“You’re sure you want to go in here?”
She nodded and Brody put his hand on her shoulder.
I pushed the door open and watched Lucy’s face closely as she took in her surroundings. Her brown eyes were wide as they darted around the room, finally settling on her sister. My mom and JoAnn stopped talking and stared at Lucy.
Lucy looked up at me. “Can she hear me?”
“Yep, but she can’t answer you. Wanna sit next to her?”
She nodded again as I lifted her up onto the foot of the bed next to Piper. Her eyes inspected every inch of her sister, from the IV to the dried blood in her hair.
“Does that hurt?” She pointed to the IV.
“Nope.” I tucked a piece of her blonde hair behind her tiny ear.
This time she pointed to the oxygen mask on Piper’s face, “Does that hurt?”
“Not at all.”
“I bet those hurt.” She stretched, trying to see the staples in Piper’s head.
“Those probably would have hurt, but she was asleep when they put them in, so she didn’t feel it. Her head will probably be sore when she wakes up though.”
Lucy paused, “Is she gonna wake up?”
Her question sent me into a tailspin. My chest grew tight and I couldn’t breathe, The room felt like it was spinning so fast, I couldn’t focus my eyes on any one thing.
“Whoa, whoa. You okay?” Brody reached out and grasped my shoulders.
“Yeah, I just feel a little woozy,” I panted.
“Come sit here, by the window,” my mom said, jumping up as JoAnn reached behind them and cranked the window open slightly.
I leaned my arm on the windowsill and rested my head on it, taking slow, deep breaths of the fresh air that blew inside. The conversation behind me turned into mumbles as I blocked it out, concentrating on nothing but breathing.
“You okay?” JoAnn gently rubbed my shoulders.
I looked up at her and cracked a small smile. “I think so. This day has just been … overwhelming.”
“I’m sure it has.” She sat down next to me. “I think we’re gonna get going—if you don’t need anything else?”
“No, I’m good.” I pulled her in for a hug. “Thank you for coming. It means so much to me.”
She squeezed back, tight. “Oh, honey. No problem, I wish there were more we could do.”
“I think we’re gonna go too.” Mom walked up. “I need to get Lucy home to bed, it’s been a long day for her.”
I hugged my mom and scooped Lucy up in my arms, covering her face with kisses. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy. If Piper wakes up, tell her I’m not mad at her for getting her blood on my floaties.”
I chuckled. “Okay, baby. I’ll tell her.”
Mom, Lucy and JoAnn made their way to the door, Brody walking behind them. “Thanks for all your help today,” I said as I softly rubbed his arm.
He looked surprised. “I’m not going anywhere, I’m just walking them out.”
“Oh,” my eyebrows shot up, “you’re staying for awhile?”
“Or for the night.” He laughed. “I’m not leaving you here alone.”
I didn’t argue, I was glad he was staying with me.
The next morning, my back was screaming at me and my neck was sore. Sleeping on a hospital couch was never comfortable. Ever. I cracked my eyes open as soon as the sun filled the room and peeked at Piper who looked the same. I sat up and stretched, a white blanket slipping off my lap. I didn’t even have to think hard about who covered me.
I looked over at Brody, sleeping on a chair with his feet propped up on the end of Piper’s bed. His hands were locked and resting on his stomach, while his mouth hung open. I didn’t even remember falling asleep last night; the last thing I remembered was him asking me if I needed anything to drink.
Slipping quietly into the bathroom, I washed my pale face and pulled a new toothbrush out of the package that was sitting on the counter. I knew who put that there also.
“How’s our girl this morning?”
I hurried out of the room and saw Dr. Wagner standing next to Piper’s bed. Brody was sitting up, rubbing his eyes with his palms.
“Good Morning.” I walked up next to them.
“We’re gonna take our all-star patient for another CT scan, and we’ll make our further decisions based on that, okay?”
I nodded, still in a daze as a nurse came in and swiftly unhooked Piper from her machines before wheeling her out the door.
“That was fast.” Brody yawned.
“Yeah, we need good news on this scan.” I hugged myself, suddenly cold from nerves.
He tilted his head and brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. “Think positive, I have a good feeling about this one.”