“I’ll do my best,” she says.
My leg shakes up and down, and I play nervously withthe bracelet on my wrist. Tears continue to fall, as she weaves in and out of traffic on the way to the hospital.
She gets me there in fifteen minutes, and I have the door open and my feet are on the pavement before she comes to a complete stop.
“I hope everything is alright,” she says right before the door shuts behind me.
I barge through the doors and am met by the nurse working the intake desk in the emergency room.
“Hi,” I say, shaking. “I’m here to see my brother, Cody Dawson. I think he’s in room 3567 or maybe it was 4567. I’m sorry I don’t remember.” I reach for my purse and realize that, in my rush, I left it in the back of the Uber.
Shit.
“Wren?” My dad’s voice comes from behind me, and I completely crumble at the sound of it. “Oh, honey, I’m so glad you’re here.”
I move quickly toward him, and he wraps me in a big hug. “Where is he? Is he okay? What happened? Dad, I’m so sorry I wasn’t answering. I was at a party, and I didn’t hear it or feel it.”
“Calm down, sweetie,” he says, pulling away from me and grabbing me by the shoulders. “Cody’s alright. It was scary there for a minute, but the ambulance got there fast. He’s a little tired, but he’s going to be okay.”
“Thank goodness,” I breathe out, wiping my eyes. “Can I see him?”
“Sure, come on. I’m surprised you didn’t call when you got here.”
“In my panic, I left my purse in the backseat of my Uber. I want to lay eyes on him, and then I’ll try to figure out what I need to do to get it back.”
He leads me through the emergency room to room 4567. He knocks gently then pushes it open.
“Wren,” my mom says, tears falling from her eyes. “Thank goodness you’re here sweetheart.”
She wraps me in a hug, and I breathe her in, trying to calm myself. “Hey, bud,” I say, looking towards Cody and letting go of her.
Tears prick the back of my eyes as I walk over and wrap my arms around him. “I love you,” he signs when he sees me, and I exhale for the first time since seeing my phone.
“I love you too. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner.” I kiss his forehead and tousle his hair a little. “Where’s his iPad?” I ask, taking his hand in mine.
“In all the chaos, we forgot to grab it,” my mom explains. “The nurses got us a simple choice board. It’s over there on the table.”
Cody begins to nod off, and I know his body and his brain have to be exhausted.
“What triggered it?” I ask.
“The aid forgot to give him his meds,” my dad says.
“You’re joking,” I say. Guilt strikes me, and for a split second I consider moving back in with my parents and handling it all myself, but I push it away. “Did you report her?”
“We did, but I truly think it was an honest mistake. She’s new, and she was overwhelmed. Her supervisor is supposed to call us tomorrow.”
“Regardless of how her day was going, he needed his medicine.” I shake my head. “This could’ve been so much worse.”
“Your mom already called his neurologist, and he has an appointment Monday pending that he discharges tonight.”
“Good. Are they talking about keeping him overnight?”
“We’re actually not sure,” my dad says. “It was longer than they used to be, so that’s why we called 911. We’re waiting for the doctor to come back with his labs.”
“Okay.” I massage my temples and look down at my brother.
“Why are you so dressed up tonight?” my mom asks. “I like that dress. It looks really pretty on you.”
