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“Yes, and she is okay, but we need to keep her that way, Riley.”
“Tell me about Ethan.” I rubbed my belly as I thought about the fact that I was having a girl. Oh, shit!
Henley took my hand. “You know he was thrown from the truck while it rolled. The truck rolled three times. You were lucky to have your seat belt on, but Ethan hadn’t put his on.” He shook his head and stared off into space for a moment.
I squeezed his hand to bring him back. “He was hurt really bad, Ry. His skull was cracked, his arm almost completely torn off. One of his legs was broken.”
I thought I would puke, but I forced myself to remain calm—or as calm as I could. Henley looked at the monitor and squeezed my hand again. “You need to take a few breaths, Riley.”
I forced stuttered breaths into my lungs and out again as I pictured Ethan lying on the ground, torn and bleeding. Tears ran like rivers from my eyes, and I took another stuttered breath as the alarm went off on one of my machines. A nurse popped her head into the room, but I saw spots in front of me as the image of Ethan bleeding grew bigger and bigger in my mind.
I heard the nurse speaking to Henley, and then I was floating off, and the image thankfully began to vanish.
* * *
Daniella was therewhen I woke up later. I knew it before I even opened my eyes. Her fingers were flying over her keyboard. The woman could write in any circumstance, any place she deemed necessary.
“Hey,” I called to her as I reached for the water glass on my tray.
She set her laptop quickly to the side and moved the tray closer to me. “How are you feeling?”
“How is Ethan?”
“I’ve been told I am not allowed to speak about him because every time someone does, you stress that little girl out.” She smiled to soften her words.
“Is he still alive?”
She nodded sadly. “He’s fighting, Riley.”
I glanced at the clock. “How is it only six at night? It seems like this day just won’t end.”
Daniella took my hand and squeezed it. “It’s Monday night at six.”
“What? Are you saying that I’ve been out for two days?”
“Yeah, well, they kept you sedated for a little over twenty-four hours to calm down the baby and your uterus, and then you woke up late yesterday and got all upset, so they put you back down for another twenty-four hours to be safe. But your vitals are much better, and the baby seems to be out of the woods now.”
At least that was good. “I think Hen said that Ethan was in a coma. Is he still in one?”
She nodded. “Yeah, for now, but let’s not talk about that anymore. If things are still going smooth for you, they will let you out of the hospital tomorrow.”
“Good, then I can go see Ethan.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Riley. I’m pretty sure the doctors are going to put you on bed rest.”
“I don’t care. I have to go see Ethan.”
“Right now, the only people that can see him are his family, and only one person at a time for a few minutes every hour.” She winced as she looked at my monitor. “Ry, you need to calm down, or they are going to put you out again.”
I glared at the monitor and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. My monitor stopped beeping at me after a moment. The nurse stepped into the room and eyed me carefully.
“I’m okay. I’m calming myself down. No need to knock me out again.”
She chuckled. “Good to hear that. You ready to eat?”
“Yes, I’m starved.”
She left saying that she’d have some food delivered in a few minutes. “So other than a few bruises and sore muscles, I’m okay?”
