Page 36 of Breaking Conviction
“Excuse me, Nora?”
Naomi turned to find a tall man in scrubs with dark skin and black hair. His deep brown eyes seemed to only see Nora as he walked into the room with concern etched into his handsome features.
“Oh, hey, Matt.” Nora’s voice came out hoarse and Naomi swiveled back to see her pale face had somehow blanched further. “Uh, Naomi, this is Matt.” As if he was registering Naomi for the first time, Matt lifted his hand in a halfhearted greeting with a small smile. “He’s one of the nurses on Drake’s rotation, so we’ve started to, uh... get to know each other. Um... what’s up?”
Matt shifted on his feet before speaking to Naomi and then Nora. “It’s really nice to meet you, Naomi, but I really need to speak with Nora... alone, if that’s alright?”
“Oh, sure—”
“—No, stay!” Nora reached over Draco’s body and grabbed on to her arm.
Matt shifted on his feet again, obviously uncomfortable. “Nora, I really wanted to speak to you alone... It’s about Mr. Heklason.”
“Whatever you have to say about him, you can say in front of Naomi.”
Matt nodded, seeming to accept that was as good as he was going to get. “Okay... I would have preferred to do this in private, but...” He walked over to Nora and crouched down so he was eye level with her and took her hand. Naomi noticed her slight flinch, but it didn’t seem like Matt did. “A doctor is waitin’ to talk to Hawk since we don’t have any family members on file, and I could get in trouble for tellin’ you but I—” He looked at Draco and a look Naomi couldn’t decipher crossed his face. “I know you care about him, so I wanted to talk to you first and take the sting out of what the doctor’s gonna say.”
“Just say it, Matt,” Nora snapped and Naomi blinked at her tone.
“The doctor said that he’s seriously considering discussing options... for Mr. Heklason’s future.”
“Really? I just spoke to a doctor recently and he didn’t talk about that.” Nora eyed him warily, and Naomi had to wonder where Nora’s extreme mood change had come from.
“I know. But the likelihood of him wakin’ up, Nora—”
She tugged her hand free. “Itoldyou, he’s responding to me when I talk to him. His eyes move and his hand squeezes back, and—”
“No, Nora.” Matt shook his head and what looked like genuine sympathy washed over his face. “Babe, those are just reflexes. They don’t think he’s gonna come back. Not after this long.”
After a moment of silence, Naomi noticed Nora’s green eyes brimmed with tears as they bore into Draco’s blanket. She closed them and seemed to literally swallow back her emotion, before opening them again with the moisture suddenly gone. “Thanks, Matt.” Her voice was flat and distant. “I think you should go.”
Matt’s head dipped before he nodded. “I get it. Just... call me when you wanna talk. I’ll always be here for you.”
Nora’s eyes never left the blanket in front of her. “Thanks.”
Matt seemed to want to say more, but finally nodded once before leaving.
Naomi and Nora sat in silence together. Once again, Naomi didn’t have a damn clue as to what she should say to console her. Of course, Nora took care of the awkwardness after clearing her throat.
“Naomi, I’m sorry, but do you mind giving me some privacy? I’d like to be by myself with Drake.”
“Oh, of course, yeah sure.” Naomi shot up to leave, saying her brief goodbye while trying not to stress over how she was supposed to get back to Sasha Saves.
I knew I should’ve ridden by myself.
She’d wanted to, but Nora had assured her that they would leave in time. As Naomi walked out of the hospital room, she looked back once to see Nora’s forehead resting against Draco’s leg.
For a moment, Naomi thought she saw it too, that quick movement behind his eyes, maybe a twitch of his hand. But Matt had said that the doctors were basically giving up hope. As usual, she was just seeing what she wished she could.
Was that really how she wanted to keep seeing the world? She was coming to realize that was definitely how she saw her relationship with Dean. Always wishing it would get better. Struggling to mesh her deep-seated need for Thea to have her father in her life with their reality. Hoping they’d last and provide a loving home for Thea on a wing and a prayer.
Naomi leaned against the wall outside of the hospital room and resisted looking at the time on her phone. Instead, she covered her face in her hands, once again trying to figure out what she should do with her own damn life. Why had it been so easy to figure out solutions with Sophie, but impossible to figure out her own?
What would my friend say?
Sophie’s new mantra rang in her ears. Was it really that simple? Talk to herself like she would her friend?
She heard his steps and felt his presence before he leaned against the wall beside her, nudging her arm gently with his elbow.
