|
|
“She’s awake,” a woman whispered. Liz sat up carefully and blinked to get rid of the spots before her eyes.
“Bobbie?” she asked, startled. “What are you doing here?” She saw he surprised expression on the nurse’s face, and glanced around the room. She was in the hospital. “What am I doing here?” Liz asked nervously. “What happened to Lucky?”
Bobbie glanced nervously at Audrey, who sat beside the bed, Liz’s hand in her own. “Well-“ she began, then cut off, her face crumbling. “I’m sorry, Liz, but he was hurt-“
“Hurt?” Liz asked, confused. “What do you mean hurt? What happened? Why am I in the hospital?”
Bobbie started to reply, but Audrey cut her off. “Elizabeth, you and Lucky were in a car accident. A very bad one. You’re both lucky to be alive.”
Liz closed her eyes and heaved a sigh of relief. “So he’s alive?” she breathed.
“Yes,” Audrey said quickly, then smiled and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her granddaughter’s forehead. “How are you feeling?” she asked gently.
Liz explored her body gently, pressing on all of her sore spots. She was relieved to find none of the pain was unbearable. “I’m okay,” she said after a moment. “A little sore. Can I see Lucky?” she asked, deliberately directing the question at Bobbie.
Bobbie frowned, then spoke carefully. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth, but no. I can only let family in to see him.”
Liz watched Bobbie for a moment, a sinking feeling growing in her stomach. “Why?” she asked hesitantly.
“Only family members are allowed in ICU,” Bobbie finished reluctantly.
Liz’s eyes widened, and she felt her heart pounding painfully in her
chest. “ICU?” she whispered. She put a hand to her mouth, hoping that niether
woman would notice it trembling. “Oh no,” she moaned. “Oh no!” Her voice
broke off into a sob. Audrey darted a quick look at Bobbie, who nodded
sadly and left the room. Audrey wrapped her arms around Liz and rocked
her soothingly.
Bobbie walked toward Intensive Care, carefully avoiding the stares of the doctors and nurses she passed by. She was more than a little relieved when she reached the door to Lucky’s room. She rapped lightly on the door, then, getting no response, opened the door and stepped inside.
Her eyes fell on her nephew and she had to choke back a strangled sob. He lay perfectly still on the hospital bed, and the only sound or movement in the room emitted from the machines beside him.
Bobbie came to a halt beside his bed, and took his thin hand in hers, then gently kissed it. “Good morning Lucky,” she whispered. There was no response, of course from the still form on the bed, but Bobbie was still startled by the near silence of the room. She leaned forward and, placing a gentle kiss on Lucky’s pale forehead, allowed herself to cry. “You’ve got to be strong,” she said through her tears. “You have to make it through this, Lucky. I am ordering you to get better!”
She shook her head in defeat, realizing that she was getting nowhere. “Last night shouldn’t have happened,” Bobbie continued. “It shouldn’t have. But there isn’t anything that anyone can do to change what happened. We should be happy that you’re alive. An accident that—devastating—surely should’ve killed you both, but here you are.” Bobbie paused, nearly choking on her tears. “You aren’t doing so great,” she admitted, “but you’re alive, and that’s all that matters. And Elizabeth—she’s doing just wonderfully, Lucky. She’ll walk away with nothing but a few bruises and scrapes.”
Bobbie bit her lip and continued to stare down at her ashen nephew. He stubbornly refused to move. She was startled by the sound of the door opening behind her. “Nikolas!” she cried, jumping to her feet in surprise. She hastily wiped away her tears and made a weak attempt at a smile. “What are you—“
“My uncle asked me to come,” Nikolas responded quickly. “Laura is on her way from Manhattan, but her flight won’t be in until this afternoon.” He looked past Bobbie at Lucky. “He—doesn’t look so good,” he said slowly.
“He’s in a coma,” Bobbie said.
Nikolas looked at her in alarm. “When is he going to come out of it?”
Bobbie shrugged, and fought the coming tears. “It could be a few hours,” she said, but her voice was filled with doubt. “I think we should more realistically be looking at days or weeks, though. And that’s if he wakes up at all.” Nikolas stared in silent shock. “I’ll give you a few minutes with him,” Bobbie said, and exited the room before Nikolas had a chance to respond.
Nikolas remained still after she left, then clenched his fists. He marched
purposefully toward the bed, and, pushing down a rush of confused emotions,
took his brother’s hand.
Next
Part
Kiss...
Menu
Main
Menu