Nothing Like the First Time(19)

"Thank you, Doctor. Can I see him when he gets out of x-ray?"

"I'll let you know as soon as you can see him, Miss Summers," the doctor said before leaving my bay to speak to another doctor.

"Hello, Miss Summers, I'm Dr. Bennett," a female doctor introduced herself.

"Do you have news about Grey?"

"Yes, I was asked to come and see you-he has you down as his next of kin."

"I'm not his next of kin, his mother is …  Oh my God, Katrina …  I need to call her, Katrina needs to be here."

"Well, it says you're his next of kin in the wallet we found on him," she said kindly.

"What's happening? How is he?" I asked while I found Katrina's number in my phone.

"He's suffered a nasty cut on his head. He has a three cracked ribs and a  broken left leg," she said as she sat down beside me-she put her arm  gently on mine as she spoke. "He's being kept sedated as he may have a  concussion due to the blow he suffered to his head."

"Oh my goodness," I said and threw up into the bowl the nurse had left me with.

"It's okay, Carly. Sometimes, when we hit our heads hard enough, this  happens. It isn't necessarily something to get worked up about-we'll  know more soon and may be able to bring him out of sedation."

"Where is he? Can I see him?" I asked, my phone all but forgotten.

"I'll take you to him," she said and helped me from the bed into a wheelchair.

"I can walk," I said.

"Not right now you can't, you may have a slight concussion yourself," she said as she wheeled me out of my bay.

She wheeled me to a door, and before opening it, she cleared her throat.

"Carly, I must warn you now, he's got tubes and wires everywhere but it looks worse than it is."

"Oh," was all I could say.

"Are you ready to go in?" she asked.

"Yes, please."

She opened the door and wheeled me inside.

I knew I'd see the tubes and stuff but it still came as a shock to see  him looking so vulnerable. I stood and walked as close as I could to his  bedside-I took his hand in mine and sat in the chair next to the bed.

"Hi, Grey, it's Carls. I don't know if you can hear me," I said softly as I stroked the back of his hand.

"I'll leave you alone for a little while, Carly," Dr. Bennett said as she walked out of the room.

I sat talking to Grey for a few minutes before realizing I still hadn't called Katrina.

"I'll be back, Grey, I'm just going to make a phone call," I said as I  prepared to leave. My head felt a little dizzy so I chose to wheel  myself out in the chair-good thing the doctor had brought me in in one.

I struggled to open the door from my chair so I stood and opened the door.

"Here, let me get that for you," a young nurse said.

"Thank you," I said and got back into my chair.

The nurse held the door until I was out of the room and then gently closed it behind me.

I pulled my phone out and dialed Katrina's number.

She answered on the fourth ring. "Hello, Carly darling."

"Katrina … " I said and tried to swallow the lump in my throat. I tried  again and as I spoke, tears began to fall. "Katrina, I have something to  tell you. Grey and I were in a car accident on our way home."         

     



 

"Oh my …  are you both all right?" She sounded as shaken as I felt.

"I'll be okay, it's Grey that has the worst of the injuries. We're at the hospital, can you come straight away?"

"I'm on my way. I'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

"Okay, see you then," I said as I hung up.





Katrina arrived and found me sitting holding Grey's hand.

"Oh my … " was all she could say before she started to cry.

"Come and take a seat," I said as I vacated the chair closest to his bed.

Katrina sat down and I handed her a tissue. I went to walk away but she  pulled me into a gentle hug. It hurt my ribs but she needed the comfort  and so did I.

"It's okay, Katrina," I said, not knowing if I spoke the truth. I rubbed  my hand up and down her back, hoping to soothe her-it was all I could  do for her.

"What happened?"

"Could we talk about that outside of the room, Katrina?" I asked, not  wanting to talk about the crash in front of Grey. I stumbled a little as  I tried to walk to the door and Katrina came up behind me with the  wheelchair.

Once we were outside the room, I told Katrina what I remembered of the  crash and what the doctors had said about Grey's condition.

