Chapter 66
Victor
I finally get the go-ahead to see D. Everyone else needs to stay in the lobby, since he’s only allowed two visitors in his new room, and whoever this Rowan chick is, can’t seem to take a break.
My chest tightens, and all the air wooshes from my lungs at the sight of my brother.
Multiple tubes coming from his face are the first thing I notice.
Machines on both sides of the bed are hooked up to the tubes.
The ventilator fills the room with a Darth Vader sound, while another machine has a rhythmic beeping, measuring D’s heart rate.
D’s eyes are closed. There are cuts on his arms, but nothing on his face or hands, which tells me he was wearing his helmet and gloves at least. He looks pale and lifeless.
Shit, he looks so bad, my mind is having a hard time comprehending that this is D.
The last thing I notice is D’s right hand connected to the hospital bed by a set of handcuffs.
I walk over to the side of his bed in silence.
Running my hand over the cuffs, I whisper, “Brother, what did you do?”
“He did what Cay always does,” the soft, raspy voice from the back corner of the room startles me.
Spinning around, I look for the origin of the voice.
Wow, I guess I was really out of it when I walked in here.
I didn’t even notice the woman standing in the corner of the room.
“He follows his demons wherever they want to take him.” What the fuck?
Who does she think is to judge him like that?
“You must be Rowan.” She doesn’t seem surprised that I know her name.
She gives me a nod before she pushes off the wall and walks toward me.
She stands in front of me, tilting her head back, trying to meet my stare, and reaches her hand out, “You must be Victor.” Her small hand reveals unpolished but manicured nails.
Each finger holds at least one silver ring, with tattoos of delicate-looking flowers and vines wrapping around the backs of her hand and fingers.
Inquisitively, I reach my hand out to hers and give it a quick, firm shake.
Taking a minute to look her over, I notice she’s probably in her 30s.
She’s curvaceous, about a foot shorter than me, maybe 5’4”, wearing black leggings and an oversized gray hoodie that looks like she’s had it from her college or high school years.
Her black hair is piled messily on top of her head, and her green eyes, though they have an aura of sadness, shine brightly under the hospital’s fluorescent lighting.
She’s wearing Converse, no makeup, and black rimmed, cat-eye glasses.
“I had the doc call you once I got Caleb’s phone open and saw that his emergency contact was you.” She explains as she walks to the other side of D’s bed.
“I appreciate the call.” I’m far too curious, so I just come out and ask, “Who are you, exactly? And how did the hospital know to call you? I’ve known D, er…
Caleb for the past 20 years, and he’s never once mentioned you.
” If she’s hurt by my words, she doesn’t show it.
Her face remains completely impassive. Her body language says nothing but nonchalance.
She moves to sit in the chair next to his bed.
“Well, since you already know my name, I guess that’s not what you’re asking.
” I don’t respond. She sighs at this, “Look, I used to go to high school with Cay. We were friends. I guess you could say we grew up together. We’re from the next town over.
Cay was in a motorcycle accident back in high school, nothing major, but he had to come here and fill out paperwork.
He put me down as his emergency contact.
I guess he never changed it, so when they pulled his ID and put his name in the system, my name popped up. I haven’t seen him in over 20 years.”
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but that was not it. “Okay, so do you know what happened tonight? Did they tell you?”
Rowan leans forward, reaching her hand through the arm rail of the hospital bed, and gently takes D’s hand, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles.
“All I know is that he crashed his motorcycle into a guardrail going about 120 miles an hour and that he was drunk. No one else was hurt. They took his blood for a blood alcohol test, and a cop is floating around here to keep an eye on him since he’ll be charged with drunk driving once he’s discharged from the hospital.
Other than that, I have no idea what this jackass was thinking, getting on his bike, lit like that. ”
My head snaps back at her insult, and rage ignites in my body. “That jackass, as you so lovingly put it, buried one of our brothers today.” Her eyes fall away from mine and swing to D’s tranquil face.
Silence encompasses the room for a few moments before she speaks again.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound disrespectful.
” We sit in further silence, and Rowan’s aloof demeanor starts to crack.
“I was so scared when I got the phone call. I mean, I haven’t heard from him since we were kids, then I get a phone call for this?
I guess I’m a little pissed at him now that I know he’ll be okay. ”
“What did the doc say?” I changed the subject since I have no desire to figure out their complicated relationship.
With a deep sigh, Rowan pulls her hand away from D’s, stands, and starts gathering her things.
“She said that he likely has a concussion and possibly a brain injury. His helmet was cracked. He has a few broken ribs, and the surgery was to repair his broken femur. Basically, he was lucky, but he’s gonna need time to recover along with physical therapy.
