“Too Late?”

“Thanks for the ride,” Colin said to Ami as she pulled her car up in front of the hospital, “I’ll... uh... call you.”

“Yeah, okay,” she replied, flatly.

He kissed her on the cheek then climbed out of the car – pulling his crutches from the back seat, and hobbled in through the sliding glass door of the hospital.

Once inside, he immediately went up to the information desk to find out how his friends were doing. The nurse was less than cooperative, though did inform him that both Maximus and Alex Ross had survived, though were both still in recovery. He’d have to wait to see them for now as only family members were allowed in.

Abby, however, had been admitted and was resting upstairs in her room, and the nurse gave Colin permission to look in on her if he wished. He thanked the nurse, then headed over to the elevators.

Abby... shit... this was his fault. If he’d only stood up to Dwayne, if he’d only answered her calls earlier that day... His heart pounded as he waited for the elevator to arrive on her floor. He felt a mixture of guilt and sorrow as well as anger at both himself and at what Campbell had put Abby and the others through.

Once off the elevator, he made his way slowly down the hall and stood outside her room – thinking about what he was going to say to her. He listened at her door – it was quiet. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pushed the door open, peeked inside.

Bed was empty, Abby wasn’t there.

Just then, a nurse walked in, surprised by Colin being there.

“She’s down the on the second floor,” she told him, “in case you were wondering.”

“She’s been moved to another room then?”

“No, no,” the nurse replied, as she went about changing Abby’s sheets. “Just a quick visit with her friend... the one that was stabbed.”

Ross. She went to see Ross.

Colin nodded, looked around the room for a chair, then sat himself down in it. He’d wait for her, wait until she finished her visit with Ross.

The nurse finished going about her duties, flashed him a smile, and quietly left the room.

TBC...