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“Ghost, where’s your head with all this shit?” my dad speaks up as Shadow and Renee rush into the waiting room with my mom.
“I don’t even fuckin’ know. I’ve been seein’ her every day, but we haven’t talked about anythin’. I take her in a cold soda and some dry toast. She’s usually still in bed when I go in there. Seein’ her on the floor and not movin’ like that broke somethin’ in me. We’ve all seen the women of the club in positions where they’ve been hurt but this is different for me. I really don’t know if we’ll be able to fix anythin’ with Autumn after everythin’ we’ve done. Or didn’t do,” Ghost says, his mom sitting on his other side and wrapping her arms around him.
“Is Doc here yet?” Hawkeye asks, coming up to join us.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her come through, but it doesn’t mean she won’t use another way to come in the hospital. They’ve all got their own ways of gettin’ in here,” Ghost mumbles as he takes the comfort his mom is giving him.
Leaning back in the uncomfortable chair of the waiting room, I close my eyes and think of nothing but Autumn and my baby. I’m going to have a son or daughter and so far I haven’t done anything to show what I’ve been thinking or feeling since learning of Autumn’s pregnancy. Well, nothing more than yelling at her when I should’ve backed down and talked to her like a regular fucking person. I was only thinking of myself and that’s not how I can live my life moving forward. I have to think of Autumn and the baby and make my decisions based on them now. Even if Autumn wants nothing to do with me in any capacity, I will still base my decisions on her and our child.
Doc is here. She’s been out to see us and informed us that they still don’t know the extent of Autumn’s injuries. There are more tests they have to do and an ultrasound will be performed to check on the baby. None of us are allowed back yet because they don’t know what’s going on and have only managed to get her stabilized. Apparently her heart was out of rhythm for some reason and they don’t know why. She’s hooked up to fluids and that’s about all they’ve done to her so far. Until they know the extent of her brain injury and what’s going on with the baby, they don’t want to give her certain medicine or anything. The only other injury we know of for a fact is that she has a broken wrist. When she fell, her wrist broke or got twisted to the point it snapped. They’re not really sure what happened. It’s a clean break, though, and will be able to have a cast put on without surgery to fix it.
The waiting room is filled with every member and ol’ lady of the club. Tank has been pacing for the last hour as we wait for another update on Autumn. Doc is pretty sure she’s going to be admitted. Especially if she doesn’t wake up. I’m not even sure where Doc’s mind is at regarding the brain injury. She gave us the bare minimum details and nothing more than that. My mom, Renee, and some of the other ol’ ladies have gotten coffees and sandwiches for everyone. I’m still holding mine since I have no appetite. Ghost didn’t even bother taking anything as he remains sitting next to me. Neither one of us have really moved since taking our seats. Even when Doc came out, we didn’t move. She made her way over to us.
“Guys, I’ve got an update on Autumn,” Doc says, stopping just before us.
“Is she awake?” Tank asks her, stopping his pacing right in front of Doc.
“She just woke up. Other than a horrendous headache, there’s no swelling on her brain or any bleeds. Her heart hasn’t gone out of rhythm again and I’m thinking she might have had some kind of injury to her chest no one’s aware of and that caused her heart to go out of rhythm for a few minutes. We’ve got a heart monitor on her and that won’t be taken off for the duration of her stay in the hospital. She’s got a nasty lump on her head and it did need some stitches to close up. There are scrapes, cuts, and bruising along her left side and her face. When I performed the ultrasound, the baby looks good. I’m also going to keep an eye on that in case something happens in the next few days. Autumn is currently being admitted to the hospital and will remain here for a few days at least,” Doc tells us as I finally take my first normal breath since getting Venom’s call.
“Can we see her? Will she even let us in the room?” I ask, my voice hoarse from the emotions flooding through me.
I can’t even tell you what I’m feeling right now. There’s so many different things going through my body and mind it’s hard to separate anything. Ghost releases the breath he’s been holding and his mom hugs him tight to her body as he stands from his seat while we wait to see if we’ll be allowed to see Autumn or not.
“She’s actually asking for both of you. I’m going to take you back now. Everyone else can see her once she’s moved into her room up on the floor and out of the emergency department. I’m not sure what floor she’s going to yet. Once we know that information, I can take you up to the waiting room there. We’re only going to let a few people in at a time until visiting hours are over,” Doc says as Ghost and I follow her out of the waiting room. “I want you to both be prepared for the sight of Autumn. Her face is heavily bruised and there’s a bandage around her head where we put the stitches. Her arm is not only in a cast that goes up most of her arm, but it’s also in a sling so it’s slightly more comfortable for her and we don’t have to constantly move pillows to prop her arm up. Try not to react to what you see because she’s already upset by the situation.”
Ghost and I nod in response as we stop just outside the room Autumn’s been in. After pausing a few seconds, I take a deep breath and steel myself for what I’m about to see. Pushing through the closed door, my eyes immediately go to Autumn where she’s laying in the hospital bed and covered as much as possible with a thick stack of blankets. It’s really cold in here so I’m not surprised with how many blankets she has covering her.
“Hey,” I practically whisper as I walk closer to the bed.
“Brick,” she whispers while trying to open her eyes. “You waited.”
“Of course we did. Autumn, I know we have a lot to talk about, but we’ll figure everythin’ out. For now, just relax and know Ghost and I aren’t goin’ anywhere,” I tell her, reaching out and taking her hand in mine.
