Page 41 of The Family Guest

NATALIE

Sitting next to Matt in the trauma unit waiting room, I gripped his hand. My heart was racing, my chest so tight it hurt to breathe as the worst-case scenarios possible bombarded my mind.

What if Tanya was disfigured?

Paralyzed?

In a coma?

Brain-dead?

On life support?

Or if she was already…

Oh, God. This couldn’t be happening again. First my precious Anabel, now my lovely Tanya. My darkest thought was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. A doctor. Attractive and likely in her forties, she was clad in a white lab coat and blue scrubs. My heart in my throat, I jumped up from my seat. Matt leaped up too.

She introduced herself. Dr. Lawrence, a neurologist.

Despite how parched and tense I was, words tumbled out of my mouth. “Doctor, is she okay?”

“Your exchange student is a very lucky girl.” She adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses. “Thankfully, she was wearing her seat belt when she crashed. Upon impact, the air bag exploded in her face, causing some facial damage, but nothing major. Her body also suffered multiple contusions; she’s all bruised up. She may also have a concussion. I’m awaiting the results of her MRI and want to keep her here overnight for observation.”

With her monotone voice and my frazzled state, it was as if she’d read me a Wikipedia entry. I processed her words slowly, unable to respond. Matt beat me to it.

“So, Doctor, are you saying she’s okay?”

She nodded. “So far, so good. But you can never tell with head injuries.”

All the what-ifs returned, my mind flashing back again to my beloved Anabel. All the life knocked out of her. An icy sick feeling pooled in the pit of my stomach.

The door to Tanya’s hospital room was ajar. Matt and I hesitantly walked in. His warm hand clasping my cold clammy one, he felt like my lifeline. At the sight of her, I felt a shock to my system. An ache in my chest. My poor darling Tanya! She looked terrible. Her hair was matted, her face splotchy and swollen, her eyes purplish and puffy, and above her right brow was a jagged stitched-up gash, covered by a butterfly bandage. All the monitors and IVs attached to her only added to my anguish.

“Hi, honey…” I said softly, my voice unsteady.

Her head slightly askance, she slowly turned it to face me, and at the sight of me, she burst into tears. My heart was cracking.

Breaking free of Matt, I jogged up to her bedside and brushed stray strands of hair off her face; she felt a little feverish. I resisted the urge to hug her. She looked so frail in the hospital bed, and I didn’t want to inflict pain on her battered body.

“I—I’m so, so sorry!” she sobbed out.

Matt joined me as I dabbed her wet cheeks with a Kleenex.

“Shh,” I soothed. “The important thing is that you’re going to be all right. How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck,” she managed, her voice weak and hoarse, barely above a whisper.

“You poor thing!” I breathed out. Her pain was contagious and every bone in my body ached for her, as if she were my own child.

“Tell us what happened,” said Matt.

“I borrowed Paige’s car. I found the keys in the kitchen.”

I looked at Matt with puzzlement. I thought he was keeping them hidden from Paige.

“I put them there, Nat, on the key rack. I was going to give them back to Paige after your birthday breakfast.”

Tanya continued. “I know I shouldn’t have taken them—or Paige’s car. I’d planned to wake up early and walk over to the Larchmont farmers market to get Natalie some flowers for her birthday.” A sniffle. “But I overslept and didn’t have enough time.”