Chapter 21
21
G loria awoke to a pounding headache. Ugh, she felt nauseous. She lifted her hand to touch her head. Why was her head pounding so hard?
She turned her head slightly and a wave of nausea hit her. She froze and tried to take a deep breath. Her chest hurt and she whined.
"Miss Adams, please don't move. You're in the hospital. You have a serious head injury."
Hospital. Why was she... "I'm in the hospital?"
"Yes, ma'am, you're in the hospital. You were in a car accident, and you hit your head."
"I hit my head," she repeated. "I feel so sick."
"Yes, ma'am, it's the head injury. The doctors have given you something to keep the swelling down. It'll take a little while for it to take effect. In the meantime, please just stay as still as you can so you don't vomit. That will be more painful than anything, believe me."
"Yes, painful. Mina. Where’s my daughter, Mina?"
"Your daughter's in surgery."
"Surgery... She can't... Who signed? She can't. Is she all right? Is she okay? Will she be..." Gloria's thoughts were jumbled and she couldn't seem to complete a sentence.
She swallowed what felt like cotton. "Will she make it?"
She tried to move. To sit up. The wave of nausea was so strong.
"Oh. Oh."
She took gulps of air, and gentle hands, slowly pressed her back to bed.
"Please don't make sudden moves, Miss Adams. Your daughter's in surgery. Doctors are doing everything they can for her."
"What happened? What's wrong with her?"
She tried opening her eyes, and the light felt like a piercing sword in her skull.
"She has a head injury. They are in surgery trying to help her right now."
Surgery.
"Oh, my God. I have to... I have to... I have to be with her. I have to go."
"Miss Adams, there's nothing you can do for her right now. Doctors are with her. You can't go in there. What you need to focus on is making yourself get better. Please try and relax. I know that's easy to say and hard to do, but please try and relax and let the medication the doctors have given you work, so that your swelling, your headache will go away."
Some of the fog lifted.
"Where's Sean? Sean was with us. Where's Sean? Is he okay? Is Sean okay?"
"He's down in the family room right now. I'm happy to go get him. He isn't next of kin, and we weren't allowed to let him in here with you."
"Yes." Tears flowed down her face. "Yes. Sean. I want to see Sean."
She swallowed the dryness away in her throat. For the life of her, she couldn't get moisture in her mouth. Her tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of her mouth. She tried again and again.
Finally, she heard Sean's voice.
"Gloria, how are you doing, honey? How are you?"
She tried to unstick her tongue from the roof of her mouth. "Water."
Her voice was scratchy.
"Can she have water, nurse?"
"Yes, only small sips. Actually, it would be better if she only had ice chips. Let me run and grab some ice. Don't let her drink too much. It'll make her nauseous right now."
She felt Sean's weight settle in next to her hip in the bed. She was afraid to open her eyes. The light would hurt. It would hurt like a bitch.
He touched her bottom lip with his finger.
"Honey, open your mouth a little. I'll put a straw next to your lips."
She opened her lips, and he placed the straw in her mouth.
"Okay, only a small sip, honey. Only a small one. Just get your mouth wet."
She took a little sip and Sean pulled the straw away. She almost cried. She needed more water. She was so dry.
"Just a little more, please."
"Honey, let's just wait for the nurse to come back with the ice. I know it's hard."
Tears streamed out of her eyes.
"Mina?"
She heard him let out a shaky breath.
"She's in surgery."
"But how is she?"
"She was unconscious, honey. She hit her head pretty hard. She has cuts and bruises on the side of her face. They didn't tell me anything more. I'm her father, but not her legal father. I didn't have permission to get any information about her, or you for that matter. That's why they made me stay outside."
"Okay, sorry."
"We need to remedy that, honey. We need to remedy that. I'm her father."
She started to nod her head, but a wave of nausea filled her. Her skin grew hot.
She squeezed her eyes shut tight.
"Yeah."
She said it quick because it hurt. She felt his warm, strong hands hold onto hers. He didn't say anything else. He just sat with her quietly.
The nurse walked in.
"Here. I have some ice chips for you, Ms. Adams. You can take one ice chip at a time and let it melt in your mouth, please. Slowly, so you don't get nauseous."
"Okay."
Sean's voice was firm when he said, "I'll help her."
She heard the ice chips rattle in a cup, and then a cold, wet cube slid along her lips. She opened her mouth, and he slipped the cube inside.
"Just let it melt, honey."
She laid there for a few minutes, letting the ice cube melt. She heard Sean set the glass on a table. It must have been next to her bed. But he instantly picked her hand up again, her left hand.
Both of his hands held her left hand. When the ice cube was gone, her mouth felt a little better.
She asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Bruised. A little scared. A lot. So scared, honey. So scared."
"Yeah. Me too."
She felt the tears leak from her closed eyes. The back of Sean's fingers brushed the tears away. He pulled a tissue from a tissue box and dabbed her cheeks. He didn't say anything like, "Hold it together or stop crying," or "Don't be silly."
Nothing like that. He just took care of her. Finally, his voice, she heard him swallow, deep swallows.
"I'm so sorry, Gloria. I'm so sorry," he cried softly.
She squeezed his hand. "It's not your fault, Sean. One of those stupid reporters just had to try and get a picture. Just had to see our pain. See everything we were going through. Fucking stupid reporters." It came back to her in a flood. She remembered Sean yelling to hang on. She remembered the reporters speeding past them with their camera hanging out the window. She remembered the busy road and the reporters’ car turning into them. Sean slammed on the brakes to give them room, but they were hit.
"Yeah. Yep, that's a fact. I've already called Jami and Tony. They have attorneys on this. We're suing those fuckers for everything we can get from them."
She swallowed. "Right now, I just want Mina to be okay."
"I know, baby. I know."
He called her baby. She hadn't heard his voice call her that for years. Twenty-plus years. She remembered the last time he'd called her that. They'd just made love in his apartment. He pulled her into his embrace, her back to his front. They were naked and warm and sated. His arms closed around her and she could feel his heartbeat against her back. Just before they drifted off to sleep, he said close to her ear. "I love you, baby."
Tears flowed down her cheeks anew. She let them.