Thirty-Three | Dom
Thirty-Three
Dom
I sat in the waiting room, tapping my fingers against my knee while I waited for an update on Jo. It had been over an hour, and I hadn’t heard anything from Dr. Foster or anyone else, for that matter.
I did get a text from Axel saying he packed up all our stuff and took it with him to his house.
He wasn’t sure if we would be able to go back up to the cabin and didn’t want to risk us needing something and not having access to it.
I thanked him for his help and tucked my phone back into my pocket as I counted the pale linoleum tiles for the twentieth time.
The waiting room was packed with people waiting for updates like me.
A doctor came out and asked to speak privately with the woman who had been sitting beside me.
Her hands trembled as she gathered her things and followed him through a door at the end of the hallway.
I couldn’t imagine the update was good, given that everyone else had received a general update in the waiting room, letting them know their loved one was in recovery and that they would be taken back to see them soon.
She was the first person who was taken somewhere else, somewhere private, and the tormented look on the doctor’s face had my stomach twisting at the thought of the news he had to deliver to her.
I got up and walked down the hall, feeling heat prickle my skin as my heart raced when thoughts of Jo not making it crept into my mind again.
I couldn’t fathom the thought of living in a world without her in it, yet who was to say that I wouldn’t be taken into a quiet room next?
Jo had survived so much already. What if this was the one thing she couldn’t overcome?
I paced the hallway several times, trying to regulate my breathing before my heart exploded, when someone stopped me.
“I thought I might find you here,” Keith said softly, standing in front of me to block my pacing as I looked up at him.
He studied me closely, looking for anything that would give away how Jo was doing.
“I haven’t heard anything yet,” I whispered, not wanting to fall apart in front of him. “It’s been over an hour.”
I looked away and clenched my jaw, trying to stop the tears from flooding my eyes.
“Dr. Foster is an amazing doctor, and from what I hear, she has an amazing team working on Jo.”
I nodded, not bothering to ask how he knew all of that.
I wiped my cheeks, refusing to acknowledge the tears that had managed to spill over when Ashley rounded the corner.
“Hey,” she said, pulling me in for a hug and holding me as if she knew how much I needed the comfort. “It’s going to be okay. Jo is such a badass, there’s no way she’s going to let this keep her down.”
I laughed as we pulled away, breaking the hug. I didn’t miss how she stood next to Keith, so close that her fingers brushed against his. I knew that there was chemistry between them because we all saw it. Whether or not they had acted on that chemistry yet was still a mystery.
I took a deep breath in and forced it out right as Dr. Foster came out. She stood in the open area by the reception desk, scanning the waiting room as she looked for me.
“Over here,” I called, raising my hand as we all walked toward her.
She smiled and let her shoulders relax as she met us at the end of the hallway.
“Jo is doing well and is in recovery,” she said, starting with the information she knew we all needed to hear.
“There was a delayed hemorrhage from where the bullet went through her shoulder. An artery was weakened, which created a pseudoaneurysm and caused her to almost bleed out. I was able to get the bleeding under control in the truck, which allowed us time to fix what we needed to in the operating room.”
“She’s going to be okay?” I asked, swallowing hard as emotion threatened to overtake me again.
“She’s going to be okay,” Dr. Foster confirmed with a smile. “I will come get you once she’s ready for visitors.”
“Thank you so much. I will forever be indebted to you.”
“It was my honor. Jo is like a sister to me, and I care deeply about her. I’m very grateful that you got us here when you did. You saved Jo’s life.”
I shook my head, refusing to believe how close we had gotten to losing her.
Dr. Foster gently placed her hand on my arm and smiled before walking off. I stood there in stunned silence for a few minutes while Keith and Ashley worked on letting everyone know that Jo was okay.