Chapter Five

Hayden's POV

Corey, Corey, Corey, that is all that seems to be on my mind the last few days. Even Kendall had noticed that I was distracted lately and she had pushed and pushed, till I admitted that I couldn't get a certain young man off my mind. I also told her about what had happened at the dinner and to say she was disgusted was an understatement. She also agreed that we had to find a way of refusing the contract, but make sure that young Corey won't get the blame for it, because I was now more convinced than ever, that the boy had been abused in the past.

I had been so preoccupied with the boy, that I got my head of security to do a better search on the boy and got hold of his phone number. I don't know how the hell Josh managed that, but I wasn't complaining about it at all. I had been sitting, staring at the number on my phone for the past two days, wondering if I should phone him or not, and every time I did that, I would end up distracting myself away from that thought.

Kendall walks into my office without knocking and catches me staring down at my phone. "Oh for fuck's sake Hayden, call the boy or delete his bloody number, but either way, we need to get work done." She exclaims, completely exasperated with me by now. I glare at her, but all I get in return is a raised eyebrow and a click of her tongue. "I'm serious Hayden. You've been staring at your phone for two days now and I can barely get a decent word out of you. You have work to do, so either phone him and get it over and done with, or delete his number and move on. Either way, what I'm saying is, get your shit together my friend." And with that, she leaves my office in a huff and I realise just how out of it I had been the last few days.

I go into my contacts and scroll down to Corey's number, which I saved under Baby. I hesitate for a few seconds, before pushing call. The phone immediately starts ringing, but no one answers. I look at the time and see that he should be on lunch right now (Yes, I stalked his schedule as well, sue me). I let it ring again and again and again, till eventually someone answers it, but it is definitely not who I thought it would be.

"H-hello" I hear a girl say on the other end, her voice sounding a bit off, almost like she had a cold.

"Hi, I was looking for Corey Reylan, is this not his number?" I ask, my tone a bit cold and harsh, but I didn't really care right now.

"Y-yes it is, b-but h-he can't t-talk right now...." She stutters out and I realise that it sounds like she is crying, why would she be crying and where the fuck was my Corey?

"Calm down and tell me what's going on." I demand and I hear her take a deep breath and letting it out. What comes out of her mouth though, chills me down to the bone. She tells me about Corey not showing up for lunch, so she went looking for him. Then about finding him and what had happened. While she is talking, I walk to my office door and hold up a piece of paper, showing it to Kendall. On it I had written that she must cancel my appointments for the afternoon and that I will be at the hospital.

Her face pales immediately, but she sets about doing as I had asked, while I go back to my office. The girl tells me that an ambulance has been called and they were on their way. Then I asked her if Corey was still awake. She tells me he is, but he is almost delirious, but that he keeps asking for me. That made me smile a little, then I asked her to put the phone by his ear.

"Hold on Corey, the ambulance is on it's way and I will be waiting for you at the hospital." I say quickly, as soon as she does what I ask. I can hear him making small whimpering sounds and it breaks my heart.

"Hayden..." I hear him barely whisper, before his voice fades away and I feel like my chest is being crushed.

"Corey, come on answer me. Corey!" I shout, but there is no response and then I hear the girl drop the phone as she also screams and cries for her friend. I feel shattered, and almost go to sink down in my chair, feeling so helpless. But then I realised that he needs me right now and I was going to be there for him. I didn't give a shit what anyone said or thought about it.

I grabbed my jacket off the back of my chair, quickly pulling it on as I grab my keys and wallet off my desk as well. I open the door and see Kendall waiting, her face worried. "What's going on Hayden?" She asks, as she follows me to the lift.

"Corey was attacked at school and he is unconscious at the moment. His friend found him and she told me what hospital he is being taken to, so I'm going to meet them there." I rush out and step into the elevator that just opened.

"Oh shit, Okay, please let me know if you want me to do anything and keep me posted please." She says, looking super worried about someone she has never met before.

I just nod as the doors close and I wait anxiously for the box to reach the ground floor and I rush out to find Greg waiting for me. Kendall must have phoned him and told him that I was on my way down. She really was an amazing PA and friend.

I get in and Greg quickly gets us going and we reach the hospital in no time at all. I rush in and go straight to the desk. "Corey Hayden, eighteen year old that was attacked at school. Has he been brought in as yet?" I ask and the woman behind the desk looks up at me lazily.

Her eyes brighten when she sees me and she quickly turns to her computer after a quick scan of my body. Urgh, I hate women like this, but I couldn't do anything right now, because I needed the information.

"Corey Reylan, age eighteen, he was just brought in a few minutes ago and was taken straight to surgery. The waiting room is down the hall, third door on your left Sir." She purrs, but I barely say thank you before I sprint down the hall to the door she indicated.

I quickly open it and scan the room, which was empty, except for a girl about Corey's age, sitting with, what I am assuming is a teacher. I make my way to them and they both look up at me, the girl's eyes going round as she looks at me. "Hayden?" She quickly asks and I nod an affirmative. She starts sobbing all over again, saying how sorry she was that Corey got hurt and that she didn't get to him in time to stop the boys.

Before I can say anything to ease her guilt, the teacher speaks up. "Who are you and how do you know Corey?" He asks, his tone a bit belligerent. I looked him over and he almost hunches over at the cold look I give him.

"My name is Hayden Lawson and Corey is a friend of mine." I say and the man scoffs a bit.

"You look a bit old to be friends with a highschool boy Mr. Lawson, so how about we try that again." The man says, trying to show some backbone.

"Um, Mr. Salem, this is Hayden, who Corey was trying to call for before he lost consciousness." The girl says, her sobs quieter, but the tears still running.

The teacher looks at me, but then just sighs. "Okay, you can stay, but I have to call his parents quickly." He says, standing up and moving to the door.

Once he was gone, I turned back to the girl. She was still quietly crying so I sat down with her and put my hand out. "My name is Hayden, what's yours?" I ask and she tries to smile at me.

"Corey told me about you, that's why I knew who you were. My name is Tana and I'm his best friend." She says and I smile at her softly, shaking the small hand she had put in mine.

We lapse into silence, each of us occupied with our own thoughts. The teacher, Mr. Salem, eventually returns and says that he can't seem to reach any of Corey's parents on the phone. Surprise, surprise, I think to myself. They were the most useless creatures on this planet and didn't deserve a son as sweet, thoughtful and kind as Corey.

We sat there for hours, waiting for any news from the doctors and I had to keep messaging Kendall with updates, till she eventually got tired of waiting for me to let her know what's happening and she showed up at the hospital. I saw her walking into the room, and I heard a quiet gasp from next to me. I looked down at Tana and saw that she was absolutely starstruck. Mmm, looks like the little girl bats for her own team. I inwardly smirk, thinking about what Kendall would say if she knew that the girl had instantly gotten hooked to her.

Then I looked at my friend, and I couldn't help the grin that crossed my face. Kendall couldn't seem to take her eyes off the petite girl sitting next to me and I had to clear my throat to get her attention.

Both Kendall and Tana blushed as they snapped out of their little haze and I couldn't help the teasing grin I sent Kendall's way. Kendall quickly relaxed though and went to sit on the other side of Tana, lightly putting her hand on the girl's back, and Tana responded by relaxing quickly.

This was truly an unexpected development, but I wasn't going to focus on that right now. All that mattered right now was that Corey made it through surgery okay and that I make sure that no one will ever hurt my boy again. Calling him my boy, didn't even register at first, but even when it did, all I felt was contentment settling in my chest.

Corey was my boy and no one was going to hurt him anymore, I didn't care if it was his parents or bullies at school. No one touches what is MINE.