Chapter Nine - Sister from another mister.

"Tobias, no. We need to get to the hospital." I murmur, deeply regretting my words towards him. I don't want him to think I'm rejecting him but on the other hand, I can't leave Emily alone. He simply nods at me silently, showing no emotion on his face. I sigh and stare out the window as we continue to race through the streets, the awkward tension between us rising by every second.

*****

"Emily Wentworth, that's her name. Where is she?" I ask, becoming increasingly frustrated with the nurse behind the desk. She's shuffling through papers, occasionally glancing at her computer screen. I tap on the desk, letting out an annoyed huff at her hostile behaviour.

"Please. She's my best friend. I need to know where she is." I plead, calmer this time.

The nurse sighs, glancing between Tobias and I warily. I can see her eyes judge my appearance, my messy hair and baggy clothes. Once her eyes lands on Tobias beside me, she perks up, sitting straighter. Her eyes flash with approval and her lips actually turn up into one of the most sickly sweet smiles I've ever seen. She clears her throat, creating eye contact with Tobias. I can feel the anger bubbling up inside me, jealousy consuming my entire body.

Instead of acting on my emotions, I remind myself to breathe calmly so I don't get prisoned for murdering a nurse.

. .

"Can you help me, please?" I interrupt her little sexual staring contest and beside me, Tobias let's out a small chuckle. He suddenly drapes an arm across my shoulders, pulling me towards his chest. The nurse immediately drops her eyes to the desk —

"Erm, s-sure." She stutters, her face burning bright red in embarrassment. My lips twitch up into a smirk and I burrow myself further against Tobias' chest, his scent wrapping itself around my body. I watch as she clicks a few buttons on her computer, enjoying her squirm with embarrassment. She obviously thinks Tobias and I are

a thing and is now regretted her unprofessional sexual predator actions.

"So she can help after all." I murmur, looking up to meet eyes with an amused Tobias. He's grinning down at me, shaking his head slightly.

"Here you go, follow the map." The nurse says, handing me a piece of paper. I take it from her and nod, giving her my best smile.

"Thank you ever so much."

I turn around with Tobias, heading off in the direction located on the piece of paper. Finding your way around a hospital is basically impossible.

"You shouldn't have scared her off Trish, I have a thing for nurses." Tobias teases me, his arm dropping from my shoulders once we're out of the nurse's vision. I immediately miss his warmth but don't let it show, knowing he only did it to stop her from drooling over him.

"Give me a nurse uniform and I can rock the thing better than any nurse can." I shoot back, my lips turning up into a smirk. Tobias' eyebrows shoot up in surprise and his eyes turn shades darker.

"Are you giving me false hope?" He asks, pouting as he already knows the answer. I let out a laugh, turning down a corridor.

"You know I am Tobias."

"You are something else Sugar." He replies, his dark hair falling over into his eyes as he shakes his head at me. I take his words as a compliment and grin wider, shrugging my shoulders.

"You have to have some serious balls to deal with me Tobias." I flirt, shooting him my best smirk. His eyes sparkle at me mischievously and I walk ahead of him, biting down on my lower lip. I turn my head, glancing at him from over my shoulder as I speed up.

"Keep up honey, you're slacking."

He raises one eyebrow at me but I don't miss the cheeky glint in his eyes. He doesn't respond but speeds up, his steps falling in perfect synchronisation with mine.

*****

"Can I get an update on Emily Wentworth please?" I ask for the millionth time, stopping a nurse outside of the family room. She looks at me and replies with the exact same thing every other nurse had.

"We'll let you know once the situation changes."

I nod and thank her, sighing heavily before flopping back down into one of the uncomfortable seats. Beside me Tobias is growing increasingly frustrated, his leg bouncing up and down.

"Surely they can let us in there? We're family." Tobias mutters, leaning forward in his seat.

"We aren't family in their eyes." I reply, my body full of nerves and fear. A bad feeling is settling inside my stomach and it continues to grow as every minute passes. My best friend is currently in labour and I'm not allowed to beby her side to support her.

"This sucks." I groan, running a hand over my face. It's almost midnight and as much as I'm fighting it, my eyelids are growing heavy with sleep. I feel a hand place on my back and I smile, turning to meet Tobias' eyes. He holds his arm out to me, signalling for me to relax against him.

"Do you want to use me as a human pillow?" He asks quietly causing me to laugh. An overwhelming feeling of tiredness washes over my body and I nod slowly, leaning into his embrace. His body radiates heat and I let out a content sigh, feeling my lids flutter shut.

"Wake me the minute you know something." I whisper, my body growing heavy with sleep. I felt Tobias' arm tighten around me, his chin resting on top of my hair.

"I will do Sugar."

*****

My phone vibrates constantly in my pocket and I groan, stirring in my seat. I can feel my body ache in pain from the uncomfortable position I'm lying in. I open my eyes, noticing an arm still wrapped securely around me. It completely vanished from my mind that I was lying against Tobias, sleeping.

What if he caught me drooling?

I reach up, wiping my mouth subtly before glancing up to see that Tobias is also fast asleep. His head is leaning back against the wall, eyelids shut with his mouth slightly parted. A faint line of stubble runs along his jaw line and I feel my stomach do a somersault at the sight of him.

Imagine waking up to that face every morning...

I reach inside my pocket, trying to keep my movements to a minimum so I don't wake Tobias. My phone is vibrating like crazy, letting me know I have several incoming text messages. As soon as I inspect the first one, I feel anger bubble inside my stomach.

Can you take Leroy to school in the morning? I won't be home until tomorrow afternoon.

Trish?

Answer me honey. You need to take Leroy to school.

After reading the third one, I sigh heavily, closing my eyes. It's currently 2am in the morning and Mum expects me to take Leroy to school in six hours? I need to be here for Emily, especially if things go wrong. I quickly text back a response, my jaw clenched tightly.

No Mum. Emily is in labour, I'm at the hospital! You're going to have to do it. Don't let him down, he needs you.

I send the text and inhale a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. My fingers are going at super speed, eyes burning holes through my phone. A shuffling noise outside the family room catches my attention and I look up to find several nurses rushing towards the direction of Emily's room.

"What's going on?" I ask, raising my voice. I rush towards them, fear filling my entire body as I watch them ignore me completely. A look of urgency is in their eyes and they disappear behind a door, leaving me stood there, clueless. The bad feeling inside my stomach intensifies and I picture Emily lying on a hospital bed, several nurses rushing around her to keep her alive.

"What's happening?" I wail, tears running down my cheeks. No-one answers me, the hospital corridors are deserted.

"Trish."

I spin around, sniffling as my eyes meet with Tobias. They appear sleepy and disorientated, a small frown on his face. Upon noticing the fear in my eyes, he immediately rushes towards me.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

I shake my head, the back of my throat tightening considerably until it becomes difficult to breathe normally.

"I saw a bunch of nurses rush into her room. I don't know what's going on Tobias. I'm so scared she's not going to be okay." I cry, hastily wiping away the tears on my cheeks. I'm not usually a crier, especially in front of others.

Tobias immediately pulls me into his chest and I feel his body trembling. I pull back, looking up into his eyes that look terrified. That's when I realise how much this means to him, Emily is his family too.

"I'm going in there." He mutters, pulling me away from him. I nod repeatedly, watching as he storms over to the doors, turning to give me one last look.

"I'll be out in a few minutes to let you know what's going on." "Thank you." I whisper, my hands trembling by my sides.

I can't lose Emily.

I watch helplessly as Tobias disappears behind the doors, leaving me thinking the absolute worst.