Page 47 of Inside Silence

I hate her questions make me doubt what I felt so confident about just moments ago.

“No. His voice was the last I heard before I blacked out.”

The door opens behind Savvy and the same elderly doctor who was here earlier walks into the room.

“Mr. Gaines…you are a lucky man.” Then he turns to Savvy. “Sheriff, sorry to interrupt.”

“Hey, Doc. No worries, we were pretty much done here.”

“Good.” He focuses back on me. “Like I said, you’re a lucky man with an extraordinarily hard skull. The scan shows no fractures, bleeds, or obvious damage, but you lost a bit of blood and suffered a serious concussion. You’ll also probably have an extra bump on your nose from hitting the ground face-first, I hope you’re not too vain. I’m going to send Dana in to stitch up that gash on the back of your head. And then we’re gonna keep you here for observation for at least forty-eight hours. Head injuries can be sneaky and we want to make sure we haven’t missed anything. I’ll be by to check on you later.”

Forty-eight hours? It’s the weekend, what am I going to do about Tatum?

The doctor is already gone by the time I process the information.

“I can’t be in here for two days.”

Savvy grins wryly. “You don’t have much of a choice.”

“I can’t. I’ve got Tate.”

She walks up to the bed.

“You need to rest. I’ll make sure your daughter is taken care of.”

Then she surprises me when she leans down and presses a kiss against my chapped lips.

“You scared me,” she whispers, before turning on her heel and walking out.

I must’ve dozed off because the next thing I know, my daughter’s voice wakes me.

“Daddy? Are you okay? They said I could only see you for a few minutes.”

I notice Dana Kerrigan hovering in the doorway behind her.

“Hey, honey.” I try to smile at her but it hurts my face. “I promise, I’ll be fine. They want to stitch me up and keep an eye on me for a couple of days. That’s all.”

“I know, Savvy told me. She called Naomi’s mom and I can stay there for the weekend. She asked KC to stick around so he can drive me over.”

“Why? Where is Savvy?” I can’t help but ask.

“Oh, she said something about an urgent matter she had to take care of. She promised to check in with me later.”

“Tatum…” Dana pipes up. “Maybe let me get your dad stitched up so he can get some rest. Savvy said she’d bring you back tomorrow for a visit, and in the meantime, I wrote down your number so I can update you or get in touch with you if I need to, okay?”

Tate nods, but her eyes are welling with tears when she looks at me.

“Aww shit, honey, come here.”

I spread my arms as best I can and wrap them around my daughter, who cries on my chest.

“Sweetheart, I swear to God, I’ll be just fine.”

Forty-five minutes later my head is stitched up, and Dana left me with instructions to get some rest. But unfortunately, rest will not come, because I can’t stop worrying about the urgent matter Savvy left to take care of.

Savvy

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