Page 94 of Dr. Brandt

I was projecting my insecurities, and I needed to get over it, or I was no good to anyone.

I had to fix my son, and I was on my way to do precisely that.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Jessa

The last thing I remembered was getting confirmation from my parents and Warren that they’d all be on the next flights to Los Angeles. After that, I was stuck in my head about everything that’d gone wrong since I left Jacks to go on vacation with Cameron.

I couldn’t think of anything but my guilt for this happening to Jacks while I was enjoying living the life of an adventurous billionaire’s girlfriend.

Everything that happened from when I hung up the phone and walked out of the plane’s private bedroom until now was a blur. I vaguely remembered the plane landing and the car ushering us to the hospital, but that was it. I recalled loud ringing in my ears, and now, I was reclined on a sofa in a small, immaculate room with pictures of biplanes hanging on the wall.

How did I get here? I thought, feeling completely strange. I had to be in the hospital because I heard doctors being paged over the intercom, but I couldn’t have traced my steps if my life depended on it.

“Jess,” Cam said, shocking me by entering the room, wearing dark blue hospital scrubs and a white lab coat.

I sat up, getting my bearings, knowing I’d been a crazy zombie since I learned my son had gone into a coma.

“Jessica?” Cam said, his voice and demeanor changed entirely. He was gravely serious, and I realized then that I’d never met this side of Cameron.

“Cameron,” I answered, unsure what to say.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Me?” I questioned him, more confused than irritated that we were talking about me instead of my son.

I smeared my hand over my forehead. It was sweaty, and my palms were clammy. “How’d I get here?” I asked, knowing I’d lost important time somewhere along the line. “I can’t remember anything.”

“It’s because you fainted,” he said, answered.

“Fainted?”

“Yes, how are you feeling?”

“Jesus, Cameron, who cares how I’m feeling—”

“I do,” he answered stiffly. “My son is in ICU, and the woman I love fainted after seeing him in that state. I need to ensure you’re feeling better after waking up from that?”

“I’m confused,” I answered honestly. “Did I see Jacks? I fainted? I don’t—I’ve never—”

“It can happen to anyone in overwhelming situations, Jess.”

I felt so damn tired. “What have I missed?”

“You fainted when we walked in to see Jackson. Thank God I was behind you when it happened. I caught you, and you didn’t injure yourself.”

“Thank you,” I said, my mouth dry as the desert. “I need some water, though, and I need to see my son.” I took the water bottle Cameron pulled out of a fridge in the corner of the room and started crying. “All I’ve wanted since I learned my baby was hurt was to hold him in my arms, and once I get the chance, I fucking faint?” I growled the last word, feeling hopeless and worthless.

“Don’t do that to yourself,” he said. “This whole situation has caught all of us off guard. It’s helped me to see the images of his brain and go over them with my team,” he sat next to me.

“And what did you find?”

“The scans are showing positive outcomes for what I feared most. I was afraid he may have suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen, but that is not the case. It was as if all that activity firing off at once made his brain protect itself, and it shut itself down. It’s the closest thing to a miracle that could’ve happened to him, but time is of the essence. I must perform this surgery now to remove the diseased portion of his left hemisphere and allow the right hemisphere to take over.”

“So, this is it? It’s like his brain is giving us no other option?”

“He may wake from this in a week or so,” he said, placing his hand over mine, “or it may take longer. Having viewed all the scans, I’m confident that he will wake. However, I am not confident this won’t continue to happen. I am in a place as a surgeon and as his father where I don’t want to take any chances.”

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