34. Brielle
Chapter thirty-four
Brielle
“ W here is he?” I yelled as I ran through the hospital doors. Link and Aubrey followed close behind.
The nurse came around the desk to intercept me. “Who are you here to see, darling?”
“Elijah Ryder. He came in about twenty or thirty minutes ago from a car accident.”
The nurse grasped both of my shoulders. “Are you his next of kin?”
I looked back at Link, not knowing what to say, and he spoke up. “Um, technically, I am. I’m his,” he paused, “brother.”
The nurse led us to some chairs nearby. “Sit here. I will get you guys some information.” I sat down in the chairs, even though I was too anxious to be just sitting there waiting.
I realized after sitting down that Nick and Callie weren’t with us. I just ran out the door when Lincoln got the call. Link and Aubrey had to drive because I was screaming. Aubrey had to wrestle me out of the driver’s seat and hold me in the back while Link drove.
Aubrey must have read my mind because she said, “Nick wouldn’t be able to handle coming here.” She gave me a sad look.
His parents.
Nick’s parents were killed in a hit-and-run when he was only fifteen.
Aubrey continued. “Cal and Elijah’s mom stayed back, too.”
I wiped my face and put my hands back in my lap. Link's arms embraced me. “He is going to be okay, Brie.” I heard him sniffle, then put his lips to my head and whispered, “He has to be.”
After a moment, I looked up at him, and his grip on me loosened. “What if he isn’t? What if that was the last thing he and I got to say to each other?”
The nurse came over before Link could respond. “Mr. Foster?”
Link stood slowly, gripping his side with a nod. I remained seated, gripping my hands together, as Aubrey held my clasped hands in hers. We both listened as the nurse’s words caused my entire world to come crashing down.
“Mr. Ryder has some very extensive injuries. He was involved in a head-on collision. He is very lucky that he wasn’t ejected from the vehicle, but it appears he was forcefully jarred around the inside because when the collision happened, he was not wearing his seatbelt.
But it was actually a good thing he wasn’t strapped in. ”
“Why?” Link asked hesitantly.
“That part of the car got completely crushed. The fact that his body was jarred to the other side of the car and he wasn’t stuck there is a good thing.”
Through my tears, I saw the tension in Link’s shoulders fall just a little. The nurse continued, “He obtained serious head trauma, as well as a possible neck injury. He is currently in surgery, and they are trying to stop the bleeding in his brain.”
“His fucking brain,” I cried. “Oh my God. I am going to lose him. How is this happening?”
The nurse bent down to my level. “He is very strong, sweetheart. We have the best doctors and nurses working with him. All we can do now is pray and wait.”
I wasn’t sure if she pulled me or if I pulled her, but we stood there wrapped up in a hug. “Thank you.”
As I let her go, my sister pulled me into her arms. “He’s going to be okay, Bean. He has to be. Your story isn’t over.”
For some reason, that angered me a little. “This isn’t some perfect romance novel, Aubs. This is real fucking life.”
She nodded, probably realizing now was not the time to try to help. She didn’t say another word.
My body jerked awake as I was being lifted. I began to panic, looking around before I remembered where I was. The grip on me tightened, and I realized I was in Link’s arms.
“Aubs went to pee.” He sat down with me on his lap. He winced and twisted as he tried to get comfortable.
His ribs.
“You could have just woken me up. Don’t hurt yourself.” I climbed off his lap and into my own seat, wiping the sleep from my eyes. “What time is it?” I asked groggily.
He glanced at his phone. “Three A.M.”
“Any updates?”
“Well, I had someone look at my ribs, and they aren’t broken. Just really bruised. They gave me some good pain meds.”
I gave him an incredulous look. He smirked. “Oh, right, you don’t care about me.”
I appreciated how he was trying to lighten the mood.
“They stopped the brain bleed for now and repaired the broken arm and leg. Oh, and he had his spleen removed. So now that he is stable, they will keep him in the ICU to monitor him closely while he recovers.”
Hope filled my eyes.
Link gripped my hand. “But he still hasn’t woken up.”
“Have you been to see him?”
“Not yet.”
“When can we—”
The nurse interrupted me just as Aubrey returned. Link and I stood. Aubrey came up beside me, grabbing my hand.
“No new updates, dear. But if he remains stable for the next few hours, they will allow you all to see him, but only one to two visitors are allowed to go back at a time.”
I let go of Aubrey's hand and gripped the nurse’s hands. “Thank you so much. Please let me know as soon as I can see him.”
She smiled in understanding. “That man is lucky to have someone like you to return home to. He is going to need a lot of assistance when he does go home. I can see in your eyes how much he means to you.”
A little embarrassed, I gave her hand a light squeeze and let it go. “Thank you. I just need him to be okay.”
“I understand. I will come get you as soon as I get the okay for him to have visitors.”
The three of us settled back in our seats, and I leaned over onto my sister's arm. I suddenly remembered that they were supposed to be leaving tomorrow to go on their honeymoon. I shot straight up.
