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“Funny, Lancaster.” I grin, sitting back in my chair.
Ari’s brows draw together, and she laughs. “Missed you, too, Brady.”
“What’s all the noise, gentlemen? I told you hoodlums no more watching football in this room if you guys can’t… oh! Well, hi honey!” Nurse Becky beams, spotting Ari awake in bed. “Thank goodness you’re up. These men are worse than toddlers. So needy.” She teases with a wink.
“Don’t let her fool you, girl, she loves us.” Brady nods.
Nurse Becky lets out a playful sigh. “Yes, I do.”
She smiles and walks over to Ari, gently patting her leg. “I’m Becky. I’ve had the pleasure of being your daytime nurse since you got here, and I’ve got to say, it’s damn good to see your eyes, sweetheart. I see those golden flecks that boy of yours was whispering about.”
I open my mouth, but close it, chuckling from being caught.
Mason nudges me with his knee, smirking to himself.
“I know you just woke, but I can bet you’re exhausted and have lots of questions. Let me run and grab Dr. Brian.”
“Thank you,” she responds, the soft hum of her tone coming back more and more with each word spoken.
I squeeze her hand, and she looks toward the contact, her eyes flying to mine as if she only realized now I’m holding on to her.
I allow her the moment she wordlessly asks for, saying nothing as she takes me in from the light scruff building along my jaw, from refusing to spend an extra ten minutes shaving when I knew she was sitting in this bed without me, to the wrinkle of my clothes, pulled from a messy duffel bag I had my buddy drop off.
Slowly, her eyes make their way back to mine and hold.
“Hi, beautiful.” I tip my head. “I’ve missed those chocolate eyes.”
I smile wider when a hint of pink colors her cheeks, but then she looks away. Slowly, she eases her hand out of mine and begins adjusting her blanket.
Something stirs in my gut, and I lick my lips, slipping to the edge of my chair.
“Well, hello, there.” Dr. Brian rushes in with a smile, quickly washing his hands in the sink across the room.
As he comes forward, the group steps back to allow him some space. I don’t move.
“I’m Dr. Brian.” He tips his chin. “And you are?”
She frowns. “Um, Arianna Johnson.”
“Yes, you are.” He nods. “Passed the test.”
A worried chuckle leaves her.
“Like Nurse Becky, here, I’ve been tending to you since your arrival. I’m going to ask you a few questions, and then we’ll talk about your injuries. Does that sound, all right?”
“Yes sir,” she mumbles nervously, wringing her hands in her lap.
“Okay, good. I assume it’s okay to speak now?” He lifts his hands, as if referring to us, and she nods. “Good. Let’s start with an easy one. On a scale from one to ten, ten being the highest, how would you rate your pain?”
“About an eight.”
“Big baby.” Mason speaks only to ease her, clearing his throat as emotions take over.
It works. Her mouth pulls, but she keeps her attention on the doctor.
“Okay.” He nods. “Where are you hurting the most?”
“My head is throbbing more so than anything else.” Her palm flattens just below her breast. “And my chest. It’s hard to breathe.”
The room grows stiff with worry as we listen, and I draw my lips in.
“That’s normal, considering.” He clasps his hands together, letting them hang in front of him. “Before I break down your injuries, let me ask. Arianna, are you aware of what happened? How you ended up here?”
Her face contorts a bit and she looks to Mason with pleading eyes. He gives her a small nod for encouragement, and she looks back at Dr. Brian.
She shakes her head. “I was hit by a car?”
“Yes, that’s right.” The man nods. “You took quite a hit. Your legs and arms went mostly unscathed, but your right shoulder had to be popped back into place. Your right lower rib is fractured, but it is very minor and nothing to be concerned about, but your left is where it gets tricky. See, two of your upper right ribs are broken.” He refers to his own body, so she can visualize, as he explains, “When that happened, you suffered a traumatic aortic injury. Your aorta, the main artery in your body, was ruptured, causing extensive bleeding. Thankfully, your body did its job, and the surrounding tissues contained as long as we needed it to. Had your lung been punctured, we might not be here to have this conversation, but we won’t go down that road.”
Ari nods, letting him know she’s following, and my leg starts bouncing uncontrollably as I hear the doctor’s explanation of what happened to my girl for the first time.
“You also suffered a basilar skull fracture on the left side of your skull, just around your left eye. Initially we were worried about cerebrospinal fluid leakage, but after running some tests, we were able to rule that out. Because of that, though, you were placed in a medically induced coma for the first few days for monitoring, after that, we stopped the medication and waited for you to wake on your own and now, here we are.”
