Page 28 of Wanting You

“Is it just me or is Mom not moving? Like at all,” Ash whispered so only she could hear.

“She’s not,” Chloe confirmed, and that had her trembling and on the verge of tears again.

“Guys,” Reid quietly said as he joined them and guided them back to the waiting area just as a nurse stepped out of the room. “We can’t just go in there.” Then he turned toward the nurse. “Do you know when we’ll be able to go in and see her?”

“Dr. Barnett and Dr. Manning will be down to speak to you in a few minutes,” the nurse said as she made her way past them.

“Um…she’s just sleeping, right?” Ashlynn asked her before she went too far.

“She’s sedated right now to help with the seizures. Dr. Manning will explain it all to you.” And before anyone else could ask, the nurse was walking into another patient room.

“Rude much?” Billie asked no one in particular. “I mean, this is all scary and we’re just concerned. Would it have killed her to just stay until the doctors got here?”

“Maybe she doesn’t have all the information and doesn’t want to tell us the wrong thing,” Levi countered. “And you have to admit, there’s far too many of us up here and we can be overwhelming.”

Billie mumbled something under her breath before sitting down on one of the sofas.

“I hate this,” Chloe quietly commented. “I hate that we’re all here, I hate that mom’s hurt, and I hate not knowing what’s going on.”

Levi moved to her side and wrapped his arm around her. “We all feel that way, but we have to stay strong and positive and believe that everything’s going to be okay.”

Easy for him to say…

The two doctors came down the hall, and after introducing themselves again—like they had the day before—they took turns explaining all of Marie’s injuries and how they had placed her in a medically induced coma because of the swelling to her brain. It was only temporary and they were optimistic that they could wake her up within the next day or two, but that was why they had moved her up to the intensive care floor.

After that, it was a lot of medical jargon that Chloe didn’t fully understand, but it sounded like there was going to be a lot of waiting around with very little results.

And now I hate this more…

“You can reach us at any time,” Dr. Manning said. “We understand that this is all very upsetting for you, but our primary concern is making sure Marie is kept sedated and monitored. I wish we had better news for you, but the next forty-eight hours are going to be critical. There isn’t much you’ll be able to do here, but you’re more than welcome to stay until visiting hours are over.”

“Please remember that you can only go in and sit with her one at a time,” Dr. Barnett added. “Any of the nurses at the desk can help you with going in and out of the room, but we ask that you not stay too long. What your mother needs right now is to let her brain and body rest.”

“Isn’t that why you put her in the coma?” Billie asked. “I can’t imagine us sitting there and doing anything to disturb that.”

Both doctors nodded. “That’s true,” Dr. Manning replied, “but patients can still hear noises around them while in a coma. We just ask that you keep that sort of thing to a minimum.”

“Can one of us stay the night?” Levi asked. “I understand about visiting hours, but my sister stayed last night, and I planned on being here tonight. Of course, that was when she was in a regular room, but…”

“You can,” Dr. Barnett responded. “Just let one of the nurses know, and she’ll make sure you have a blanket and pillow. The chair beside the bed pulls out to a sleeper. It’s not the most comfortable, but it beats sleeping sitting up.”

They talked for a few more minutes, but all Chloe wanted was to go in and see her mother. That took another thirty minutes because she somehow ended up being the last one to go in. All the time she sat waiting, she wondered what she was going to do or say when she went in, but all she knew was that she had to be strong and not cry.

It didn’t quite work out that way.

Once she was standing beside the bed, she broke down crying and hated herself for it. “I’m sorry, Mom,” she quietly sobbed. “I know I need to be strong, but I can’t. Not right now. I want to talk with you and tell you about my classroom and share crafting ideas.” Resting her head on the edge of the bed, she let the tears fall. There was nothing she could do, nothing she could say, and she had no idea how long she had even been sitting there when Ashlynn opened the door.

“Chlo? You okay?”

All Chloe could do was shake her head.

“Come on,” her sister said softly as she helped her to her feet. “Let’s get you out of here for a little while.”

A nod was her only response.

Stepping out of the room, Chloe was surprised to see Tanner standing with her family. He was passing out bottles of water and cups of coffee and snacks.

What the…?

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