” She starts heading to the door, but stops and looks back at me.
“He’s not in the Army anymore, I assume.
” I nod in response, “Good.” Her face is pensive, but her shoulders relax, “I’m glad he made it home in one piece.
Please look out for him. I would hate for him to have made it through all of that just to lose to his demons now. ”
With those as her last words, she shuts the door behind her. What would she know about D’s demons?
It’s been a week since the accident, three days since D has been breathing on his own, but he still hasn’t woken up.
“Hey, the doc is coming in to speak with us.” Ty lets us know, walking back into D’s room.
Gabbi, Emma, Sheila, Ty, and I have been here around the clock.
Since the nurses are all Sheila’s coworkers, they were nice enough to let us bend the visitor rules.
Ty grabs his seat on the left side of D’s bed, I’m on the right, and Gabbi and Emma are curled up with each other on the couch with a blanket.
A few seconds after Ty returns, the doc comes in with two nurses following behind.
Dr. Lakely is a tall, slender woman with short, black, spikey hair.
She has big brown eyes that exude kindness and understanding.
“Hey guys.” We all respond with a quick and tired greeting.
“So, here’s what we’re looking at. Caleb’s brain swelling has gone down, and his other injuries seem to be healing as expected. ”
“Why hasn’t he woken up yet?” Emma asks what we’re all thinking.
Doc turns to Emma and shrugs a bit, pulling a pen from the pocket of her dark green scrubs and writing something on her clipboard. “His body is trying to protect itself. He’ll wake up when he’s ready. When he does, he’s going to need support. Do you know if he lives with anyone?”
“Nah,” Ty responds. “I’m not even sure he has a place around here. We were staying with a friend for a funeral.”
The doc wraps her arms around herself, hugging the clipboard to her chest, “I’m so sorry to hear that.” After a beat of silence, she continues, “Caleb will need help since he won’t be able to drive or walk as normal. He’ll actually be in a wheelchair for a few weeks so we can stabilize his femur.”
“Great, so now I have to depend on one of these yahoos to get me to the bathroom?” D’s voice is scratchy, barely audible, and shocks the shit out of all of us. All of us stand and rush to the bed once we realize he’s woken up.
After all of the excitement dies down a bit, the doc removes a small flashlight from her pocket and starts flashing it in D’s eyes, “Mr. Walsh, how are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a truck, Doc.” I’m so glad to hear his smart mouth, but he looks like shit.
“Well, Mr. Walsh, you kind of were. You’re lucky to be alive.
” She looks around at all of us, “I’ll let you all finish up here, then Mr. Walsh and I need to have a serious conversation.
In the meantime, you all should probably discuss if anyone is going to be able to stay with your friend here.
” With that, she leaves, taking her two nurses with her.
“D! Oh my god, you fucking scared us!” Emma leans up to give D a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey girl, you know I can’t die.” He winks at her after she pulls away from the hug.
Ty walks over and fist bumps D, then ruffles his hair like he’s a child. I guess in some way, he kind of is. “You scared us, brother.”
D looks down at his hands for a minute. I think I see guilt pass over his face, but it’s gone quickly. “I know, man, I’m sorry.”
Silence swallows the room for a moment, then Ty and Emma move to gather their things. “We’ll see you before we head back home. Love you, brother.” They both give a last hug, then head out.
Gabbi’s taken her seat back down on the couch, with her head in her hands.
“Peanut?” D’s voice is a little louder than a whisper.
Gabbi keeps her head in her hands, shoulders shaking.
“Geege, please. Peanut, please, come here.” I can see the tears building in D’s eyes.
Gabbi and D used to be like brother and sister before our last deployment shot everything to shit.
Gabbi holds still for a moment, then slowly looks up, allowing D to see the extent of emotional damage his behavior has done.
“I…” D goes still when Gabbi rises and walks over to him.
She stands there for a moment, letting the tears fall.
She finally leans in and wraps her arms around him.
In true D fashion, he ignores his pain and grabs Gabbi tightly around the waist, pulling her across his body onto the hospital bed.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Peanut. I promise I will never scare you like that again.
” Gabbi’s sobs become audible, and D holds her, squeezing her with his eyes closed.
My gaze travels down Gabbi’s body to where her shirt has lifted, exposing the skin right above her hips.
Bruises. Finger-shaped bruises. My heart drops to my stomach, and I instantly feel nauseous.
I haven’t left the hospital since the night of the accident, so there was no way I’d have seen them before now.
I hurt her. Again.