Page 80 of Beautiful Trauma
I’d spent the last thirty-six hours at Dima’s bedside. I’d only consented to shower and change when Kira had pushed me into the bathroom adjoining Dima’s room. She’d arranged all my meals to be brought down as well.
I couldn’t help being proud of her. Dima and I had always spoiled her and Lev, especially after our mother’s death. That meant that most of the time, we had to parent them even though they were now adults. But this tragedy had proved what a good job Dima and I had actually done with them.
Although Father never visited, Dima was constantly surrounded by his family. Even Annika came several times a day. While we constantly talked to him, we also kept his favorite music playing in the background.
Regardless of everything we did, he remained locked away from us. The only change in his prognosis was the doctors now felt the potential injury to his spine wasn’t as serious. But they wouldn’t fully know until he woke up.
If he woke up.
At the moment, exhaustion had set in. I’d been talking nonstop since Kellan’s call an hour ago. As long as I was speaking, I somehow was able to keep myself from falling apart. I could pretend like I hadn’t just told a man I had feelings for to never call me again and blocked him.
I’d lived in a constant state of denial since Dima had betrayed me by trying to kill Kellan. The optimism that he’d tried to get me to embrace made me try to reason that things weren’t as bad as they seemed. That there could be a way forward.
But deep down, I knew the truth. There was no way Kellan and I could come back from this.
My voice was weak as I lay with my head on the side of Dima’s bed. “Remember that little black dog from Babuska's house? The one who used to sit in a chair at the table and have breakfast with us. Do you remember what its name was?” Grimacing, I searched my mind. “Was it Sharik or Pushok?”
At a groan, I jerked my head off the bed. Although his eyes were still closed, Dima’s brow was furrowed. My heartbeat accelerated in my chest.
“Dima? Can you hear me?”
At another groan, I grabbed his hand in mine. “Squeeze my hand if you can hear me?”
At the light brush of his fingers against mine, I began to laugh and cry at the same time. When his dark eyes popped wide, I screamed, “He’s awake!”
The doctor and nurses then rushed into the room, and I got shoved away from the bed. Instead of protesting, I kept silent and let them go to work on Dima.
An hour later, my siblings and I were crowded outside of Dima’s room, anxiously waiting for news. When the doctors finally stepped out, we rushed forward. “How is he?”
“He’s off the ventilator and breathing well on his own. Cognitively, he appears as he was before.”
A joyous whoop went up among us. “I knew he would prove you all wrong,” I cried with a smile.
At the exchange of looks between the doctors, the euphoria within me shriveled. “What’s wrong?”
“While it doesn’t appear he has total paralysis, Dima has no feeling in his legs.”
At Lev’s gasp, Maksim’s brow furrowed. “W-What d-d you m-mean?”
“He can’t move his toes or his legs.”
As my hand came over my mouth, I murmured, “Oh God.”
“Does that mean he’ll never walk again?” Aleks demanded.
“It’s too early to say.”
Glancing past the doctor to Dima’s room, I asked, “Does he know?”
“Yes. We explained his current prognosis.”
“How is he taking it?” Lev asked.
A crash came from inside Dima’s room, and we all rushed forward. At the sight of him on the floor beside the bed, I screamed.
As Maksim and Lev dove down beside him, Dima roared, “Leave me!”
“Let us help you,” Lev suggested.
