I tried to sit up and moaned in pain. Batta appeared beside the bed and eased me back down. “You’re okay, Layla, but you can’t get up right now.”
“Copper?” I croaked.
Batta picked up a hideously ugly pink cup and placed a straw at my lips. While I took a few sips of ice water, he told me, “He’s still in surgery. They said it’ll probably be two more hours before he’s out.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
Batta grimaced. “We don’t know. They took him straight to the OR when he got here, and they wouldn’t give any kind of prognosis when they called out and gave Phoenix an update.”
“Annabelle?”
Batta smiled softly. “She’s just fine and so are the babies. They were a little early and are in the NICU, but, from what Phoenix said, they were expecting that.”
“Can I go see her?” I asked, hopefully.
Batta shook his head regretfully. “No, sweetie, you can’t go anywhere until they remove your chest tube.”
“My what?” I shrieked and immediately regretted it.
Splint, who I didn’t even realize was in the room, answered, “Something punctured your left lung and caused it to collapse. They put in a chest tube to drain the air from around your lung so that it can re-inflate. You also have two fractured ribs on your left side, though neither of them caused your lung to collapse because they aren’t displaced. From what the doctor said, you had a small puncture wound about two inches above your broken ribs. We’re guessing you landed on a large nail when you and Copper fell.”
I held up my hand to stop him from saying anything else as I fought to keep myself from vomiting all over him. I swallowed several times and took in a few slow breaths to get my nausea under control. Finally, I was able to say, “I don’t need to know the details.”
Before he could reply, a nurse walked into my room. “Hi, Mrs. Black. I’m Bridget, your nurse for the day. How are you feeling?”
My brows furrowed at the name, but I caught the slight shake of Splint’s head and refrained from correcting her. “I’m in a lot of pain, and he’s trying to make me puke,” I said and pointed an accusatory finger at Splint.
His cheeks flushed and he stumbled over his words in his rush to explain. “I-I was just explaining her injuries to her and, um, what we thought happened to cause them.”
Nurse Bridget nodded and turned her attention back to me. “I’ll bring you something for pain and something for nausea. Is there anything else you need?”
“No, not unless you can tell me if Copper is out of surgery and doing okay.”
“I’ll see if I can get an update on your husband for you. I’ll be right back.”
“Husband?” I asked as soon as she left the room.
Batta shrugged. “I told them you were Copper’s wife so we could get updates on him.”
“Ah, thanks, I think.”
When my nurse returned with my pain and nausea medicine, she also brought the news I desperately needed to hear. “Your husband is out of surgery and in recovery. They were able to remove the bullet and repair the damage. He’ll be in recovery for a while, and then he’ll be moved to the ICU.”
“Thank you,” I rasped as tears ran down my face.
She finished putting the medicines in my IV and gently patted my hand. “You’re welcome, Mrs. Black. You try to get some rest, and I’ll check on you in a bit. Press your call button if you need me.” With that, she left the room, and I drifted off into a drug-induced sleep.
The next time I woke, Leigh and Judge were in my room. I shifted and cleared my throat. “How is he?”
Leigh was on her feet and beside my bed before I finished my question. She brushed the hair from my face and gently cupped my cheek. “He’s in the ICU, and they say he’s stable. He hasn’t woken up yet, but I think that’s because of the medicine they’re giving him.”
“I want to see him. Please,” I begged and tried not to cry. I needed to see him with my own eyes. I wanted to tell him that I loved him, and I would be waiting patiently for him to come back to me.
Leigh smiled. “You can’t get out of bed yet, but before you go getting worked up, I have an idea. Jonah, hand me my phone.” Leigh touched the screen a few times, and the sound of ringing filled the room shortly followed by Bronze’s voice.
“Hey, Bronze, Layla wants to see Copper, but she’s still on strict bed rest. I thought a video chat might pacify her, at least for a little while,” she said and passed the phone to me.
“Hi, Bronze. How is he?”