Page 62 of Hutch (Minnesota Raptors #2)

Daisy

Have you ever dunked your head underwater in the pool or the bath?

Everything around you goes quiet, the sounds from above muted and distorted.

That’s what everything is like right now—distorted and muted.

It all sounds so weird. It’s like I can almost make out someone talking to me, but when I try to focus on it, the voice blurs out and I’m left floating in this gray fog of nothingness.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been like this.

I don’t really like it. I try to open my eyes, but they’re heavy.

It’s like when you’ve slept for hours and hours and you simply can’t drag yourself out of the semi-conscious state of awareness.

I read a book once about a demon that trapped people in the realm between sleep and the waking world.

It tortured and terrorized you while your body refused to move because you were still technically sleeping.

That’s me right now, and the demon is just the sound of nothingness.

Every once in a while I get a twinge of pain, but I’m not sure from where.

It’s irritating enough that I notice it and as time goes by, the twinges of pain increase as does the need to open my eyes even if I can’t.

I’m restless and this nagging pain is starting to become more than irritating.

I want to move to relieve the pain in some way, but I feel trapped, with nothing to tether myself to.

I’m sinking or maybe floating into this unending gray fog.

“Come on, Red, open your eyes.”

Collin?

What?

Where’s…

“Listen to him, sweetheart. Just open your eyes and breathe. Just keep breathing for me.”

There he is.

“You’re sleeping so I won’t beat your ass in COD .”

Robbie? What’s he doing here? He’s overseas.

“Please, baby, open your eyes. Please.”

Why does he sound so heartbroken? Is he hurt? Is his mom hurt? My worry for him and the need to comfort him finally drags my eyes open and I blink against the dim light. It’s not bright enough to hurt, but my sore eyes still rebel against what little light there is.

“Baby?” His voice is soft, worried. “Can you hear me?”

Why does it still sound like everything is muffled? Like I’m underwater?

I try to speak, but I’m wracked by coughing which causes the most intense pain I’ve ever felt to seize my lungs. My gaze sweeps back to him, terrified. What’s wrong with me?

“Get the doctor,” he says, keeping his voice calm. “Rob, we need water.”

A plastic cup is placed in his hand, and he holds it to my lips. “Take a sip, sweetheart. Not too much, you’ll get sick.”

The water is like heaven to my cottonmouth, but he pulls the cup back before I can drink more than a swallow. My throat burns as the water slides down. It’s on fire. My hand tries to go up, to grasp it, but they’re heavy. I look down to see them both encased in casts.

What?

I don’t understand.

“Easy, baby. You’re okay. You’re in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?”

What happened? I…I don’t know…

“Hey, Sis.”

Robbie’s voice comes from my other side, and I turn my head to look at him. He’s here. He’s really here. Why does he look so worried? Why do they both look worried?

“Try to stay calm. We don’t need your blood pressure spiking and them trying to put you back to sleep. I’m here, Hutch and Collin are here. Your friends are in the waiting room. We’re all here.”

My friends…images and sounds flicker at the edge of my memory. I can hear Lucy screaming and screaming. Will trying to help and falling and then…

“What’s wrong?” Hutch sounds scared. “Your blood pressure…”

“Everyone out.” A blonde woman comes into the room followed by several men, one in scrubs, and two wearing a white doctor’s coat. Do people actually still wear those?

“Cora…”

“Don’t Cora me, Jonathan Wayne Hutchinson. We need to assess her, and you cannot be in the room this time. All of you out.”

While all of this is going on around me, all I can see and hear is Lucy screaming and…and Joseph. He was there. He hit me and I fell. I couldn’t move. I saw him stomp Will. And Lucy…she was screaming until she wasn’t. Did he kill her?

Tears stream down my face.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” The blonde, Cora, she’s right there. “What hurts?”

I just stare at her, hearing Lucy scream.

Her eyes grow concerned. “Daisy, can you speak?”

Can I speak? I open my mouth and all that comes out is a hoarse croak. Cora gives me a little more water, but it hurts to swallow.

“You had a collapsed lung, and we had to put you on a ventilator to help you breathe,” Cora says. “We took the tube out today, so your throat is bound to be sore from the swelling. I want you to take another sip and try to say my name. It’s Cora.”

I do as she asks and then lean back, dragging in a shallow breathe because it hurts to breathe. “C…C…C..or…a.”

“Very good,” she croons, but it doesn’t sound good to me.

