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“Connor will go get you a bottle of water. You at least need to hydrate,” Mish offered. “It’s high time he assists you rather than you assisting him.”
I cracked a smile. Connor and Silas went off to find water. “So that was awkward, eh?” Mish changed the subject.
“More than just a little. An hour ago, Silas was saying he was going to punch Mason in the throat. Wasn’t sure how that was all going to go down,” Elle sighed deeply.
“Can you imagine the headline? ‘The Boyfriend of Senator Davis’s Ex-wife Punches Senator in the Hospital Waiting Room,’” Mish mused.
“I’m sure they would point out how quickly I’ve moved on.” She rolled her eyes.
We were quiet for a moment. It was just long enough for me to remember what was happening. “I can’t live without him.” My whole body shook with the unknown.
“Let’s not think like that, okay?” Elle squeezed my shoulder.
We sat for about an hour before a doctor came out looking for us. “Family of Elijah Jenkins?”
“Me. Here,” I popped up out of the seat. Everyone crowded around me anxiously. I grabbed Elle’s hand and squeezed.
“So, in addition to the broken leg and arm, we confirmed Elijah had some internal injuries. We were able to stop the internal bleeding. A CAT scan shows some minor trauma to the brain, and we will monitor him closely for the next twenty-four hours, but we expect him to wake up soon.”
“But he’s going to be okay?” I asked, feeling hopeful for the first time in hours.
The doctor’s face revealed nothing. “We don’t expect the injuries sustained in the accident to have long-term effects.”
“When can I see him?” I needed to see for myself that he was okay.
He explained they were getting him set up in a room and as soon as that was settled, he could have two visitors at a time. It was another hour before a nurse came to show us to Eli’s room. I pulled Elle by the hand to join me, leaving Silas sitting by himself. I needed my big sister to anchor me.
When we walked in, I took in the scene, choking back a sob.
They had hooked Eli up to all kinds of wires. Cuts and bruises covered his body, and his left arm and leg were in temporary casts. I burst into tears again in the doorway, my legs wobbling beneath me. Logically, I knew he would look like this, but seeing it made the hope I had that he was fine disappear.
“Come on. You heard the nurse: It looks worse than it is.” Elle urged me toward the bedside.
I sat in the chair by the bed. “You should go home and get some sleep. I’m just going to sit here and make sure this idiot knows he isn’t allowed to leave me.” I placed my hand gently on his, careful to avoid the various wires attached to him. While I needed my sister just a few minutes ago, now I wanted to be here alone with him.
She nodded, giving me a kiss on the cheek and taking her leave.
“You motherfucker,” I whispered. “Don’t you dare scare me like that again. You’d better wake up before I lose my shit.” I wiped a tear from my cheek. “We have been through too much shit for a damn car accident to split us up.”
He remained still.
Nurses and doctors came and went for a few hours without saying much other than he should wake up ‘soon.’ I hated soon. I wanted him back now.
That asshole made me wait until nearly dawn before he finally made a move. I was fighting sleep, my head lying next to his hand on the bed as I sat bent over in the chair. It wasn’t comfortable by any stretch of the imagination, but I needed to be close. I felt his hand move. I sat up and saw him looking at me.
“What the fuck did you do to me this time, woman?” His voice was hoarse but the best thing I’d heard in hours.
A fresh batch of tears flooded my cheeks, these from immense relief. “Are you fucking serious? You gave me a fucking coronary. Who does this shit?” I pointed a finger up and down his body.
He groaned, “I’m so tired. What the hell happened?”
“You were in a car accident. Your stupid face assaulted your steering wheel.” He looked a bit confused, trying to put the pieces together. I ran down his list of injuries. “You’re probably tired from the surgery. They had to knock you out.”
His pulse increased on the monitor. “They gave me drugs?” His bloodshot eyes were wide with fear.
“They had to. You can’t just operate on someone without them. It was that or die, E.”
“Am I still getting them?”
