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“Grant?”
His head shifts and I see his eyes try to flicker. But they are so swollen he cannot open them completely.
“Dad?”
The sound is almost like a croaking whisper and a lump rises to my throat. I walk over to the bed slowly and pull up a chair beside it.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I’m so sorry.” Tears begin to run down his cheeks and I feel my eyes grow misty. I remove my glasses and dab at my face, mildly surprised to find that my fingers are wet.
“It’s okay, son. We’re going to get through this.”
“I-I owe some bad people a lot of money, Dad. They were going to kill me!”
He breaks down sobbing and it breaks my heart. I hold his hand tightly.
“I’ll take care of it. I promise. But, Grant, you need to let me help you. Please!”
He tightens his grip on me as he nods slowly. “Please! Help me!”
I feel as though a dam of emotion bursts within me at the words I have longed to hear. I hug him.
“I will. I promise I will. I’m going to get you back into rehab. You’re going to clean up and be fine, Grant. I promise.”
He sobs like a little boy, and I hold him with silent tears running down my own cheeks. I don’t know how long I stand there. The door opens behind me and I turn to find a nurse. I dab at my face quickly.
“It’s time for his pain medication.”
“Is Dr. Beaumont still around? Could you ask her to bring the forms please?”
The nurse slips out and I turn to Grant.
“We’re going to sign the papers right now so that, as soon as you’re strong enough, you’ll go into treatment, okay?”
He nods. “Okay, Dad.” He sniffs once more. “I’m so sorry. So sorry. Sorry to put you through all of this.”
“I love you, Grant. You’re my son and I’ll move heaven and earth before I let anything else happen to you that I can prevent. I want you to focus on getting better, okay?”
“Okay.”
Dr. Beaumont comes in just then with a clipboard.
“You gave us quite a scare there, Mr. Duncan. I’m glad to hear that you’re ready to turn over a new leaf. Now if you could just sign here, and here, we can get the recovery show on the road.”
I assist Grant with signing in the appropriate spaces, and sign where I need to as well. I step aside and watch the nurse add his medication to the IV. In less than five minutes, he is asleep. I stand looking at him for a little while longer. He is so peaceful. I kiss his forehead and slip out of the room.
I lean against the wall outside his room and look up at the ceiling. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. My brain kicks into gear as I begin planning my course of action.
First, I need a meeting with Spike. He needs to be dealt with once and for all. Next, I need to have Dr. Ferguson prepare to receive Grant. Hopefully, he’ll be sufficiently healed in a week or two and be ready for transfer to the rehab center. I also feel the need for some time off. With my birthday coming up, there is no time like the present. The year has been a tumultuous one, and I feel the need to pull away from it all for a little bit and do some introspection. Ultimately, I need to make up my mind about Sidney. Am I going to allow a slip of a girl to call the shots and end our relationship or am I going to fight for the woman I—
I cut the thought off at the pass and walk toward the reception area. I reach across the desk to shake the nurse’s hand.
“Thanks for everything you’ve done. I really appreciate it.”
She smiles and looks back down at her clipboard. I head toward the elevators. I wait for the door to open completely. But just as I’m about to step inside, I catch a glimpse of something or rather someone fleetingly familiar exiting the other elevator. I step back and cannot believe my eyes. There, slumped in a wheelchair with her face black and blue, is Sidney. The orderly leaves her by the elevator as he takes a clipboard over to the nurse.
“Sidney?”
Her head snaps up. And for the first time in more than a week, I’m staring into the eyes of the woman I love. I can’t deny it anymore. Not now.
