"Officer, please."
"Sir, we can't let you see her. It's protocol. Not until the evidence is collected."
"It was a hit-and-run, there is no evidence!"
"Sir, calm down. I don't want to detain you for disorderly conduct."
"I am her legal guardian, please." The officer simply shook his head no again. I couldn't see very far past the burly figure, but I could see three uniformed bodies hunched over another person. One of them shouted, and another person ran over with a gurney. The three people pulled away and I saw something I wish I hadn't. Rose, face-down on the pavement, a pool of blood surrounding her head, seemingly passed out. I hope. I could see she was injured in other places, but seeing the blood was enough for me. I could feel something rising in my throat, and I pulled away from the crowd as they loaded the gurney into the ambulance.

This is not happening, I told myself. Not happening.

Just hours ago, during lunch, she was laughing and smiling with me.

Not happening.

"Dude, you okay?" Frank asked, running over to my hunched figure. I had just emptied out the contents of my stomach in the street, but I could care less. He noticed there were tears in my eyes and immediately pulled me into a hug. I took this as a time to release. I sobbed into his shoulder for a few minutes, mumbling incoherently about her. I pulled away, my eyes red and my face stained with tears.
"Frank... D-Do you... do you thi-think she'll-ll be o... okay?" I sputtered out.
He sighed. "I... Don't know, Gee," he replied. "But the most we can do right now is just... hope for the best." He smiled weakly. I looked past him, past the crowd, to see the ambulance was speeding away.
"We need to go to the hospital. Now." Frank nodded. Without telling the other guys we were leaving, I began sprinting to the car.

When I got to the parking lot, cop cars were surrounding the building, interrogating people. I tried to be discreet as I got to my car, but I feel someone grip my arm. "Sir, we need to talk to you and your friends," said a short woman in a police uniform. I looked behind her to see the rest of the guys.
"My girlfriend was the one that was hit," I half-shouted.
"Oh." Her gaze went from my face to behind me, as if she didn't want to look me in the eyes. "You can leave then, but not them."
"We have alibis," I told her. "Alex Saavedra. Ask him." She nodded and turned around. I waved to the guys before jumping in the car. I wanted to go straight to the hospital, but there was something I needed from the hotel.
It only took a few minutes before I reached the lavish hotel. I parked in the front and ran to the elevator. The nausea returned and my heart race increased the closer I got to my floor. The elevator dinged, and I nearly tripped over my own feet running to the room. I unlocked the door and went right to my nightstand.
Out of the drawer, I pulled a small black box, and stuffed it in my pocket. Now, to the hospital.

---

"What do you mean I can't see her?" I half-yelled.
"She's in critical condition!" yelled back the nurse. "You can't see her!" I was furious. I was already denied last time to see her, I wasn't going through this again. I opened my mouth to say something when she put a hand over my mouth. "Only spouses or family can see her at this time."
"I'm her husband," I hissed. I hated to lie, but I mean, that's kinda what the black box was for. She raised an eyebrow.
"I don't see a ring?"
"We don't like to wear it out." I didn't know I was this good at lying.
"She's, like, 17." I sighed. It did seem weird to say a 17-year-old was married.
"Fine, we're not married. But I'm her boyfriend."
She sighed. "Sir, you can't see her anyways. No one can. She's in critical condition."
"Not one peek?
"Fine. Come with me."
I followed her to a small door with a window next to it. The blinds on the window were drawn, so I couldn't see inside. "Please, stay calm, and don't tell anyone I let you do this." She looked around to make sure none of her colleagues were around before opening the door.
Rose sat in a hospital bed, the bed completely straight, and a bandage wrapped around her head. There were bandages all over her torso. I could see from how her chest rose and fall that she was breathing heavily. The heart monitor beeping next to her showed her pulse was slow.
"W-What's wrong with her?" I asked the nurse. She gulped.
"I think that's something the doctor should tell you, not me." She grabbed my hand and was about to pull me out when I shook my hand out of her grip.
"What's wrong with her?" I asked again. She gave a look of sadness.
"I didn't want to say this..." She sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. "Rose is in a coma. There's not much of a chance she'll wake up."

Notes

i think last chapter introduced the accident too quickly b ye