Part 14 (2/2)
”Accident on the freeway when she was driving your brother to his karate cla.s.s. A few other cars were involved, one of them flipped.”
”What have the doctors said about her and Chance?” It surprised me Scott was here near my mom instead of with Chance.
”Caleb is with Chance upstairs.”
Oh, so I'd be seeing him soon. I was glad he was there for my little brother, but my heart raced with knowledge of his proximity.
”The police say the car is totaled. Another car smashed into Chance's door where he sat in the back and then your mom's car hit a divide.”
I sucked in a breath. ”I need to get up there with my dad.”
”His right leg is broken. Your mom's head slammed against the driver window, shattering it along with the impact, and she has abrasions on her face from the airbag.”
”Otherwise her and Chance are okay?” It sounded as if we could have lost them He shrugged, running his free hand through his hair, green eyes worried. ”Chance should be fine, but your mom's head injury was severe. She was knocked out for a few minutes at least and the doctor says she was still disoriented when they brought her in.”
I was torn between rus.h.i.+ng upstairs to see my brother and waiting here to find out what shape my mom was in. My fingers brushed away the tears that were quickly replaced by new ones.
”Go,” Scott urged. ”Check on Chance and I'll let you know when they're done with your mom.”
I nodded, giving him a quick hug before hurrying to the nearest elevator. I pushed the b.u.t.ton for the third floor and the doors slid shut, only to open moments later. A sign posted across from the elevator pointed me to the left for the pediatric ward.
I had to make another left at a corner and arrived at the nurse's station. The woman behind the desk was in her mid-twenties and wore Mickey Mouse scrubs, her curly brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. I hadn't thought to get Chance's room number before now. ”Excuse me?”
She looked up from the cell phone in her hand. ”How can I help you?”
Her polite smile strangely calmed me. ”I don't know the room number for Chance Thorpe.”
Comprehension washed over her face. ”Oh yes, you're dad said you'd be up. Room 348.”
”Thank you,” I managed to get out before taking off past her to scan the numbers posted outside the doors.
The door stood ajar, a hum of conversation drifting out. Hearing Caleb's and Chance's voices talking about a video game brought me both relief and anxiety. Relief that my brother sounded fine despite broken bones and anxiety that I'd have to face the ex-boyfriend who hated me.
My dad saw me first where I paused in the doorway. ”Gianna.”
Giving him what was probably more a grimace than a smile, I brushed past my dad to the side of Chance's hospital bed not taken up by my ex. I avoided Caleb's eyes, leaning down to squeeze my baby brother in a hug. ”You scared me, sweetie.”
When I pulled back, Chance wore a goofy grin. ”Did you see my leg?”
”He's in his happy place,” Caleb said, forcing my attention to him. ”Drugged.”
”Medicated,” my dad corrected.
Taking a deep breath, I checked out the cast my brother wore on his right leg. ”Cool. I'll sign it for you later.”
He giggled, appearing free of pain. ”Just not in pink or purple.”
”Red,” I countered.
”Okay,” he replied, yawning. ”Where's mom?”
I grabbed a chair, pulling it closer to the bed before sitting down. ”She's where they put the adults. They're just making sure her head is okay.”
Chance s.h.i.+fted his upper body slightly to face me and whispered, ”She conked her head pretty hard.”
”Yeah, but she'll be fine,” my dad a.s.sured him, and maybe me too.
”Can I talk to you?” I asked my dad, motioning toward the hallway. He nodded and I got to my feet to follow him out.
Before I could speak, he pulled me into his arms. I exhaled, relaxing into the hug. His big hand rubbing my back was no less soothing than when I'd been a child. ”What did you want to talk about, princess?”
I slowly backed up to turn my face up to his. ”Do you think you can go down to talk with mom's doctor? You'll understand better than Scott or me what's going on with her.”
”Of course I will. Now that I've seen Chance and know he's okay, the only worry is your mom's concussion.”
”Do you already know something?” I pressed, wondering if Scott had held back information.
My dad's head shook. ”No, the MRI is routine with that hard of an impact. There's a strong possibility they won't find any swelling.”
”Will you come back up and let me know as soon as you find out?”
”Sure, let me say goodnight to Chance. He'll be out for the night soon.”
”They're keeping him overnight for a broken leg?”
”When they moved him up here it was because a family member wasn't here to take him yet and your mother was already admitted as a patient. His doctor has gone home with instructions to the one on s.h.i.+ft now to keep him overnight for observation. It's probably not necessary, but I'd actually prefer it just in case.”
”Why'd it take so long for them to call us? The crash must have happened at least a couple hours ago.”
”The accident scene was a mess and your mom was so out of it, it was awhile before she could tell them who to notify.”
With a hand at my back, we returned to the hospital room. ”Hey, buddy,” my dad said, sitting on the edge of Chance's bed. ”I'm going to swing down to make sure your mom is doing well and I'll be back soon. Your sister and Caleb are going to hang out here with you while you go to sleep.”
Chance didn't appear worried, yawning again. ”Okay, are you still spending the night with me?”
”Yep,” my dad confirmed. ”And I'll get you pancakes in the morning from the cafeteria.”
”Okay,” Chance said, his eyelids drooping.
”Be back in a bit,” my dad said, exiting the room.
I plopped back down in the chair, taking Chances hand in mine. The silence was more than awkward, it was excruciating. Since Caleb seemed to be waiting for me to say something, or at least I thought so, I finally said softly, ”Thank you for being here with Chance.”
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