“Is he…” I couldn’t say the word.
He walked back over, grabbed my hand, and began to explain, “he’s in the ICU, Audra. But he’s still unconscious. He hasn’t woken up from surgery yet. But you just woke up, so maybe he’ll be right behind you. I had no idea you were even dating someone, much less someone willing to sacrifice his life for you. I’m so sorry.”
His voice cracked as he ran into the hallway to flag the nurses down. My dad was a wonderful man,but always had trouble dealing with these kinds of hard conversations and emotions. After my mom died, it was hell for all of us.
I tried registering the different sensations in my body, but I couldn’t because the entire scene came flooding back to me. Except the replay felt especially cruel, because although all of it happened in the span of less than ten minutes, I was being forced to relive everything in slow motion. How much getting stabbed hurt, how Donovan literally saved my life, his eyes fluttering as he was losing consciousness, and him telling me he loved me with his eyes closed. I closed my own eyes as the hot, salty tears spilled out. He had to be okay.
My dad came back in with two nurses, pulling me out of the scene replaying in my head. Seeing Trina’s warm smile took me to a different memory—one where I was sixteen, in the hospital, and found comfort in her kind face. She came right up to me as Carol took my vitals.
“What happened to me, Trina?” I asked.
She came over to hug me. “You’re going to be okay, Audra. There was no peritoneal penetration. I don’t know how, but there was nothing. You lost a good amount of blood, but CT came back with no major internal bleeds, so we made the call to monitor, rather than do a laparotomy.”
“Ok, makes sense. But what about Donovan?” I asked.
She looked at my dad and the other nurse before looking back at me.
“Trina, please. Let me in on this.”
“He’s in the ICU fighting, Audra. His lung collapsed, and he lost so much blood internally that he needed a transfusion. He went through surgery for the pneumothorax and has a drain in now. Though he isn’t sedated, he is still knocked out. He’s responsive to stimuli, though, so we just have to wait this out.”
I knew it wasn’t unheard for someone that had undergone that kind of trauma to still be unconscious, but I had a terrible gut feeling about it.
“Is he going to make it?” The words hurt as they came out of my mouth. “Did someone call his sister? I need to see Donovan.” The heart rate monitor started beeping quicker, as I could feel myself getting worked up.
“You have to relax, Audra. We can talk about you seeing him in a little bit. But let’s make sure you are stable.”
“I’m fine,” I argued.
“Audra, you are recovering from a stab wound to your stomach. You’re not fine, honey,” my dad replied.
“No organ damage. The wound is stitched. Please,” I begged. Trina looked at the nurse, talking without speaking.
“Hi, Audra,” Carol tried with me. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t go down there at this time anyway, so let’s get this bag of fluid in you and then we can make a plan for the morning.”
Knowing that was the best I was going to get, I agreed, but felt my heart drop into my stomach in defeat.
“Also, Cora and Jules are here. Would you be okay seeing them? They want me to let them know when you are awake. I tried to send them home, but they wouldn’t leave,” my dad chuckled.
“They can come whenever. I’m okay.” It was a half lie. My body hurt something fierce, but I knew how lucky I was that the wound was all superficial. Recovering from a laparotomy would have been a million times worse. Within four minutes, the two were sneaking into my door.
“How did you guys get around visiting hours?” was the first thing that came out of my mouth, trying to make the moment a little lighthearted.
“Trina,” they answered at the same time.
“I’ll give you guys some time,” my dad said, standing up and walking out with Trina and Carol.
“Take ten or so ladies, but Audra needs to get some rest. This is just to give you all peace of mind. You can come back in the morning,” Carol added.
Jules spoke immediately. “I’m so sorry, Audra. I…” she stopped to catch her breath, “I’ve never had to act in an emergency like that, and I completely boggled it.”
Opening my arms, she gingerly came to me.
“Jules, not even close. I wasn’t capable of doing much, and you were able to be my hands. Plus, you’re the only person in that entire bar who sprang into action. You helped more than you will ever know. That chest seal made all the difference. Donovan has a chance because you were able to help me.” She buried her head in my shoulder. It hurt like hell, but I wasn’t going to say anything.
“Hey Jules, give her a little space,” Cora said softly as she sat down on the bed. I’m sure she saw me wince. “I hear you’re going to be okay?”
“Yes, I will be. It hurts right now, but things could have been much, much worse. My biggest concern right now is Van,” I admitted.
