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The man was waiting for me by the front door. He led me into the back of the ambulance and showed me where I could sit. The ambulance raced out of the driveway and headed for the hospital.
Kody wasn’t wailing uncontrollably anymore, but he was still whimpering. I knew how scared he was when I saw terror reflected in his eyes.
“Kody, I’m right here with you,” I said, trying to comfort him. “I’m here, baby.”
He looked at me, but it was like he was looking at a stranger. His lips quivered. “I want Daddy. Daddy! I want Daddy.”
He was crying for his father, over and over, and my heart felt like it was going to break. I showed him his stuffed dog and let it rest so that it was touching his face where it might give him some comfort.
I kept trying to reassure him. “You’re going to be okay, Kody. I’ll be with you until your dad gets here.”
He needed Bash. I reached for my phone, but my pockets were empty. It took me a few seconds to realize that in my haste to get out the door, I’d left my phone behind.
I was a completely irresponsible fuck up.
Everything was a blur when we got to the hospital. Admittance became a swirl of answering questions, explaining that I wasn’t Kody’s mother, and trying to contact Bash. Without my phone, I didn’t know anyone’s phone numbers except for my admin’s. I called her and gave her the hospital information and asked her to contact Kaylie. I knew Nisha had Kaylie’s contact information because she set up a lot of our Cyber Angels’ meetings for us. Nisha promised that she’d hunt down Bash, whatever it took, and I didn’t doubt her, but she had no way of calling me back and letting me know.
So, I just had to sit and wait. They allowed me to stay in the curtained exam room in the ER with Kody. The doctors and nurses all talked to me like I was his mother, and I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to be kicked out.
After a round of visits from different specialists, the doctors were able to remove the cervical collar and deduced that his head injury was not severe enough for a CT scan and just needed monitoring. We were still waiting to get an x-ray of his arm. Everyone was very reassuring and my sheer panic began to abate. He was going to be okay.
Kody was no longer crying, but he was just staring off into space, his jaw slack. I tried to talk to him, telling him that the doctors were going to fix him up, but he ignored me. My gut twisted with guilt as I hovered over him. This was my fault. If I had been watching him better, this wouldn’t have happened.
A man in blue scrubs finally came to bring Kody to get an X-ray. They allowed me to go with him and wait outside while they performed it. Twenty minutes later, we were back in the ER exam room.
I was brushing a lock of hair back from Kody’s face, trying to soothe him, when a nurse pulled the curtain open. Bash stormed in, looking as frantic and worried as I felt.
He rushed to Kody’s side and Kody started crying. “I’m here, little man.”
I turned away from the scene because I was two seconds from breaking down myself.
The nurse looked at me. “Miss, his father is here now. You’ll need to return to the waiting room.”
Bash spun around, anger etched across his face. “What the fuck happened?”
“I’m not sure,” I stuttered. “I think he fell off the table.”
His nose flared. “What do you mean, you’re not sure?” He stabbed a pointed finger at me. “Fuck, Lacey, you were supposed to be watching him.”
Tears spilled down my cheeks, but Bash didn’t see because he’d already dismissed me. He was busy cradling his son.
The nurse, who’d been much friendlier before, gave me the stink eye. “I’ll escort you back to the waiting room.”
In the waiting room, I sunk into an uncomfortable chair. I had no phone and no money. I could call Nisha and get a ride home, but I didn’t want to leave Bash and Kody.
I sat in a daze for what seemed like hours but was only 80 minutes according to the clock when Sid walked into the waiting room.
He crossed the room to me. “Lacey, are you okay?”
I started balling. Was it his concern for me when I wasn’t the one who deserved it? Was it guilt for not watching Kody properly? Or was it just the release of a ton of stress?
He wrapped me in his arms and hugged me for a few minutes while I cried.
“How’s Kody doing?”
I wiped my eyes on my sleeve. “He has a broken arm and they’re observing him for signs of concussion, but he seems okay besides that. It was so scary. They had him in a cervical collar and strapped to a backboard. He was so scared. I was so scared! I freaked out, Sid. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to move him.”
Sid rubbed my arms. “You called the ambulance. They’re the professionals. You did the right thing.”