“Oh my God. Your trip. You can’t miss it.”
She looked at me with admiration. “Link and I are exactly where we need to be at the moment. The trip can wait for as long as it has to.”
“What about work?” I looked between them. “You only get so much time off.”
“Bean, let us worry about that. It doesn’t directly concern you. I did, however, call your boss last night after you fell asleep and informed them of what was going on. They said for you to take as much time off as needed.”
“Thank you,” I choked out.
Aubrey lowered my head back onto her shoulder. “Get some sleep. I will be right here, and I’ll wake you when it’s time.”
“I love you, Aubs.”
She kissed the top of my head. “Not as much as I love you.”
When I woke up a few hours later to the smell of coffee, Nick and Callie were also there. I jumped up and ran to hug them. “You didn’t have to come.”
They both hugged me back. I heard Nick lightly clear his throat, so I looked up at him. “We are family. Sorry, it took me a second to come,” Nick apologized.
“Never apologize for protecting yourself or your peace.”
Callie handed me a coffee cup and a muffin, which she must have picked up on the way here.
“Mr. Foster?” the nurse called out. “He isn’t ready for a ton of company just yet, but one of you can go in, for now.”
Link immediately looked at me. “Go.”
Tears filled my eyes as I nodded and got up to follow the nurse.
She stopped me in the hallway outside the room, telling me everything to expect.
She tried to prepare me for all the tubes and devices I would see, along with all the cuts, swelling, and significant bruising he had, assuring me it was expected for what he had been through.
Before opening the door, she put her hand on my shoulder.
“He still hasn’t woken up, but talk to him. Let him know you are here. You never know what a friendly voice can do.”
I nodded, and she opened the door.
Before leaving me alone with him, she said, “Let me know if you need anything.”
I stood about two feet from the hospital bed, taking him in.
One of his legs was wrapped up, suspended in the air by one of those leg sling things, and one arm was wrapped and placed across his chest. I stepped forward as the tears began to freely flow.
I touched his good leg. My head fell forward as silent sobs took over.
I pulled a chair to the bed and sat beside him, lacing my fingers into his and staring at him. I lifted his hand to my mouth and whispered against it, “Come back to me. We need more time, baby.”
I leaned my head down on his hand as more sobs took over. I must have fallen asleep because I woke to his fingers moving beneath my head.
“Eli? Baby. Can you hear me? I am here.”
In my peripheral, Link stiffened. “Did he move?”
“His fingers did,” I said without taking my eyes off Elijah.
Eli’s eyelids began to flutter. Link and I stood. I held my breath for a moment.
“Wha…where?”
“Baby,” I choked out.
“Elijah, it's Link. You are in the hospital. You were in an accident. Can you hear me?”
Eli smacked his lips together like he was thirsty. I looked around for water but didn't see anything, so I ran to the door and called out for a nurse to let them know he had woken up.
Link moved closer to the bed where I had been standing. “Elijah. Can you hear me?” he asked a little louder.
“Fuck, dude. Why are you yelling?”
“Oh, thank fuck,” Link huffed.
The nurse and doctors came rushing in a moment later. The nurse ushered Link and me out into the hallway so the doctors could examine him.
I hugged Link tightly before he pulled away, wincing. “Shit, sorry. I forgot about your ribs.”
“It’s fine. You stay here. I am going to update everyone. They need to know that he's awake.”
I nodded.
The nurse came out smiling. “He's asking for you.”
“Thank you,” I choked out.
He was sitting up a little more than before. “Hey, you.”
I stood at the door, tears flowing down both my cheeks again. “You…you…You tried to leave me.”
He lifted his arm up slowly and put his hand out for me. Instinctively, I walked toward him to grab it.
“What happened?” He asked.
“You don’t remember?”
He shook his head.
“Do you…Do you remember your dad dying?”
His jaw tensed, and he nodded.
“After the funeral, we were at your mom's, and Link tried to get you to stop drinking. You pushed him down and then stormed out. You said a bunch of things, I am hoping you didn’t mean, and then you…”
His face grew more mortified as I told the story. I could see he was trying to put it all together. “Is anyone else hurt?”
“My ribs are bruised.” Link’s voice came from the door. “But no one else is seriously hurt, no. The other driver made it out with just seatbelt burns and probably whiplash. They were driving a high Jeep with a cage on the front, so it threw you across the car.”
Elijah winced as he tried to sit up more. “Link, man, I am so fucking—”
Link held up his hand. “Not now. As long as you are okay, that’s all I care about right now, and that is what we want to focus on. You can pay for an apology honeymoon later.”
Elijah did his best to laugh. “Done.” He looked back at me. “I am so sorry, MP.”
I stepped forward and kissed his dry, chapped lips. “You tried to leave me.”
“I'm sorry. I will never leave you again.”
I gripped his face in my hands. “I will kill you if you try.”
I smiled and kissed him deeply just as the nurse came back in. “Time for your pain medication.”