Chapter 35
CHAPTER 35
At the hospital, I waited on a hard chair in the lounge. My stomach turned uneasily at the overpowering smell of antiseptic. I huddled, watching as Jackson talked to the cops and an ER doctor in the hallway. What had happened? All we were told so far was that Matt was in surgery.
I watched as Jackson ran his fingers through his hair, nodded and then turned and walked towards me. He sat down on the chair beside me and leaned forward, so his arms rested on his knees. He turned his head so his serious green eyes could meet mine.
My voice shook. “What happened?”
“It was a single-vehicle accident. Matt was drunk. He lost control of his car going over a bridge, and he flipped the vehicle upside down into the water.”
My hands flew up to cover my mouth.
“Some Samaritan who was jogging saw the entire thing happen. That guy just happened to be a water rescue diver.”
I couldn’t breathe, much less speak.
“When they pulled Matt out of the car, he wasn’t breathing. They did CPR on him for close to 35 minutes until the ambulance managed to start his heart again. They say he’s lucky to be alive.”
My breath was coming in and out of my chest in little gasps. “Is he going to be okay?”
He shook his head. “They don’t know at this point.”
The blood drained out of my face. “Oh no.”
He watched my face. “They just brought Matt into surgery. I need to go get Irene.”
I worked to bring oxygen into my lungs. My heart ached for the woman who was going to wake up to the worst news a person can hear.
“Emily, I don’t want to leave you here alone, but I can’t tell her this on the phone and then ask her to get here by herself.”
I shook my head. “No. You have to go.”
He wrapped a huge arm around me and hugged me close so that he could kiss my forehead. “I want you to call Beth. You shouldn’t be here alone.”
“I will.”
He paused. “You can’t tell Irene that you and Matt broke up.”
“What? You want me to lie?”
His expression was gentle. “You can let Matt tell her when he wakes up. But right now, Irene will feel helpless and alone. And she needs you to be there, right beside her. Let her lean on you, as his fiancé.”
My eyes searched his face. “I'm a terrible liar.”
He cupped my face with his hand. “I know you are. That’s one of the things I adore about you most.”
His thumb wiped a tear from my cheek. “Are you going to be okay here?”
I squared my shoulders and nodded. “I am. Just go get Irene.”
He stood up and then hesitated. I stood up, and he turned to envelop me in a strong hug. I felt his strength seep into my body. I breathed in his scent. And then he stepped back and was gone.
Beth showed up in record time. We didn’t speak. We just sat huddled together in the family waiting room for something to happen. We waited for the doctors to tell us that Matt had made it through surgery okay. Or for Irene and Jackson to show up. For some news. Beth went to get coffee for us, but other than that, she never left my side.
I sat, my knees up and my head on my knees. I felt numb. So much had happened in the last 24 hours, it didn’t even feel real.
“Are you okay?” Beth asked me for the hundredth time.
I looked over at her. “Should we call Julie?”
Her look was questioning borderline incredulous. “Julie?”
I licked my lips. “Matt was sleeping with her.”
Her eyes were like saucers. “What?”
“Matt and I talked after the party, and I guess she had told him about my feelings for Jackson. Matt was livid.”
She blinked. “He was livid? He was sleeping with Julie, and he was upset that you liked Jackson because he treats you like a human being?”
I breathed in through my nose. “Matt broke it off with me. He told me that the money wasn’t worth the effort of being with me.”
“Oh Em. Are you okay?”
I dropped my head back, so I was looking up at the ceiling. “So, then after he left, Jackson gave me this birthday gift, and it was so perfect and thoughtful and then the next thing I knew we were having crazy wild sex.”
Her mouth dropped wide open. “You slept with Jackson?”
My eyes felt hot and dry. “I don’t know why they call it sleeping with someone. We did no sleeping.”
The look on her face looked beyond shocked and then she gave a half laugh of disbelief. “Holy shit.”
“And then the police showed up, and here we are. ”
“Holy fuck,” she said. She stared at me for a long moment. “How are you doing?”
I shrugged. “I feel weird. I can’t wrap my mind around anything that has happened.”
“That’s because you lived a lifetime in one night.”
I sucked air into my lungs. “I feel like a fraud sitting here pretending to be Matt’s fiancé.”
“No shit,” she said, her eyes wide. “But you need to pretend otherwise they’ll kick us out of here and not give us any information.”
“Right,” I nodded. “Okay.”
A couple of hours later, a man walked towards us wearing blue scrubs and a long scrub gown that flapped behind his legs as he walked. My heart was in my throat as he walked up to me.
“Are you Matt’s fiancé?”
I stood and opened my mouth, but no words came out.
Beth moved to stand next to me. “She is.”
The doctor had kind brown eyes. “Matt is currently undergoing brain surgery to stop a brain bleed.”
I stared up at him. My body felt frozen. “Is that from the accident?”
“Matt wasn’t wearing his seatbelt at the time of his accident. Typical of motor vehicle accidents, he hit the front of his head on the windshield. That’s where the brain bleed is.”
“Are you the surgeon?” I asked, my tongue felt thick and stupid.
“I'm one of four surgeons working on Matt.”
“So, he’s still in surgery?”
“We found a mass in Matt’s brain in the frontal lobe. The accident damaged it during the accident, and that’s what we are working on right now.”
“What do you mean when you say mass? ”
“We did a biopsy. The mass is a benign tumor growing in the front of his brain. Right above his hairline.”
“Matt has a tumor? In his brain?” I couldn’t even keep up with this conversation. I felt like I was on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.
“Some blood vessels that feed that mass are bleeding. So we would like your permission to try and remove the mass.”
I brought my hand up to my head, trying to keep up with this conversation. Why were they asking me? Why wouldn’t they just do it?
“You need permission?”
He nodded. “We need permission. The surgery comes with its own set of risks.”
“What kind of risks?”
“The frontal lobe is responsible for a lot of important functions. If we remove a mass of that size, risks could include problems with speech, memory, muscle weakness, balance issues, vision issues, coordination issues.”
“And if you don’t remove it?”
“There is a chance we won’t get the bleeding under control which could result in a stroke, brain swelling or even a coma.”
I stared up at this man. “What are you going to do?”
He gave me an apologetic smile. “As his fiancé, the decision is up to you.”
I turned and looked at Beth. Her eyes were wide.
I looked back up at the doctor. “What do you think I should do?”
“We think it’s riskier to leave the tumor in Matt’s brain. We want to remove it. Despite the risks.”
“Do it,” my voice sounded so far away. “Take it out.”