Page 81 of Stay With Me

Samantha shrugged. “I felt like something sweet might send me over the edge.”

“What if I brought you some dry toast?”

“I could try that.”

Charlotte smiled as she listened to her stethoscope. “I have good news.”

“You’re going to let me sleep for longer than an hour?”

“I found Nick for you.”

Samantha jolted upward. “You did?”

“I did. He didn’t have an ID on him, and that’s why there was so much confusion. But he was the only person who came in from the park yesterday with those injuries so I knew it was him.”

“Is he okay?”

“He’s uh … he was in surgery for a long time, and he’s still sleeping. But it went well and he’s in good shape for the shape he’s in.”

“Well, can I see him?”

“He’s still sleeping-”

“Can I see him?”

Charlotte hesitated a second before answering, “Yeah, I’ll take you. But you have to ride in the chair.”

* * *

Charlotte wheeled Samantha into an elevator, then out on the floor below, and finally down a long hall and paused in front of a room.

She kneeled down in front of the chair and looked at Samantha with a somber face. “Now, don’t be alarmed when you see him. For the type of break he had, they had to use a device that’s a little scary looking. He’s going to have a long, hard recovery, but he’s going to be fine. He’s also heavily sedated so he probably won’t wake up for a while, and when he does, he’ll probably be confused. I want you to be prepared.”

Samantha nodded as she gulped.

Charlotte pushed the door open and wheeled Samantha in, parking her next to the bed.

Charlotte’s little heads up didn’t exactly prepare Samantha for what she was currently looking at, and she covered her mouth to avoid crying out in horror.

One leg was in a normal cast, but the other was encased in what looked like a medieval torture device. Metal rings around his knee, calf, and ankle, with numerous pins and screws drilled into his skin.

“Oh my word,” she whispered from behind her hand, then uncovered her mouth and glanced up at Charlotte. “Is he ever going to walk again?”

“Oh yes,” Charlotte assured her with a pat on the shoulder. “He’ll be in this for a few weeks, and then he’ll have to do some physical therapy, but he’ll probably be back to his typical activity level once he’s all healed up. The most dangerous thing was the risk of infection, but he dodged that bullet, fortunately.”

Samantha fell silent and swallowed again as she attempted to hold herself together.

“Are you all right? I can take you back to your room if this is too much.”

Samantha shook her head and looked up at Charlotte through bleary eyes. “Can I please stay with him?”

“You need to try to rest, Samantha.”

Samantha pointed to a row of chairs against the wall. “I’ll lay down right there. I promise. Please let me stay here.”

Charlotte hesitated before speaking. “I’ll come check on you later.”

“Thank you.”