Free Finding Serenity (Serenity Beach) by Hunter J. Keane

dressed and headed to the hospital. Serenity had a tiny medical facility and security was lax. Following the helpful signs, I found the waiting room.
    Nolan was spread out on an old, uncomfortable looking chair. His head rested against the wall and his eyes were closed but I could tell he wasn’t sleeping. When he heard me approaching, his eyes opened slowly.
    “Hey.” He started to get up but I motioned for him to stay seated. It was obvious that he was exhausted. “What are you doing here?”
    I curled up on the seat next to him and leaned my head on his shoulder when his arm went around me. “You didn’t call. I was worried.”
    “I assumed you would be asleep and I didn’t want to wake you.” His body relaxed against mine. “You don’t know how nice it is to hold you right now.”
    “Hold away. I’m not going anywhere.” I lifted my head just long enough to kiss his cheek. “How’s Snyder?”
    “The doctor says he should be okay. He mixed a healthy assortment of pills and they had to pump his stomach, but he got lucky.” His hand found the ends of my hair and he twirled a strand slowly.
    “Has he done something like this before?”
    Nolan sighed. “No, but he hasn’t been himself since the injury. I knew he was taking a lot of pain killers for his knee, but I never thought something like this was going to happen.”
    “How are you holding up? You look tired.”
    “I’m wiped,” he admitted. “The doctor said I should be able to see Snyder soon. Once I see for myself that he’s okay, I plan to go home and pass out.”
    “So we need something interesting to keep us occupied while we wait.” I leaned forward and reached for the newspaper on the coffee table. I flipped through the pages until I found the entertainment section. “One down- another word for hot? Five letters… maybe spicy?”
    “Your idea of an interesting time is a crossword puzzle?” Nolan shook his head in wonder. “I had no idea you were such a dork.”
    “Oh, I’m way dorkier than this. You’ll see.”
    He kissed me on the nose and said, “Another word for hot… I’m going with Jordyn.”
    “Cute. But clearly wrong.” I filled in the boxes with the word spicy. “This is going to take a while if you’re going to try to be cute with every answer.”
    “Five letter word for cute- Nolan.”
    “Okay, now who’s the dork?” I elbowed him playfully in the ribs. “You’re not as cute as you think you are.”
    “Yes, I am,” he said with complete confidence. “I was voted cutest male athlete in a recent poll.”
    “Well, there’s a reason why we require people to be older than 18 to vote in elections that actually matter. Pubescent girls aren’t exactly known for logical thinking.”
    “Ouch.” He put a hand on his chest. “Good thing we’re in a hospital, because you just broke my heart.”
    I was smiling when the doctor came in and my good mood instantly vanished. His update for Snyder wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t terrible. They had stabilized him and he should recover fine, but tests had found a lot of drugs in his system. He was going to need treatment after he got released.
    Nolan was able to see Snyder, and afterward he was quiet and withdrawn. He kept his arm around me as we headed to the exit, but I could feel the distance between us.
    “Snyder will be okay,” I said, even though I knew that might not be true. It was just what you said in situations like this.
    “Snyder doesn’t believe in rehab. Or therapy. Getting him to admit he needs help will be next to impossible.”
    Nolan was about to open the glass door that led outside but he stopped abruptly.
    “What’s wrong? Did you forget something?”
    “No.” He turned around. “You should go back inside.”
    “Nolan. What’s going on?” I had never seen him look so angry. One quick step to the side allowed me to see around him. Nearly a dozen reporters were gathered in the parking lot.
    “Someone leaked this to the press,” he