“You promise?” she asks as Ghost steps up to her other side.
“We promise, Autumn. We’re here for as long as you are. Everyone is out in the waitin’ room. They’ll be able to come in and see you once you’re moved to your room,” Ghost assures her, resting his hand on her shoulder.
We remain in the hospital room with Autumn until someone from the transportation team comes in to move her up to the room she’ll be in. Ghost and I follow her and keep in her sights so she doesn’t think we left her. By the time we make it to her floor, it’s filled with everyone here for her. They aren’t in the waiting room they were shown to by Doc. Every member, ol’ lady, and family member is standing out in the hallway so Autumn can see them. She gives Tank and the triplets a small smile as she passes them along with our parents. Before she gets past them, her eyes are closing once again.
Doc warned us she’d be tired and would spend most of her time tonight and tomorrow sleeping. It’s what her body needs right now. Doc has a game plan in place and will have tests run on her daily to make sure there’s no change in her status before she will even think about discharging Autumn from the hospital. Autumn wants to have another ultrasound done with both of us in the room with her if we can make it happen. For now, our entire focus will be Autumn and our child. I don’t plan on leaving her side for any reason and no one will make me change my mind about it.
The rest of the night passes in a blur. Tank and the triplets are the first ones in to spend time with Autumn. She sleeps for the most part and they don’t stay too long. No one else comes in after they tell them she’s sleeping and trying to rest. Ghost and I make ourselves as comfortable as we can in the hard as fuck hospital furniture. Even the recliner things they bring in for us are hard as hell and not comfortable. We sleep when Autumn does and wake up when the nurses come in to check her. Nothing will be done to her without one of us witnessing it. I don’t trust her mother or Nolan not to try and have someone here do something to her because she’s in a hospital. They won’t get close to Autumn if any of us have any say in the matter. Even Tank isn’t leaving. He’s remaining outside the room and not letting anyone in unless he knows what’s about to happen. Thankfully Doc already told the staff here we wouldn’t be leaving and Autumn would have a guard on her door at all times. Now we just have to get through the stay here and then we can figure out what’s going to happen moving forward.
Chapter Twenty
Ghost
AUTUMN HAS FINALLY been released from the hospital. She spent four days in the hospital on fluids, IV antibiotics to make sure she didn’t develop an infection in the cuts and scrapes covering her body, and Doc wanted to do more tests to make sure she didn’t actually have something more wrong with her head because of the large cut and lump there. That was her main concern since she was knocked out for so long. Nothing more happened with her heart and the baby is looking really good. She’s a couple of months pregnant and right on track of where she should be according to Doc. The morning sickness is still horrible and it takes a toll on Autumn with both her eating and making her exhausted from the energy she exerts when she gets sick. I feel horrible for her, but there’s nothing I can do to make it better.
Brick and I didn’t leave Autumn’s side the entire time she was in the hospital. We still have to have our talk, but the hospital wasn’t the proper place for it to happen. Not with staff continually coming in and out, visitors coming to see Autumn, and everything else. We’ve decided to talk now that we’re back at the clubhouse. We can go in Autumn’s room and lock the door behind us so no one can just come barging in. It’s not like Autumn can do much right now anyway. Doc has taken her out of work for a little while and she’s to get plenty of rest. She’s not put on bedrest at this point, but it’s the next step if she doesn’t take it easy.
When we were in the hospital, Brick and I did everything we could for Autumn. If one of us left the room for any reason, the other one stayed. She didn’t want to be left on her own for any reason. I’m not sure if she doesn’t trust her mother not to get out of jail or if she’s worried about something else. She hasn’t told us what’s going through her mind about the situation. Tony has been in to talk to her and she went over what happened. He really didn’t need to do it because he’s got the video of what happened in the office at the garage. Every vile word her mother spewed is clear and the attack is all there. Tony’s pressing every charge he possibly can against her mother.
Brick stayed at Autumn’s side. Literally. He pulled a chair up next to her bed and didn’t leave her side if he didn’t have to. He held her hand, talked to her when she was upset or had a nightmare, and only moved if the nurses had to be on that side of the bed. Other than that, you couldn’t get him to move for any reason. I hung back. I’m not sure what’s going to happen moving forward and if Brick and Autumn develop a relationship then I want to give them the chance they need to make it work. They have a child to think about and that’s more important than anything else we have going on. They’ll need to co-parent at the very least and the baby isn’t mine. Brick and her are the parents. So, I’m trying to give them space without actually leaving her side. My best friend deserves to be happy and if Autumn can give him that, I’ll gladly step back and let them have their relationship.
I’m sitting in the common room at a table on my own. I’ve been here since we ate breakfast. Tank and the triplets have been in with Autumn this morning and I’m not about to go in there with them. They need to spend time together getting to know each other as a family. Plus, Tank is still pissed the fuck off. Especially at Brick and me. I don’t know what we’re going to do to get back on everyone’s good side, but we have to figure something out. I’m thinking at this point, a lot of what happens next will depend on what we do with Autumn. If we talk and get things sorted out between the three of us, I believe everyone will relax and we’ll be able to start to heal all of the damage done in the club.
“I thought you were gonna go see Autumn?” Brick asks me as he sits down with me at the table.
