Chapter Six
Callie returned to the hospital after work, escorted by Marco, while Ryan stayed at the office. When they arrived, they found Amanda in a heated discussion with one of the doctors.
“He’s healing, you know that,” Amanda was saying. “He’s improving every day.”
“Amanda, I know that,” the doctor replied. “Please keep your voice down. I wasn’t supposed to show you those results.”
Callie was confused by what she overheard. Damian was still unconscious; she hadn’t seen any improvement.
“I haven’t agreed to anything they’ve said,” the doctor continued. “And I doubt I will.”
He glanced at Callie and Marco approaching, then quickly excused himself.
“What’s going on?” Callie asked Amanda.
“Damian’s parents are back,” Amanda said. “They are arguing that his condition is too serious and that continuing treatment is a waste of time and money.”
“They aren’t even paying for anything!” Callie protested.
“I know,” Amanda replied. “Unfortunately, just because Ryan is paying the bills doesn’t mean he has a say here.”
“He needs to get here,” Callie said urgently. “He said he could take legal action against them.”
“I’ll call him,” Marco offered, then stepped away to make the call.
“You said he’s improving?” Callie asked. She wanted to know if there was hope.
“Yes,” Amanda confirmed. “The most recent scans are encouraging. The main reason he’s still unconscious is to give him more time to heal. If they let him wake up too soon, it wouldn’t be good.”
“So he has a real chance to recover?”
“Yes, he has a chance,” Amanda said.
Callie’s heart raced. She should have been overjoyed that Damian was improving, but the thought that his parents could set him back, even let him die, scared her.
She hoped Ryan could get there in time to make sure they couldn’t do any harm.
Callie walked down the hall toward Damian’s room.
When she glanced in, she saw his parents sitting around his bed.
But they weren’t doing anything normal parents would.
They weren’t holding his hands, crying, or trying to talk to him.
His mother was texting on her phone, and his father was more interested in the game on TV than in his son.
She knew they were staying on purpose to keep Damian from getting any other visitors.
Their cruelty enraged Callie, and she entered the room.
“Why won’t you just leave him alone?” Callie yelled at them.
“And who the hell are you?” Mrs. Mayer said.
“Someone who actually cares about Damian,” Callie replied. She noticed Amanda had followed her into the room.
“You’re the ones paying these bills?” Mr. Mayer asked. “I’m sure the hospital has told you that won’t be necessary going forward.”
“You’re going to kill him?” Callie questioned. “You’re going to stop his care and kill him?”
“Sweety,” Mrs. Mayer began in a very condescending voice. “It’s really cute that you have feelings for our son, but are you going to take care of him when he wakes up a vegetable?”
“His chances are good, and you know that,” Amanda replied. She was almost as furious as Callie. “As for his care, yes, we would. So please feel free to leave. We can handle it from here.”
“Do you think he would want to live like that?” Mr. Mayer retorted. “Look at him! Do you think he would want to live a life where he couldn’t function properly?”
Callie felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.
Mr. Mayer had made a valid point. Would Damian want them to save him if it meant he would be disabled?
None of them knew. It wasn’t a conversation they had ever had, but Callie knew his health was important to him.
Before the accident, he was in exceptional health and took care of himself.
It wasn’t for his work; it was for himself, and she knew that mattered to him.
Amanda didn’t respond either, but fortunately they didn’t need to.
Ryan arrived in the room and took in the scene.
“I’m taking you to court to revoke your care rights,” Ryan said.
“Go ahead and try,” Mr. Mayer replied. “We’ll countersue.”
“For what?” Ryan laughed.
Mr. Mayer stood and walked across the room to get closer to Ryan.
“I don’t know what you and my faggot son have going on,” he said. “But stay out of our family business.”
Everything happened quickly then. Ryan swung at Mr. Mayer, but fortunately Marco, standing next to Ryan, managed to stop him. Mr. Mayer stumbled backward, tripped, and fell to the floor. He cried out in pain, drawing the attention of the doctor in the hall, who came running in.
“He assaulted me!” Mr. Mayer yelled.
“He never touched you,” Marco replied. He looked like he was about to take a swing at him next.
“He assaulted me,” Mr. Mayer repeated. “You are all witnesses. You saw it!”
“You all need to leave,” the doctor ordered as he entered the room. “Everyone out, or I’ll call security.”
