulders, my other hand still clutched tightly by Ava. My eyes constantly flick to the clock and I calculate in my head that we have been waiting more than two hours for news on Brody’s condition.
     
    An hour later a woman in a white coat walks into the waiting room and looks around at the group. She glances down at her clipboard and then scans the room again.
    “Which of you is Mr Stone?”
    Rising from my seat, I pull Ava up with me and walk toward the attractive young Doctor.
    “Follow me please.”
    She turns and exits the waiting room and silently waits for us in the corridor. I wrap an arm around Ava and lead her out of the room.
    I stare at Doctor Graham, that’s what her name tag says, and wait for her to start talking.
    “Brody was unconscious when the paramedics brought him in and we were very close to losing him.”
    I feel Ava tremble in my arms and I tighten my grip on her.
    “However, we were able to stabilize his condition. He has suffered a clavicle fracture and two fractured ribs. Our main concern though at this