“It might take a few hours to a few days for your voice to fully come back. Every person is different. Now, these are your surgeons. This is Dr. Briney, Dr. Sturgis, and Dr. Williams.”

The oldest one, Dr. Briney, smiles kindly. “You gave us quite a scare, Miss Canton. We didn’t know if you were going to make it there for a while.”

My mind flashes to the basement. To being hit and stomped so many times I lost count. I passed out and then I woke up here.

I try to move my hand again and pain radiated all the way up to my shoulder.

“Best not to do that for a bit,” Dr. Williams, the youngest of the three doctors says. “I’ve done two surgeries to repair your left hand, but you have broken bones in both of your arms and your left femur is broken. You need to try and stay still for the next few days as they start to heal.”

I remember the snap when he stomped on my right arm. Remember the pain.

Dr. Sturgis comes forward. “I’m your neurosurgeon. You had major brain trauma. We had to repair several bleeds and alleviate the swelling twice. You’ve also got a severe concussion, but we need to do some preliminary evaluations. I’m going to run you through a few cognitive tests. Okay?”

Is that why I can’t hear well or speak well? Will I ever be able to speak right?

“Easy,” he says. “Just stay calm. I need you to follow my finger with your eyes. Don’t turn your head. Just use your eyes.”

I think I manage it.

He asks me several yes or no questions I can answer.

“Can you say Cora’s name again for me?”

“C…or…a.”

“Very good. You said it much better than you did a few minutes ago. I think it’s just the swelling in your throat that is causing the issue and nothing related to your neuro trauma.

We’ll try again in an hour or so. I’m going to have them bring ice packs to apply to your throat to help the swelling go down.

It’ll be uncomfortable, but it’ll help.”

I want to tell him about my hearing, but it’s so hard to talk.

He pulls the blankets back that are covering my legs. One is in a cast and they’re both black and blue. The shock of it renders me speechless in a manner of speaking.

“I need you to wiggle your toes for me. Can you do that Cora?”

All I can do is stare at the patchwork of bruises on my legs.

Something sharp runs up the instep of my right foot and I jerk in response. The doctor is running a metal instrument up my foot. He does it to the other one and it elicits the same response.

“Good, there’s feeling there. Can you try to wiggle your toes for me again?”

I didn’t do it the first time, but now I do. He smiles triumphantly. “Very good.”

Was he afraid I was paralyzed?

With how many times I was stomped and the way I couldn’t move, I understand why he might have worried about that.

They run me through a battery of tests, but don’t tell me how I did. Which worries me. I can’t even ask the way my voice is right now.

The room turns serious and it’s Dr. Sturgis who tells me the extent of my injuries and I want to pass out. How am I alive?

“You’re a very lucky young woman,” he tells me.

“That fiancé of yours, your brother, and your friend Dylan is the reason you’re here with us now.

They performed CPR until the paramedics arrived, and Mr. Hutchinson has not left this room for more than a few minutes since you got here.

Every time I came in, I heard him telling you to just breathe and everything would be fine.

You’re very lucky to have someone who loves you so much. ”

He stayed here the whole time? But his position with the Raptors…no way will they keep him if he missed so much practice and then games…why would he do that?

You’re very lucky to have someone who loves you so much.

Dr. Sturgis’ words finally register.

He loves me?

“We gave you a dose of heavy painkillers earlier when we decided to bring you out of the medically induced coma. They’ll be wearing off soon. My practice is to not prescribe high does of pain medication, but in your situation, you need it.”

I shake my head. I don’t want that.

“Your body is going to be in so much pain, you’re not going to be able to handle it, Miss Canton.” Dr. Briney says. “As I said, it’s not my practice to prescribe them, but for the next few days, maybe a week, you need them.”

I shake my head stubbornly. My mother got addicted to prescription pain meds and then moved onto heroin. Addiction runs in my family. My dad was an alcoholic who died when he crashed his car drunk. I don’t want that stuff anywhere near me.

“Your brother, Robert, said you might have this reaction. Your mother was an addict?”

I nod.

“I’m not going to let you get addicted, young lady.

We’ll wean you off of them before we allow you to go home.

You’re going to be here another two weeks at least. You need the medicine for a few days while your body continues to heal.

Without the pain medicine, you will stress your body out and slow the healing process.

We want to get you home, not keep you here longer than necessary.

Please allow us to help you. I’m not going to let you become addicted. I promise.”