Chapter Thirty
Mac
Pacing outside of the doors leading to the hall of operating rooms at Corey Heights Regional hospital, I’m lost in my own head.
Davis and I watched in horror as her eyes rolled in the back of her head and her body went limp.
We rushed her here, where they told us she has a clot in her fistula and needs a thrombectomy.
We had no idea what they were talking about, but they explained that it’s a procedure where they go in and remove the clot.
Her family and mine showed up, and they’re now crowding the waiting room.
I couldn’t handle that shit. I needed to be as close to her as I could be.
I’ve just slid down the wall just outside of the doors when Kieran and Davis turn the corner at the end of the hall and make their way to me.
They slide down on either side of me and sit with me in silence.
Neither of them says a word as we sit and wait for the doctor to come out and tell us my girl is just fine.
I don’t do well with shit like this. When Kieran was stabbed after a fight years ago I did this exact same thing.
For twelve hours I sat in front of the same doors of a different hospital praying to a God that I didn’t believe in to save my big brother.
I did it again when he was shot over a year and a half ago, and now I do it again as Lee is back there.
I’ll probably do it again when she finally comes off that transplant list. The hours feel like days, but eventually the surgeon finally walks out.
“Mr. Byrne, would you like to talk here or in the waiting room?”
“We can go to the waiting room. That’s where everyone is.”
We trail behind the doctor. My brother as well as my new best friend flank my sides.
As soon as the waiting room comes into view, Declan’s eyes crash into mine and he stands.
Everyone else takes note and stands. The Fischer’s take the front of the pack while the Byrnes fall to the back.
Kieran makes his way to his wife while Davis and I stand to the side.
I’m not sure where I’m supposed to stand, and Davis is here for me so he’ll go wherever I go.
“The Fischer family?” Her parents and siblings nod.
“Lelonie’s procedure went really well. We cleared out the blood clot, and everything’s working as it should again.
She’s still asleep. Due to the elevated risks of complications, we’re going to keep her for a few days.
Whoever can head back to see her. However, I’d keep it to four or five at a time. ”
Lee’s parents thank her, and her family follows the doctor down the hall to her room.
I’m left standing here, my heart aching to get to her, to just see her.
Instead, my body falls back into a waiting room chair and my face goes into my hands.
I feel someone sit beside me, then lean their head on my shoulder.
I don’t even have to look, I know it’s Nix.
When Kieran was shot last year, we looked just like this.
Clara always has had a motherly air about her, but Nix slid into that sister role like it was made for her. Lifting my head, I lean it on hers and stare at the closed doors that lead to the hospital rooms.
“I want to see her.” I mutter in a barely whisper.
“I know, Quail. They’ll come get you in a few minutes.” I don’t even have it in me to smirk at the nickname she gave me after I started calling her Pigeon.
“What if they don’t?”
“Then I’ll set it off in this hospital, and we’ll get you back there.” She offers me a sad smile.
Not a minute later, Dieter comes walking out of the locked doors, his eyes searching the room until he finds me.
“She’s awake, and she wants you.” He offers a small smile. “She actually said, and I quote, ‘Go get Quill or I’m kicking you all out.’ So I guess you better go to your girl, brother.”
Standing, I make sure to tell my family and Davis thank you for coming and that I love them before Dieter leads me back to the room. When we get to the shut door, he grips my shoulder.
“I have to go get Hannah from school, but text me and keep me updated.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
“She loves you, and you make her happy. Thank you for that. I’ve never seen her truly happy before you. How could she be? But she is now. I can never repay you for giving us the peace of mind that even on her hard days, that’s your girl and you’re going to take care of her.”
I can’t respond without my voice cracking, so I offer him a nod and quickly swipe at my eyes before walking into Lee’s room.
She looks so frail lying in the bed set in the middle of the room.
Her parents are on either side of her bed.
Annie’s standing against the wall with a haunted look in her eyes, and Jakob stands beside her with red rimmed eyes.
She hasn’t seen me yet, and I hear her croaky voice ask for me again.
She needs water. She just had a tube down her throat for two hours.
Picking up the cup of water from the movable table, I make myself known.
“Hey, Beautiful. You sound like you need some of this.” Carefully I put the straw to her lips while she looks at me like I hung the moon and stars as she takes a sip. She’s definitely still feeling the effects of the anesthesia. She pulls back from the straw and smiles up at me.
“You’re here.”
“I’m wherever you are, baby.” I can’t help but smile. It’s a little glimpse at what I feel our story could have been if our paths were different. If they were simpler and more innocent.