I ran my hands over my face. I was exhausted. My body ached and I couldn't remember the last time I showered. “I can’t leave her.”
“How about this.” She smiled at me. “I’ll have a resident take her to CT now and if her scans have improved, then you go home and at least try to sleep for a few hours.”
“Okay.”
A resident dressed in green scrubs wheeled my mother out of the room. I didn’t move from my seat. My eyes were glued to the specks of marbling in the floor tile. An hour later, the same resident wheeled my mother back. Dr. Christensen walked in behind him. She wore a small grin. I rose.
“The swelling has gone down tremendously. Tomorrow morning we'll wake her to determine if she suffered any brain damage, and then move her out of ICU and to the Neuro wing.”
I exhaled. A weight had been lifted off my chest.
“Go home, get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day and you’ll need it.”
Though it might have been inappropriate, I threw my arms around Dr. Christensen and hugged her. “Thank you. For everything.”
Sliding the key into my mother’s house, I felt a cold shiver. The lights were still on and the house phone was on the kitchen floor. My heart ached.
I should have answered her call.
The button on the voicemail blinked. Pressing the play button, I listened to the messages.
“Pam, it’s Olga. Is everything okay? Harry was worried when you didn’t come in to work today.”
“Great,” I huffed. Not only was my mother in the hospital, she would most likely lose her job. I hit the stop button on the machine and made my way to the shower.
The cascading water was scalding hot, and washed the past two days off my body. Screw it. Sleep was the first thing I’d worry about. My mother needed me. Everything else would fall into place.
Surprisingly, I slept through the entire night, and felt rested when I rose. There were a few things I needed to get in order before I made my way back to the hospital, so I washed the dirty dishes in the sink, straightened up the house, and found my mother's living will. I thanked God yet again. There was no way my father could do anything to harm her now. I was named my mother's primary caregiver. After I did everything in the house, I sat on the couch and pulled my cell phone out of my purse. My finger pressed the on button and the gray screen turned green. I had three new voicemails from Julian and four text messages from Delaney.
Delaney: Hey, are you around? I need to talk to you.
Delaney: Hey, just heard your message. Hope your mom is okay. Keep me posted.
Delaney: Hey, how’s everything? Can you please call me?
Delaney: You’re freaking me out! Call me! I have news for you!
I hit the call back button and she picked up on the second ring. “Brie!”
“Hey.”
“Oh my God, I’ve been going crazy worried over here. How’s your mom?”
I sighed. “It was a bit of touch and go at first, but they plan on waking her up from the induced coma today. I’m actually on my way to the hospital soon.”
“But she’ll be okay?”
“We won't know for a while; they have to see if there was brain injury. For now, all I know is that she’ll live.”
“Oh, thank goodness.” Delaney cleared her throat. “I have something to tell you.” Her voice changed. The concerned tone for my mother's well-being dropped and it was replaced with a bit of glee. “I hate that I have to do this over the phone, but I’m pregnant!”
I was shocked.
Stunned.
“Brie, say something?”
Was this why she ran out of Austin’s car crying?
I opened my mouth to speak when the doorbell rang. “Del, I need to call you back.”
Pushing off the couch, I strolled to the door. My heart picked up speed as I turned the knob and pulled the door open. His back was toward me as he scanned the shady neighborhood.
He came!
No . . .
It wasn’t him.
Julian turned toward the door, a full, wide smile filling his face.
“I heard about your mom.” He scratched the back of his head in a nervous gesture. “I figured you might need your stuff.” He stepped to the side. My car was parked at the curb filled with my belongings.
A soft sob escaped me and I leapt into his arms. For months he had been by my side, loving me even when I didn’t love him back. “You drove all the way here?” I cried into his neck.
Julian pulled away so he could look at my face. “I’d do anything for you, Brie.”
“Oh, Julian.” I hugged him tighter.
He came for me. When I didn’t ask. When I desperately needed a friend. Julian came for me.
He held me for a few more seconds before I released my death grip and asked him in. “It’s not much,” I said, embarrassed. His mother’s house seemed like a mansion compared to mine.