“I’ll get you a blanket,” she finished, then rolled her back to his bedside.
Lana finally got a chance to really observe his condition and had to take several breaths to stop herself from crying again. His mouth was covered with an oxygen mask, but the rest of his face was a bruised and bloodied mess. He was in traction, which meant he had a severe leg fracture that they had to straighten before they could surgically correct the injury, and his right arm was in a cast up to his shoulder. He looked in way worse shape than everyone let on.
As the fresh sting of tears filled her eyes, she wondered what he was dreaming about and when he would wake up from this nightmare. She held onto his good hand and kissed the scraped and bruised flesh. Hard footsteps approached from behind her; the waft of cologne told her who it was, and she didn’t bother to turn in his direction.
“Are you crazy?” he yelled, holding a huge Styrofoam cup of coffee in his hands.
The smell made her miss its taste for a minute.
“I’m not leaving his side, Sam, so just stop now,” she boomed, rubbing Kayden’s hand, praying he would open his eyes and let her know he was OK.
“Fine,” Sam grumbled, “The cops will want to take a statement, though.”
“I know, but not tonight. Please.”
He watched her and the way she looked at Kayden, not realizing how much she already loved this guy. He remembered a time when she might have looked at him that way and knew he had himself to blame for it. Slowly, he moved to the sofa in theprivate room and sat down. He watched as she rubbed his hand and grabbed a magazine off the table.
He wasn’t going to leave her to deal with it alone, no matter how stubborn she was. He took a sip of his coffee and started reading the National Geographic, about six years older than he’d have preferred.
2
bruises we don’t speak of
Along, painful week had inched by since Lana and Kim’s brawl and her resulting arrest. It had put everyone else at ease, but Lana still hadn’t left Kayden’s side since. Maureen and Paula stayed glued to them both, and surprisingly, Maureen was at Lana’s beck and call. She even demanded that another hospital bed be brought into Kayden’s room so that she could recover with him. Maureen’s journey of redemption appeared to be real and squashed all the beef they had had months ago, for the time being.
Sam, on the other hand, was having a hard time understanding she didn’t need or want his help. He undoubtedly had helped save Kayden’s life that night, and she was grateful, but she was still very uncomfortable having her past mingle with her present. If Sam hadn’t been there, things could’ve been worse, and she reminded herself of that whenever she started to lose her temper with him. Her parents were also still in town but were preparing to go home soon, now that she had the all clear. Regardless of it, they still tried to convince her to follow them home every day.
Lana lay in her bed, head turned to Kayden’s, and stared at the stubble growing on his face. He needed a shave and wouldask the nurse for the supplies so she could do it herself later in the evening.Please be OK, Kayden,she thought.The warm, tingly sting of tears threatened her eyes again, and she blinked them away. She was too exhausted to exert any energy crying and didn’t want to give her parents or Sam a reason to think she needed them to stay longer.
She loved having her parents nearby, no doubt, but there was still a lot they didn’t understand, and she didn’t feel like going over the last few months with anyone. At least not with anyone but Kayden. His physician, Dr. Rolle, a tall man with big, kind eyes and graying hair, had been updating them constantly on his condition. The swelling in his brain had gone down, and soon they’d be reducing the anesthetic cocktails to bring him out of the induced coma. She said a silent prayer that there would be little damage and continued to watch him sleep peacefully, ready to take on whatever she had to, to keep him safe.
THEY PRESSEDIN close around the bed, every gaze locked on Kayden, waiting for even the smallest sign of life—a twitch, a word, anything. An hour ago, the doctors had slowly stopped the medication keeping him in the coma, and the only thing left to do was wait for him to wake up finally. No one said a word while they watched for any signs that he was coming out of it. Lana’s face filled with anguish as she, Paula, and Maureen exchanged worried glances with each other.
Sam wasstillthere too, claiming to be concerned for him, but Lana knew he was only there for her, not for Kayden. No one acknowledged his arrival when he came into the room, and he finally took a seat in the corner, feeling like an outsider.
“We have to be patient. Remember, it will take time,” Dr. Rolle explained, after a few more minutes of breathless waiting.
Lana already knew all that, but her medical knowledge didn’t make the situation easier to deal with. She nodded at him, sat on the edge of the bed, and grabbed Kayden’s hand, lightly rubbing her fingers over his knuckles.
“Come on, baby. Open your eyes,” she whispered.
Maureen sat on the other side of the bed and grabbed his other hand, still in a cast at his side.
“He’s a fighter. He’s gonna be fine,” she reassured, smiling through a face of tears.
“I think it may be wise to let him rest; it could be hours before he wakes,” Dr. Rolle deadpanned.
“I agree,” Paula said, “Come on, Mom.”
“I want to be here,” Maureen protested, turning to her.
“I’m...fine...” Kayden groaned, his voice low and raspy.
“Kayden!” Lana yelped.
He groaned and licked his dry, cracked lips. He blinked his eyes open slowly, struggling to focus, and, finally seeing his beautiful seafoam-colored eyes, reduced Lana to tears.
“Lana?” he croaked, then coughed.