"I can't get my head around it. I mean, this is what airbags are for,"  Katrina said as she broke down in tears. I held her hand gently and let  her cry. I didn't realize I was crying myself until she handed me a  tissue. We sat in the corridor for a few more minutes until Katrina's  sobs had subsided.

As we went into Grey's room, Katrina pushed my wheelchair so I could  take one of Grey's hands while she took a seat and held the other.

We sat there talking to him until the doctor came in. "Hello, I'm Dr.  Danning. I just took over the shift from Dr. Bennett and thought I'd  come and check in on Greyston."

"It's Grey. I'm Carly, his girlfriend, and this is his mother, Katrina."

"Nice to meet you ladies, sorry it isn't under better circumstances," Dr. Danning said as he shook hands with us.

"Do you think he'll be okay, Dr. Danning?" Katrina asked.

"I certainly hope so," he said as he looked over Grey's chart. "No doubt  Carly has told you about Grey's concussion, he's under a light sedation  right now but hopefully, in a couple of days we'll be able to bring him  out of it."

"What's the extent of his other injuries?" she asked quietly.

"Well, he has a couple of broken ribs and some bruising from the  seatbelt. It looks like the airbag was faulty, thus the injuries to his  torso. As you can see, he took a blow to the head and this is our cause  for concern about the concussion. He also broke his left leg, as you can  see, that has been set in a cast now."

"Thank you, Doctor," Katrina said as she stood and walked over by the  window. She turned to look at Grey and began to cry softly.

I pushed my wheelchair over to her and then stood to embrace her. Her  soft cries turned into harder sobs and she shook as I held her.

We stayed by Grey's side all night. His condition didn't change. We were  both determined not to leave, though we knew he couldn't wake up fully  until the doctors brought him round. At some point in the night we both  fell asleep, though sleep wasn't what my mind wanted, my body needed it.  Someone must have been in and seen us asleep because we were covered in  blankets in the morning.







That morning, Lizzie came to the ward. Katrina had called her the night  before and filled her in. She looked tired and drawn, she obviously  hadn't slept much, either.

"Good morning, girls," she said as she handed us both cups of coffee.

"Good morning, Lizzie," Katrina said as she got up to find her a chair.

Lizzie bent down and kissed my cheek. She put her hand on my shoulder and I took her hand in mine.

"How is my nephew this morning?" she asked as she took the seat Katrina gave her.

"No change, Lizzie. I wish I had more to report," I replied.

"Well, I'm sure he's going to be just fine."

"He's a fighter, our Greyston. He'll be just fine, sister, you'll see," Katrina responded.

We sat and made small talk, none of us wanting to mention Grey's condition or the accident.

Nurses came and went, checking Grey's vitals every couple of hours.

Nothing changed in his condition and my heart felt like it was made of lead. It was like it refused to beat without Grey.

I had been discharged and allowed to go home because my injuries were  minor, so I stuck by Grey's bed like glue. My injuries didn't bother me  as much as it hurt to see the man I loved in such a fragile state. Not a  minute went by that my heart didn't ache, but I plastered a smile on my  face for the sake of Katrina and Lizzie.         

     



 

My eyes felt heavy and dry, I was tired beyond belief, I but refused to go to sleep.

Lizzie wanted to take me out to get some fresh air but I refused. I sat  holding Grey's hand, talking to him about nothing in particular.

I must have fallen asleep at some point because I woke up sweating and  calling for Grey. Lizzie stroked my hair and soothed me until I realized  where I was. When I looked up and saw all the tubes and monitors, a  fresh wave of pain hit me.

"Sweetheart, it's okay. Katrina and I are with you. You're safe now," Lizzie said as she stroked my back to calm me.

At some point, the doctor came in and checked on Grey but I was too  tired and emotionally spent to take in much of what he said, I just  heard that it would be at least another day and that we should all get  some rest.

That night, Katrina managed to convince me to go downstairs with her to  the restaurant to eat-Grey wasn't going to wake but Lizzie stayed with  him so that she could call us if anything happened. I ate very little  but took a sandwich and a couple of bottles of water upstairs with me  for later-I would need my strength for the coming days.