Chapter 44
Lucas
Pullinguptotheemergency room, I stopped the car right outside the sliding glass doors of the ambulance bay, and Levi launched himself out of the passenger seat, heading straight through the doors as they parted like the sea with Chase waiting on the other side.
He promptly directed us into the closest trauma bay with all of the blinds pulled closed before pointing to the gurney.
“Sit her down over there and stand aside, we’ll get to work on saving her.” He hastily instructed, gesturing to his staff on the other side of the doorway.
Levi was hesitant to separate from her as he gently lowered Tessa down and took slow steps back toward the wall just as a trauma team of nurses swarmed the room, and he crumpled at the sight.
I stepped up to my brother’s side, my hand resting on his shoulder for reassurance, as a mask was placed over her nose for oxygen, and her shirt was torn open for cardiac leads.
In a matter of seconds, they had our girl connected to several monitors as the nurses and staff moved in an almost choreographed dance around the bed. Machines coming to life with various lights and information I couldn’t understand.
“Vitals,” Chase called, and one of the nurses started rattling off a list of numbers. Words like rapid, low, and erratic were mentioned, but I could barely hear anything over all the beeping and sounds echoing throughout the room and my head. “She's breathing on her own, which is a good sign, but she's still not where I’d like her to be... Everly, be ready to intubate if her score drops below an eight.”
“Doctor, her oxygen’s at eighty-nine percent, and her BP’s dropping.” One of the nurses alerted Chase from the opposite side of the room.
“Push fluids to stabilize her BP and get me a tox screen. I need to know what we’re working with.” His attention shifted to us after directing his staff. “You mentioned Xanax bars were scattered on the floor where you found her. Do you know how much she took? Did she take them with alcohol?”
Levi silently shook his head, unable to tear his eyes from her body, and I could feel all of his pain mirrored in my own.
“A glass or two of wine before it happened… no idea how many of the pills…” I uttered before rolling my lips together and pinching them between my teeth.
How did it get to this… When…
“Doctor… This woman intentionally overdosed on a benzodiazepine, shall I page psyche?”
“No!” My brother and I shouted, our horror-stricken eyes meeting before they gravitated to Chase in a panic.
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll see to it that the patient receives the care they need and reassess when she wakes.” He didn’t skip a beat, unlike our hearts. But this was his job. To care for those in the MUR and their partners. He knew what it was like, understood our position.
“She’s going to be okay…” I heard my brother breathe through his words, as if he were hypnotized by the scene unfolding before our eyes, and I squeezed his shoulder even tighter for grounding.
“She’s going to be okay, Levi…”
We stood firm together, backed into the corner in anxious silence as we continued to watch Chase and the nurses trying to save Tessa’s life. All while praying to fucking god that she would make it through the night.
Wesatforfivelong, excruciating hours at her bedside—her dutiful watchdogs, her faithful guardians. We took turns leaving, and only when we needed to get something to eat, drink, or just take a moment outside for some fresh air. To breathe. Because she was still breathing.
When Tessa stabilized, Chase had her moved to a room on a floor designated for VIP patients—more specifically, members of the MUR.
Chase was one of the few dancers who chose a career in the medical field when completing his initiation. He belonged to the Red Magic revue and had become extremely valuable with his chosen profession outside of the show.
We knew him in a very limited capacity compared to Dallas, but the fact that he would drop everything to save the life of our girl was more than we could’ve ever asked for in an acquaintance.
“How is she?” Levi padded into the room as I sat at her bedside, my elbows resting just beside her waist; Tessa’s hand cradled in mine as I watched her chest rise and fall with every soft breath.
“No news is good news, I suppose…” I didn’t tear my eyes away from her once, listening to my brother’s heavy heels drag as he crossed the room, the door clicking shut behind him.
“She’s still…”
“Asleep? Yeah. Chase stopped by about ten minutes ago and mentioned that she could be out for a few more hours…”
While he was here, he took note of the machines, jotting down some notes before lending me a weak, empathetic smile. If something were wrong, or if all hope was lost, he would’ve said something by now, but he didn’t. And that was all I needed to keep my head above water, to continue to sit here and pray that she came back to me—to us.
“Why would she—”
