Page 67

Liz stands up next to me, swaying. Both Mark and I help to support her.
“We’re right here. I’m her mother, this is her father, and this is her boyfriend.” She points to me. “Anything you say to her father and I, you can say to him.” I grip her hand and squeeze as a silent thank you.
“Let’s walk into one of the private rooms so we can talk.” He leads us to this plain office where all the walls where bare. The furniture matched the furniture in the waiting area. All three of us sit quietly, waiting.
“First, my name is Dr. Benson. Katrina came in with some pretty serious injuries from the accident. She has a ruptured spleen and internal bleeding. She also has a broken arm and leg. There’s a bit of brain swelling, so we’re monitoring that. Right now, I have her listed in critical condition and in a medically-induced coma.
“Her body needs to rest while the swelling in her head goes down. I want to keep her here in the Trauma ICU until we wake her from the coma. We were able to stop the internal bleeding and repair the spleen. We put her arm and leg in casts. They were pretty bad breaks, but they should heal fine with time. Like I said, she’s in a coma, but that’s so that she can rest and heal. Do you have questions?”
“Is she going to be ok?” Liz asks, her voice wavers. Her hand is on her chest over her heart as she tries to keep her focus and not breakdown.
“Honestly, I can’t give you an answer for that. We are monitoring her. We need to let her heal, let her body rest.” Dr. Benson answers, his voice very sympathetic towards our situation.
I speak up next, “When can she come out of the coma?”
“Once the brain swelling has gone down. The induced coma will allow the brain to rest, protecting it.” Dr. Benson reaches out and touches Liz’s hand. “The minute I know something, you all will know. I just don’t know the outcome until it happens.”
I get it. They can’t say she is going to be okay because things can happen. It becomes a liability. All we can do is wait. Wait and see if she wakes up and pray there are no other issues that pop up along the way.
“We also gave Katrina some blood. She was quite pale when she came in here, so try not to worry when you see her. She’s still a little pale. If you folks have any questions, please let me know. I’ll be back to check on her all this week.” With that, Dr. Benson stands up and leaves.
We take a few moments to cry in the room before we leave. When we return to the waiting area, Vicki is there crying into Austin’s shirt. I’m guessing he told her what happened. Austin has Vicki in his arms, trying to console her.
Walking over to Vicki, I pull her into a hug. She starts crying even harder, and I rub her back, letting her get it out. I look over at Austin, and he’s torn up too but trying to stay strong for Vicki. When she’s done, she walks back over to Austin, who sits her down and drapes his arm around her.
A couple hours later, a nurse comes up to Kat’s parents and me and tells us we can go back, two at a time. They look at me, knowing I want to see her. But they need to go first, and I know that. I, of course, nod to her parents, letting them know I’m okay with waiting.
After about an hour, both of them come out in tears. Liz steps up to me and hugs me.
“Just prepare yourself, sweetheart.” She kisses me on my cheek. “We’re going to go grab something to eat and then we’ll be back. That’ll give you some time with her. Go be with her Bryce. She needs you.”
“Just so you know, I’m not leaving her. I have already requested leave for a while. There is no way I’m leaving until she wakes up.”
Liz nods, giving me a weak smile. “She loves you, and I can see why. You’re a wonderful man who stands by her no matter what. As her mom, I’m beyond relived she has you. Now, go in there and see her. Make sure she knows how much you love her; that’ll help her get better.” She gives me a powerful hug, and her and Mark leave.
As I watch them disappear down the hospital wing, my nerves get the best of me. I make my way back into the Trauma ICU. Approaching the door, I can feel my chest squeeze tight. I know what I’m about to see will be extremely hard. The sight of her in this room may never leave my mind. After all, I saw her in the car. But nothing could have prepared me for what was in front of me when I reach her room.
Lifeless. Kat’s body is just lying there. Her cuts are cleaned up and bandaged, and she has tubes going in and out of her. There’s a cast on her arm and leg. The image is horrific. My stomach sinks at the sight. Her eyes are closed, and her breathing is steady from the use of the ventilator. Her skin’s pale and ghostlike from all the blood loss. If it weren’t for the machines beeping and letting me know there’s still a heartbeat, I’d question if she was even still alive.
My steps are quiet as I walk in the room. My breath catches in my throat. The pain is repeatedly stabbing at my heart, and I want to scream. But I need to be strong for her. Stepping up to the side of her bed, I find her icy hand and wrap mine around it.
“Hey, Kitty Kat.” I choke out. “Listen, I need you to be strong, okay? The doctor says you just need to rest and heal. You won’t be alone; I’ll be sitting here, right by your side until you’re all better.”
I wipe the tears off my cheeks. Bringing her hand up to my lips, I softly kiss her.
“I love you, baby. You have no idea how scared I was when I responded to the accident. When … when I pulled up and I saw your car, my heart stopped. To see you lying there … That’s not something I ever wanted to see. It broke me. I don’t know if that image will ever leave my mind.” My head rests against hers, and I break down. I reach up and rub the spot where my heart’s hurting.
I felt so useless the moment we pulled up and I realized it was her car. There was no way for me to stop her from hurting or erase the accident. It happened outside of my control. I’m supposed to protect her, be her shield, but I always knew I couldn’t protect her from something like this.
“I’m so sorry, baby.” I cry. I cry so hard. When I finally stop crying, I kiss her hand again. “When you get out of here, we’re going to go find our forever home. Let’s not rent, let’s buy. Put down roots. Settle into our lives together. We’ll spend our days loving on each other and our nights making love to one another.”
I brush some of her hair back from her face. Her beautiful face. I lean in, kiss her forehead, and place mine against hers. My tears fall on her face, and I brush them off.
“I love you.” I whisper in her ear before I pull up a chair next to her bed and hold her hand while I watch her. All I want to do is wake up from this nightmare. But until she wakes up, my world will be forever dark.
Chapter 29
Bryce