AllFreeNovel
Share Us
How am I supposed to do this?
Tori helps me get the dress off while Mom cleans my face with makeup remover wipes. Someone has given them a set of scrubs for me to change into. Mom unpins my hair and smooths it back into a ponytail. “You’re going to come back to the hotel with me and Dad.”
“Okay.” The thought of going home without Alden is unbearable.
God, Alden don’t do this to me. We were supposed to have our happily ever after. We were going to spend the rest of our lives together.
Through the overwhelming shock and grief, I remember Oliver. “How’s Oliver?”
“Still in surgery.”
Sniffing, I take a deep breath. “I want to stay and make sure he’s okay.”
“Alright,” Mom agrees.
She knows what they both mean to me. The boys who have been a part of my life since we were in elementary school. No matter how often they may have been at odds, Alden loved his brother. He’d want me to stay.
Oliver is in surgery for hours. It’s nearly midnight when the doctor comes to update us. He survived the surgery. He has a skull fracture, and they had to put a shunt in to drain the bleeding from his brain. They’ve repaired the hole in his neck where the bullet went through. They’re also concerned about swelling in his brain.
The doctor goes on, and I do my best to focus on his words, but in my state of mind, it’s like grasping at threads floating through the air. The bottom line is that he’s alive, but far from out of danger. He’s in a coma and on a ventilator.
“Can I see him?” Mr. Stokes asks.
“For a few minutes. One at a time.”
“Let’s go back to the hotel, honey,” Mom says. “There’s nothing you can do for him right now. You need to get some rest.”
“After I see him,” I promise, waiting for Mr. Stokes to return. “Then we can go.”
When Mr. Stokes steps back into the room, Dad pulls him aside to talk to him. Probably to comfort him or see what he can do to help.
The nurse leads me to a room and cautions me to be mindful of all the equipment. My breath catches in my throat when I see him. The bandage on his head is similar to the one Alden had but a tube runs out of it and disappears behind the bed. There are tubes and wires everywhere.
His neck is bandaged, and his face is nearly as white as the dressings. I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect him to look worse than Alden.
“Can he hear me?” I ask, my voice shaky.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t hurt to talk to him,” the nurse tells me with a kind smile. “Just five minutes.”
She stays nearby while I approach the bed and lay my hand on his arm. “Oliver. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay. Your family is here.” I wonder if he knows about Alden. I hope not. “Everyone is here, and we love you.”
His chest rises and falls in an unnatural fashion, in time with the wheeze and thump of the ventilator. It’s hard to watch. I’ve never seen a person so broken.
Mom is right. There’s nothing I can do. Nothing any of us can do.
CHAPTER13
The next week passes in a blur. Oliver remains the same, alive but with little improvement. The doctors can’t predict the exacts effects the traumatic brain injury will have but they warn us his recovery—if he recovers—will be a long one. It varies in severity for each patient and the possibilities are terrifying. He could lose the ability to walk, talk, or take care of himself.
Mr. Stokes only leaves the hospital to help make arrangements for Alden’s funeral. If Alden had seen his father today, sobbing at the gravesite, he wouldn’t have any doubt he loved him. Rail thin and terminally ill himself, he has to be helped back to his car after the burial.
I’ve spent the last week at the hotel with my parents, but I can’t do that forever. I need to go home. They insist on staying with me and I’m not going to argue. I don’t have the energy to do anything but get through each minute that Alden isn’t here.
Tori has been right by my side, and she’s the one who suggests I stay in my guest room when she finds me standing outside the bedroom Alden and I shared.
“No, I’ll be okay.” No bigger lie has ever been told. I’ll never be okay without him. “Will you tell Mom I’m going to take a nap?”
She hugs me. “Get some rest. I’ll let them know not to disturb you. I’m going to go to the hospital and see how Oliver is doing, then I’ll be back this evening, okay?”