“I need medical attention,” Mr. Mayer insisted as his wife helped him to his feet.
“We would be happy to escort you to the ER,” the doctor replied. “However, please leave your credit card number at the payments office, since you already confirmed you don’t have insurance.”
“I’m going to sue your ass,” Mr. Mayer snarled as he limped past Ryan.
“You should leave for a while, too,” the doctor said directly to Amanda.
As they started to leave, the doctor stopped Ryan and pointed to the corner of the room. They noticed a camera there, recording the room.
“The camera is there so the nurses can monitor the patients from their stations,” the doctor explained. “I know he’s lying, and there’s a recording of what happened, along with additional witnesses.”
“Ryan, what if Damian wakes up and he’s disabled?” Callie asked as they walked back to their car.
“Then we deal with it if it happens,” Ryan said.
“But what if his parents are right?” Callie argued. “What if he can’t walk or talk properly after this? You know how he feels about his health.”
“And what if he’s perfectly fine?” Amanda countered. “And we don’t do everything we can to help him?”
“How good are his chances?” Callie asked Amanda.
“They haven’t shown me all his test results,” Amanda admitted. “But the ones I’ve seen, especially the recent ones, look promising.”
“Promising?” Callie shot back.
“Callie, everyone heals differently,” Amanda continued. “Damian was strong and healthy before this. The odds are in his favor.”
Callie decided not to continue the argument. She wanted to believe the experts and to have Damian back, but if he woke up unable to move or communicate, she wasn’t sure it was the kind of life he would want. She was fairly sure she wouldn’t want to.
Ryan had been acting strangely, possibly due to stress.
He was becoming overly protective, as if trying to shield everyone from a danger that wasn’t there.
Marco looked exhausted but didn’t complain; he spent the night with Ryan, helping Annie, and then Ryan asked him to watch over Amanda.
Callie hoped Ryan would give him the night off.
As they left the hospital, she noticed Nathan waiting for them.
Callie stopped in her tracks and looked at Ryan, about to protest.
“He’s here for Amanda,” he said softly, understanding Callie’s reaction.
“Why?” Callie whispered. “Ryan, I know he helped me, but just seeing him.” She started to shake, and Ryan quickly wrapped an arm around her.
“I’m sorry,” Ryan said, caught off guard by her reaction. “Go with Marco. I’ll meet you at home after my last meeting."
“You need to let poor Marco go home and get some sleep,” Callie protested.
“I’m fine, Miss Bennett,” Marco assured her as he led her to the car.
Marco brought her to her building, but Callie paused.
She had something to ask Marco, though she wasn't sure he’d answer honestly.
He cared deeply for Ryan and would go to great lengths to protect him.
It wasn’t just about security; they shared a real friendship.
She hoped their friendship would mean he’d be truthful with her.
Marco opened her door and waited for her to step out.
“Marco,” Callie said as she got out of the car. “Is Ryan OK?”
Marco paused and looked at her, and his expression gave her the answer. Something more was going on with Ryan, and it was more than his obsession with their safety.
“No,” Marco said eventually. “He’s struggling and terrified of being hurt again.”
“Hurt?”
“He doesn’t think he could survive losing someone else he cares about,” Marco explained. “But Callie, his caution and attempts to keep you and everyone else safe aren’t wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Callie asked.
“These people are dangerous,” he continued. “But Ryan is right to be careful.”
Marco escorted Callie to her door, assured her he wouldn’t be far, and said he would wait for Ryan to return before leaving. Marco had a way of being present without being noticed. Callie felt sorry for him again and hoped Ryan would arrive soon so Marco could finally go home.
“He’s awake!” Amanda yelled as soon as Ryan answered her call. “Damian is waking up!”
Ryan’s head was just clearing. He had been in a deep sleep.
Callie sat up straight in bed beside him, trying to overhear the conversation.
It was seven AM when Amanda called. The previous day had been another long one, fighting Damian’s parents in court to take the care decisions away from them.
Amanda and the doctors explained that if he could drag it out long enough, Damian would have proper time to heal, and they would be ready to start bringing him out of the coma.
Ryan had kept the Mayers in court for several days, with additional injunctions, rescheduling, and requests for information.
The court finally demanded a proper presentation of the case and was supposed to issue a decision that day, but it wouldn’t matter now if Damian was waking up.