“She said that she loved me?”I question.She said multiple times how much she loved Zane, but we never said it to each other.Not out loud anyway.
Melissa nods her head with a genuine smile.
“She did.”
I look back over towards her bed.She’s wrapped up in the cloths that cover most all her body.
“I love her too,” I say out loud, and my heart skips a beat.“This doesn’t seem real.Like this isn’t really her, and we’re just in some crazy-ass dream or movie.”
“When tragedy happens we always wonder why and how and are left floundering to make sense of all this.But in reality, it’s hard for our brains to comprehend that something like this could happen to a loved one.Especially when they’re so young.”
“And the doctors are sure she’s not pregnant?”I ask again even though I’ve been told three different times by three different doctors the same thing.
“According to the bloodwork they took when she arrived at the hospital, she’s not.Those at-home tests can sometimes show a false positive.I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but right now her body needs to worry about recovering.Being pregnant would put more strain on her body and that might’ve caused more damage in this already hard journey she’s facing.”
“Can I come in yet, Mom?”I hear yelled from the door, and we both turn to the person.Rocky is standing there in the same medical suit as me, bouncing on the balls of his feet like he’s ready to take off in a sprint over to us.
“Rocky wanted to come by and see Sutton before we head back to the clubhouse.Is it okay if he talks to her for a few minutes?”she asks.
“Of course,” I say, then wave Rocky over.He comes in fast walking and halts on the other side of me.
“Hi, Sutton!”he starts to talk and waves over at the bed even though her eyes and face are covered in cloths.“Mom said I could come say hi.Sorry about the house.Dad said some fucker?—”
“Language,” Melissa scolds, and it takes everything inch of my being to hold in a laugh.
“Sorry, Mom,” Rocky ducks his head, but doesn’t seem sorry at all.He pushes his thick glasses up to the bridge of his nose then turns back to Sutton.“Well, anyway once you get out of here we can start over.Mom said that all those changes we made were for me.”He points his thumb at his chest.“They blew up my house, Sutton, but we can build it again, Dad and Stone say.This time we should put secret passage ways between rooms.”His eyes fill with childlike joy and excitement.“Anyway, love ya.”
My heart thuds against my ribcage.
“She loves you too, buddy,” I tell him, standing to my feet, pulling him into a hug.“She told me every day all the crazy things y’all did together.”
“She’s the bestest,” he eagerly tells me.
Melissa checks her phone before standing up.“We need to go, Rocky.Dad is waiting down by the curb to pick us up.”
“We have to go live at the clubhouse,” he says in a whisper like it’s a secret.
“Zane and I’ll be there shortly,” I whisper back just as quietly.
“Really?”
“Yeah, Martha is getting all his stuff ready, and we’re heading over there later today,” I say.
“Yes!”he punches the air in victory.“Okay, now it won’t be so bad.”Rocky turns towards the bed but keeps his distance like I’m sure Melissa made sure to tell him to.“Bye, best friend!See you soon!”
Melissa gives me one last hug then they leave the room.The silence is deafening.I don’t like it.The only sounds are the machines letting us know that she’s still with us.A few minutes later, two nurses come in ready to change her cloths for new ones.I sit back down and watch as they get to work.
“Are we allowed to play music in the room?”I ask as they quietly talk while doing their job.
“Yeah, as long as it doesn’t disturb the other patients on the floor,” one of them answers.
I send a text to Riot to get me what I need to set up in here.Two months ago, I introduced Sutton to some classic rock bands.It blew my mind that she had no idea any of the music I grew up listening to, but then I remembered her shit-for-brains father and understood why she’d never heard of the greats like the Beatles, or Journey, or Eagles, or Pink Floyd, or even Aerosmith.It didn’t take her long to start playing it while she cooked or cleaned around the house.
Hours later, Dr.Kemp comes in looking over her chart.I didn’t even realize that the sun was setting soon.
“How is she?”I ask.
He looks up from the chart as if he didn’t know that I’ve been sitting here the entire time.