Chapter 30
“Why don’t you sit down before you fall down,” Orly suggested, taking Reese by the arm and guiding her to an empty chair. Reese had already been checked by a doctor and had gotten four stitches near her temple. Other than that, she had some scrapes, and her ribs were bruised, either from the air bag or Russell’s rough handling of her. But even the pain of each breath couldn’t take her mind off Garrett.
Luke had called Orly on the way to the hospital, and all their friends had met them in the Emergency Room waiting area. Even Caden and Blake had come. Tanner had called Garrett’s parents and sister, who were making plans to catch flights to Dallas as soon as they could.
Reese sat for a moment, Hallie and Orly sitting on either side of her. When she started tapping her foot nervously, Hallie put a soft hand on her knee. “He’s going to be okay,” she said, then added, “He just has to be.”
Reese nodded, needing to believe her more than anything. “I should’ve done more to stop him from ever going inside. I should’ve left when I could. I should’ve fought Russell harder.”
“No,” Orly said, pulling Reese into a comforting side hug. “If Garrett is anything like Luke, nothing, and I mean nothing could’ve stopped him from going in after you. I bet when he wakes up, the first thing he’s going to say is how glad he is that it was him and not you who got hurt.”
Reese sighed, drawing in a ragged breath and staring sightlessly at the other people in the waiting area. “Did you know the first real conversation we had, he actually shut off the power on his property because he knew I preferred to be in the dark? I mean, he didn’t even know why back then, but he did it anyway. What kind of guy does that?”
“Your kind of guy,” Orly said.
The large heavy door opened then and a man wearing a white doctor’s lab coat with salt and pepper hair, gray eyes, and a five o’clock shadow came out holding a clipboard. “Garrett Cooper’s family?”
Reese stood so fast, her vision blurred momentarily and she had to hold on to the armrest for a second to steady herself. “How is he?” She asked, foregoing any formalities and introductions.
The man turned a concerned glance to her and extended his hand. “I’m Dr. Shaw. Are you family?”
“Yes,” Luke said before Reese could even utter a word. “Please, tell us what you can about Garrett’s condition.”
All their friends surrounded her now. Hallie and Orly stood on either side of her, with the guys standing just behind them, except for Caden and Luke, who stood by their wives.
Dr. Shaw stared at Reese for a moment, then spoke. “Garrett is in critical condition. The only reason he’s even alive is because he was in the doorway and the blast threw him outside of the cabin. If he’d taken even one more step inside, we’d be having a very different conversation right now. That being said, his heart did stop for almost two minutes until paramedics were able to resuscitate him.”
“You’re trying to warn us about brain damage,” Caden said. “All we care about right now is that he’s alive.”
Dr. Shaw nodded in understanding.
“Has he regained consciousness? Can we see him?” Reese asked.
“Not yet. He does have multiple abrasions and contusions, as well as some burns, but we’re actually more concerned about his head injury right now. After the trauma he’s experienced, it’s not surprising that we’re having trouble waking him up. In my professional opinion, Garrett has slipped into a coma, but he’ll need more testing to confirm that.”
Reese covered her mouth, swallowing her gasp as tears streamed down her face. “A coma?”
“He’ll wake up though, right? It’ll just take some time, but he’ll wake up,” Luke said.
Reese couldn’t tell if he was asking or telling the doctor, but she held her breath waiting for the man to confirm Luke’s words.
Dr. Shaw stood for a long moment, as if considering his answer. “He can. Right now, it’s more of a wait and see. He’ll be transferred to the ICU where he’ll be closely observed and treated for all his injuries. You can see him there, though visiting hours may be over by the time we get him settled up there, so you’ll need to check with his nurse.” Dr. Shaw turned to leave, but Reese placed a hand on his arm. She didn’t even know what she wanted to say, but somehow this man leaving felt so final and filled her with an unspeakable dread. She needed more from him, but what - she didn’t know. He’d told them everything he could. It just wasn’t enough. Garrett was still - she couldn’t bring herself to say it, so she just thought of him as asleep. Sleeping was something she could handle.
“Thank you,” she finally said, and Orly gently reached for her, pulling her hand from the doctor’s arm. Dr. Shaw gave a parting nod and disappeared behind the heavy door again.
“Why don’t we go find somewhere quiet to sit,” Luke suggested. “Maybe see if we can find a vending machine. We canmake our way upstairs in a little while and see if Garrett is ready for some visitors.”
Following Luke’s suggestion, they all headed to the hospital lobby, taking up an entire section of couches. A few of the guys got some snacks from a nearby vending machine, and Hallie went with Caden to find coffee for everyone.
“How are you doing?” Orly asked, sitting next to Reese.
She wrapped her arms around herself, desperately trying to hold it together. “I’ll be okay when Garrett wakes up.”
Time seemed to pass slower than ever. Everyone around Reese was having a snack or drinking what looked like a bad cup of coffee from one of those small disposable cups, but she couldn’t bring herself to do any of that.
“Hey,” Skyla said, joining the group. “I finally got a hold of my assistant manager and she came in as soon as she could get a sitter.”
Reese stood to greet her and the women hugged. “Thanks for coming. We haven’t heard anything yet.”