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“I’m his girlfriend and the owner of Simon Energy. He’s my employee. Where is he?” She looks up at the mention of Simon Energy and nods before asking me to follow her. Bill stomps through the entrance just as I’m walking away with the receptionist, but I ask her to stop and wait for him. Together, we walk down the bright white halls and pass through a key coded door into the emergency department. Machines echo off the walls, beep beep, beep beep. The lights are blinding, and the distinct smell of bleach and disinfectant turns my stomach as a foggy haze takes over my mind. I can hear cries of agony and pain from the rooms we pass by.
I feel like I’m walking through a dream, aware of my surroundings, but everything is slow paced. There is a nurse and doctor rushing down the hallway ahead of us into a room that has a light blinking over the entrance. My heart slowly crawls to my throat as my stomach knots and turns. Goosebumps cover my skin, and I can’t control the tremors that are wracking my body. My feet are heavy, but my mind, steady on auto pilot, slowly drags my heavy feet through the halls.
I know the kinds of accidents that can happen underground. Men are killed daily. I’m not prepared to walk into this room, unknowing what type of accident happened and the injuries that Colton has sustained. Halting behind the receptionist, she tells us to go inside, motioning toward the room Colton is in. Bill places his hand on the small of my back to lead me inside, but my feet won’t move. Colton cries out a blood-curdling scream, and I gasp at the sound of his pain. My breath hitches, and tears fall down my face in a rapid stream.
“Carly, we ain’t doin’ nothin’ good out in this damn hall. Get in there and see what’s wrong with your man.” Bill’s husky voice is thick, filled with agitation. I nod and slowly shuffle my feet into the small room. When my eyes take in the scene before me, I grab my stomach and cover my mouth, trying to stifle the bile that rises in my throat.
Colton is laying in the bed with his right arm resting upon a pillow. It’s wrapped in blood stained gauze. Black soot laced with blood smears across his beautifully tan face, and the painful anguish wrapped tightly in his gorgeous brown eyes rips my heart from my chest. There is a nurse beside his bed adjusting the IV drip connected to his vein. She smiles politely at Bill and me before asking if we are family. We ask her if she can tell us what happened, but she steps out to get the doctor.
His eyes roll back then flutter shut, but he’s flinching in pain. I pull the chair beside the bed and rest my head on his left shoulder. I can’t control the tears that are escaping my eyes. I’m so worried about him, and I have no idea what happened to have caused the accident.
The doctor comes in a short while later and explains that Colton’s arm got twisted inside of the pinner. He tells us that Colton has sustained substantial damage to the muscles and skin of his forearm, and that his radius bone is split in two. They have him sedated to control the pain, and are waiting for the surgeon to arrive, before he will be taken down to surgery. He tells us that the surgeon will put pins in his arm, and he may possibly even need a skin graft at a later time depending on how the gashes heal.
Bill steps out of the room to call Emily, and I keep my face pressed to Colton’s shoulder, silently praying that he will be okay. I know he’s tough, but I still worry about him. Just as Bill walks back into the room, the surgeon and his team walk in to take Colton down to surgery.
The nurse shows us to the surgery waiting room where I sit impatiently under trembling nerves. Bill is quiet, just staring at the television. Mack walks into the waiting room, and I stand to greet him. It takes every ounce of self-control I have not to fall apart again, but right now I have to will my mind into functioning just a little so I can try to find out what exactly happened.
“Well, MSHA is crawlin’ the mines as we speak. I personally ordered the entire nightshift to be pissed for drugs.”
“Drugs, what?”
“Eric, the pinner man was wasted. They found Xanax and Oxycodone in his blood and a pocketful of pills. He got a little aggressive with the nurse, so they had to call security. Cops just came in and arrested him for possession ’bout an hour ago. Apparently, Colton was helpin’ him roof bolt when his arm got twisted up in the pinner.”
“So it’s his fault that Colton is hurt? Damn that jackass; Colton could have been killed!” I shout as the anger builds in my chest.
“Carly, I know you’re upset. He’s gone. Done fired his ass along with Dave too.”
“Dave?”
“Yep, found drugs in his system too. Can’t have addicts workin’ underground. Colton’s gonna be alright, though. He’s a tough son of a bitch.”
“I know. Thanks, Mack.”
“I gotta get back to the mines. MSHA investigators are everywhere, and I gotta make sure all the accident reports are finalized before they leave.” He pats me on the arm and stands to leave.
The thoughts that earlier I couldn’t begin to process are now flooding through my mind in jumbled, messy waves. Colton is injured and could have possibly been killed had the situation been slightly different. We have only been back together a short while when life steps in and tries to strip him away from me once again.
There is nothing to do but wait for them to bring him from surgery to recovery, and my emotions are vying for their release. I pull my knees to my chest, wrap my arms securely around them, and cry.
I feel a stern nudge on my shoulder, so I raise my swollen lids to see Bill standing in front of me with one hand shoved into his pocket, the other on my shoulder. I take in my surroundings, and the memory of what I’m doing here comes rushing back. I pop my head up from my lap a little faster than necessary, and my neck screams with tension. I clear my throat, trying to find my voice before I speak.
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. They have him in a room. Emily and Kylee Jo are on their way now, so I’ll wait here for them. Go on up and check on him. The doctor said he’ll be a little groggy from the anesthesia, but it should wear off within a few hours.
They will have to give him medicine to control the pain, so he’s gonna be an ass about that. Go on; he’s in three-fourteen. I’ll be up in a few.” Bill scrubs his hands up his face. His eyes are dark and tired, but he’s standing strong. Colton gets his strength from his dad.
I make my way to the elevator and press the number three button. The door closes, and the gears turn, pulling the car to the third floor. I get off the elevator and walk slowly through the hall to Colton’s room. I push the door open quietly, then make my way over to the side of his bed. His arm is bandaged in thick gauze and is resting in a sling. There are monitors placed beside his bed, with cords running to his chest tracking his vitals. His face is clean of the blood laced soot that covered it earlier. I pull the chair closer to the side of the bed, lacing my fingers in his and trace imaginary circles across his knuckles.
Bill, Emily, and Kylee Jo come in a few minutes later. Kylee Jo crawls in my lap, burying her face in my chest, as she cries softly. Emily is sobbing uncontrollably beside Bill, who’s as rigid as steel. The doctor assured us he would make a full recovery, but it’s still hard to see someone you love so deeply in this state.
We sit in silence for over an hour just listening to the beeps from the monitors. Colton finally begins to stir, releasing deep groans in pain. His eyes open slowly, then sweep the room, taking in his surroundings. He looks down at his arm and winces in pain. He clears his throat and tries to speak, but his voice comes out in a raspy mumble. Emily tells him to lay still while she goes to ask the nurse if he can have some ice water.
He looks to Kylee Jo and smiles, then pats the bed for her to join him. I lift her up on the side of the bed, and she rests her head on his chest, crying softly. Colton tries to whisper in her ear, but his voice is too rough to be understood. Emily comes back to the room carrying a large cup of ice water with the nurse right on her heels. She gives Colton a few sips of water while the nurse checks his vitals.
“Are you hurting, Mr. Weston?” she calls over her shoulder, writing his vitals on her notepad. He grunts, then clears his throat and mumbles, “A little.”
“I can give ya something for the pain in your IV, but you’ll be out in under ten minutes. That sound like a plan?”
