Page 16 of Brandishing Balance (Devil’s Psychos MC #3)
Marcos
“ T here was a slight tear in her colon, but we managed to repair that laparoscopy. It was a very minor tear, but she was leaking gastrointestinal liquid into her body, so sepsis has set in. We’re treating her with high doses of antibiotics, but she’s heavily sedated for the time being,” Griffin said.
“Basically, we’ve induced a coma to help her body heal.
Because of that, we’ve had to put her on a ventilator just to help her lung function easier. ”
I stared at the doctor, not comprehending what all he said.
“Thanks, Griff,” Jason grunted beside me.
Griffin nodded. “I’m gonna get cleaned up and grab something to eat, but I’ll be around if you have any questions. Darla will escort you to Maya’s room. Give her a few minutes to get everything situated.”
I nodded numbly.
Nico sat back down on the leather chairs we were occupying before Griff came in the with the update. The VIP waiting room was like nothing I had seen before, leather couches and recliners, with table lamps set low to give a cozy vibe.
Jason began to pace the small waiting room, like he had for the last several hours.
I forced myself to ignore him, before I snapped at him.
A few minutes later Darla walked into the waiting room, with a bright smile on her face.
She’d worn the same bright smile all night, despite it being the early hours of the morning.
While it immediately eased our fears and settled our nerves, I had to imagine it grew tiresome.
Had to be hard to keep a happy smile and inform families when their loved ones weren’t doing well.
“Alright, gentlemen. If you would follow me, I’ll take you back to Maya.”
Nico and I jumped up from our chairs, ready to roll.
“I want to prepare you for what to expect though. It can be a little overwhelming for families when they first see their loved ones hooked up to so many machines and tubes. The main thing to remember is she’s doing well, despite the infection.
All those tubes and wires are just to help her get stronger.
” Darla spoke gently and met our gazes with compassion.
“Yeah,” Nico murmured, nodding.
Darla turned on her heel and lead the way out of the room. My brothers and I followed her down the hall and around the corner. Darla walked into the second door on the left, right across from the nurses’ station, and I followed right behind.
Inside, I didn’t know where to look first. The room did not look like the typical hospital room.
To the right was a living area, with two couches and a recliner facing a wall mounted big screen TV.
To the left of the room was what one would expect to find in a hospital room.
The hospital bed was centered on the left wall, with real nightstands on either side.
There was still hospital equipment in the room, though.
The breath was sucked from my lungs as I stared at Maya lying prone on the bed, tubes and wires coming off her.
“I know it looks scary,” Darla spoke up, pulling me out of my thoughts, “but she won’t need them for long.
A couple days at the most. Doctor Griffin will make sure she makes a full recovery. ”
I nodded numbly.
Nico walked past me and right over to the far side of the bed where a comfortable-looking recliner was. He pulled the chair as close to the bed as he could get it and sat down. Lacing his fingers with Maya’s, Nico looked like he was settling in for the long haul.
“The call button is right here,” Darla pulled out the standard issue bed remote with nurse button.
“Thank you, Darla,” Nico said.
“Not a problem, dear. Over here you’ll see is the VIP suite.
You get a living room, and through this door here,” Darla opened the door, “Is your bedroom. There are two queen beds here and the bathroom just to the right, like a standard hotel room. If you need another bed, the couches in the living room pull out and there are extra linens in the closet here.”
I watched her go through the quick tour and nodded my head mechanically. Standard hotel shit, in the middle of a fancy as fuck hospital suite. Got it.
“Alright darlings, try to get some rest. Maya’s going to be sedated for the next twenty-four hours or so,” Darla said, before she left the room.
In her absence, a deafening silence fell over the room. The only sound was the constant beeping of the heart monitor, reminding us that Maya’s heart was still beating. Nico was zoned in on Maya, staking his claim at her side.
Jason stood a foot from me in the center of the suite, looking as lost as I felt. What the fuck were we supposed to do now?
Marcos
I woke up to my cell phone buzzing on my chest. I’d fallen asleep on the couch in the living room area of the suite, after hours of texting in the early hours of morning, updating everyone that needed updates. Seeing Kara’s picture on my screen, I sat up and answered immediately. “Hey, Lil Manita.”
“Hey, Marquitos,” Kara greeted, her voice soft. “How are things this morning?”
I cleared my throat. “She’s uh, she’s the same. Griff said it would be a day or two before they took her off everything.”
“That’s rough.” Kara sighed. “How are you doing?”
I glanced around the suite to see that Jason sleeping in the recliner near him and Nico in the recliner beside Maya.
I switched to Spanish, so I could speak freely and stood up and headed for the bedroom suite for some privacy.
“Mal. La verdad es que estoy hecho un desastre. No sé cómo hacer esto. ?Qué hago?” Not good.
Honestly, I'm a mess. I don't know how to do this. What do I do?
“Oh, Marquitos. It’s ok to be a mess. It’s hard. No one should have to live through the trauma that Maya lived through. The important thing right now is to remind yourself that she’s alive. She’s alive, and she going to recover. You just have to be there for her.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, switching to English. “What do I do about Luke?”
“You can’t tell him what happened to her, not the exact truth. He’s too young,” Kara said. “But he knows she was with Hillcrest and that he hurt her. That’s enough for him. I wouldn’t wait to bring him to her. Even if it’s a lot right now. It’s been a week since he’s seen his mother.”
“Yeah.” I grunted the word and had to clear my throat as my voice choked with emotion. “Yeah, I—”
“How about I bring him by this afternoon?” Kara suggested.
I thought about it for a minute. “No, no. I should be the one to drive him up here. Elaine too. I’ll run home and shower and change my clothes and all that. Get some food and I’ll bring them up here. Can you come too? Say around one?”
“Yeah, I can do that. I’ll probably have one of the guys with me,” she warned.
“Wouldn’t expect anything less, Lil Manita. You need to stay safe.”
Marcos
I held Luke as he bawled in my arms. Seeing his mother like she was would be hard for anyone. But for a nine-year-old kid who knew his mother had been kidnapped—who had traded herself for her son’s safety—it was excruciatingly painful.
I took Luke into the bedroom suite and held him tightly as he cried. Kara came and sat down next to us on the bed, rubbing Luke’s back as I rocked him gently. “It’s ok, buddy,” I murmured softly. I kissed the top of Luke’s head and held him tighter.
Elaine stepped into the bedroom suite, wiping tears from her eyes. She walked past us and over to the window, looking out at the city of Mourningside below. “I called Jenna this morning. She should be here soon.”
Luke pulled away slightly to look over at his grandmother. “Aunt Jenna is coming?”
“Yeah, honey. She’s on her way.” Elaine confirmed.
“That’s a good thing, huh, Luke? Another Aunt here,” Kara smiled at Luke and patted his hand.
Luke nodded and climbed off my lap and into Kara’s.
He curled up around her on the mattress and sniffled as he tried to control his breathing.
“I know mom looks bad right now,” I said, trying to keep my voice even, “but she’s only going to look like that for another couple days.
Doc Griffin is keeping an eye on her and giving her the medicine she needs to get stronger. ”
“You promise?” Luke voice is so small, so soft, it broke my heart.
“Yeah, bud. I promise. Your mom is going to make a full recovery.” I could only hope and pray to God that I kept that promise to my son.