AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dean’s on the phone with the local hospital, not getting anywhere because he’s not family, when Meghan’s cell phone rings. Her hand is trembling as she brings it to her ear and whispers a hoarse greeting.
“This is she,” she says into the phone. Moments later, I can see it. The color drains from her face and her body practically goes limp. Ryan is there, grabbing a hold of her arm to keep her from going down all the way, and I grab her phone.
“This is Meghan’s sister, Payton,” I direct into the phone.
“This is Jupiter Bay Hospital. We have a man here named Joshua Harrison who was brought into the emergency room via ambulance. He’s in critical condition but asking for Meghan Summer.”
“We’re on our way,” I say as I disconnect the phone.
Dean is standing with Meghan, on the opposite side of Ryan, both of them holding her up while she cries. “Hospital. Now.” Those two words cause a flurry of activity. Abby and AJ start grabbing purses and jackets, while Jaime throws cash down on the bar. Dean and Ryan each help guide Meghan towards the exit. I don’t even tell the instructor that we’ll be back another time to get our finished product. I couldn’t care less about those vases right now. Getting to the hospital is more important.
Outside, the storm is blowing, rain pelting us like tiny sledgehammers. “My car is right there,” Dean says as they make their way towards his vehicle.
“AJ and Abby, go with Ryan and Jaime. Lexi, get in the front seat with Dean,” I instruct. No one questions my orders; everyone just follows suit. Before we all separate, I see the anguish mirrored in the eyes of my sisters. While Ryan helps Meghan buckle her seatbelt, my sisters all plead with their eyes to make this okay. As the oldest, I’ve always been the fixer.
But, my God, I can’t fix this.
“He’s going to be okay,” I tell them, praying with everything I have that my words are true.
Piling in the back seat beside my sister, I try to console her, but she’s crying too hard to pay attention to me right now. So, instead, I hold her. My shirt is soaked from the rain and the tears, but I don’t care. Dean is driving as fast as he can to safely get us to the hospital, while I hear Lexi make a call to our dad. After a very short conversation in a hushed voice, our eyes meet across the car and I know she feels it too: gut-clenching fear.
Dean pulls into the circle drive in front of the emergency department. Before he even has it in park, we’re piling out of the car, Ryan’s truck parked right behind us. The six of us head towards the automatic sliding doors that lead to the entrance of the hospital.
“We’ll park the vehicles and be right in,” Ryan hollers as he and Dean go to move from the emergency entrance.
“Josh. Joshua Harrison. He was brought in a little while ago from a car accident,” Meghan says evenly as we approach the desk just inside the front door.
“And you are?” the older woman asks, glancing up from her computer.
“Meghan Summer. Someone called me.”
The woman types on the keyboard in front of her. When she glances up, she says, “There’s a private family area right through that doorway. Have a seat for a moment, and I’ll go get someone to help you.” Then she scurries away quickly through the closed door of the emergency room.
“Come on, Meg. Let’s have a seat,” Abby says gently, leading us all through the doorway and into the empty room.
“I can’t sit. I need to see him,” Meghan pleads with angst eyes.
“Someone will be out soon,” I add as the guys come rushing in from the parking lot.
Dean’s arms are around me instantly, warm and comforting. I lean into his embrace, calling upon every ounce of strength I possess to be strong for my sister. We don’t even know anything yet, but I don’t have a good feeling about this. My gut tells me something is drastically wrong, and I don’t have a clue what to do about it.
A few moments later, Dad comes rushing into the room with Grandma and Grandpa hot on his heels. They all look disheveled, and I’m pretty sure my grandparents are still in their pajamas, but no one seems to care. Dad pulls Meghan into a hug as a man in blue scrubs and a white jacket comes into the room.
“Meghan Summer?”
“That’s me,” she says, her voice wavering and cracking. We all gather around while the doctor steps forward.
“Would you like to go somewhere to talk?”
“No, whatever you need to say can be said in front of my family.”
“All right. Mr. Harrison was in a car accident this evening and has a fractured leg, arm, and lacerations to his face and chest. But our biggest concern is a TBI, or traumatic brain injury. It’s caused from his brain jarring against his skull during impact. We know there is blood and a lot of swelling in the frontal lobe. There’s also internal bleeding in his chest. He was pinned between the steering wheel and his seat when the vehicle was crushed causing damage to his liver, as well as blood around his heart. I’m afraid we must get him into surgery as soon as possible to see how extensive the damage to both his chest and the brain. We have paged a neurosurgeon along with our chief surgeon, and as soon as they are ready, we’ll get him prepped for surgery.”
“That sounds bad,” Meghan whispers, sniffling, as the tears continue fall.
“His condition is very critical, Miss Summer. You should know that this surgery is both lifesaving, but also very complicated. There are a lot of injuries to major organs, and when you add them all together, well a lot could go wrong with a surgery of this magnitude.”
“What are his odds?” my dad asks from his position beside Meghan.
