Page 93 of Wrap Around
I choke.
“They’re settling him into recovery. We can go back soon, but he probably won’t wake up for a few hours.”
My knees hit the ground hard, sobs wracking my chest. This time in pure, shaking relief.
I didn’t want to admit to myself that I didn’t think he’d make it. There was just so much blood. It took too long for the ambulance to get there, and then to get to a hospital with a trauma department.
I squeeze his hand lightly.
“It’s just you and me now,” I whisper, voice cracked and raw. “You can wake up. Open those pretty green eyes and let me see you’re okay, baby.”
Once the surgeon confirmed that Gideon was stable and through the worst of the danger, Lily took Addy back to the trailer so she could sleep. None of us thought Addy should be in a place like this overnight. Not after what she saw.
Everyone else left when they did.
But not me. I’ll never leave his side again if I can help it.
I haven’t moved in hours. Barely even gone to the bathroom.
I sit beside his bed, holding his hand in both of mine, pressing itto my mouth every so often, whispering promises into his skin like they might sink in and travel up to his brain.
The beeping of the monitor is the only sound in the room, but I don’t mind it. The steady beeps are proof he’s still here.
Dawn is breaking when the surgeon comes in again to check Gideon’s bandages and vitals before shift change. If his quiet nods are any indication, he approves of Gideon’s progress. I want to ask when he’ll wake up, but I can’t seem to remember how my voice works. He talks to me anyway.
“It was close,” he says. “The first bullet missed a major artery by millimeters.” He pauses. “Actually, hold on a second.”
The surgeon leaves the room for a few minutes, then comes back, holding a small bag. It’s clear plastic like a sandwich bag, but there’s a red bio-hazard stamp on the front. Inside the baggie is a dark grey lump.
He passes me the bag, and I hold it in my free hand. A river rock, cracked along the middle and a deep gouge on one side. When I wrap my fingers around it tighter, it feels almost warm.
I look up in confusion.
“That was found in his t-shirt pocket,” the surgeon says. “Might’ve been just solid enough to deflect the bullet even the slightest bit. It’s possible it could’ve been what saved his life. I thought you might want to keep it.”
My breath catches, and I wrap my fingers around the rock tighter. It feels… warm. Maybe I’m making that up. And surely it’s my own pulse I’m feeling from holding onto the rock so tightly.
The monitor beeps out of sync, just a small spike in the rhythm that gets my attention. My head snaps up to see it happen again.
Gideon’s fingers twitch in mypalm.
Gideon is awake, but groggy. Part of that might be my fault, the nurse showed me how to work the morphine pump and I keep pressing the button. I don’t want him to feel a second of pain.
Lily comes into the room just as I’m getting Gideon to sip some water. Her eyes are red and wet from crying. She burst into tears as soon as I called to tell her he woke up. He’s drifted off once since then, but he just woke again.
“Addy?” Gideon rasps, voice barely there, throat raw from the intubation.
I ask how our little girl is for him.
Lily nods. “She’s okay. Confused about where her daddy and Uncle Gid-On are, but she’s okay. She’s with Sister Eleanor, our old Sabbath school teacher, happily making a mess of her arts and crafts.” Lily looks at me. “Don’t worry, she knows not to discipline Addy without my say-so, apparently word got around about my little blow up on Sister Paula. But Eleanor was always kind to us. And Addy seemed happy.”
She walks over and sits on the edge of the bed, opposite me. She takes Gideon’s hand in hers and says softly, “I’m so glad you’re okay. You really had us worried there, big brother.”
She takes a shaky breath. Then she clears her throat, and her voice sharpens. “You’re a fucking idiot, you know that? You almost got yourself killed.”
Gideon’s gaze flicks to mine. He turns his hand over and drops something into my palm. The river rock.
I smile down at him and nod.
