“Yes,” I reply.
“I’m Monica. Poppy told me you were coming.” She stands and moves around the end of the counter and picks up one of the tablets on the chargers. “She’s resting peacefully at the moment, but come with me.”
Finally, my heart starts to slow slightly for the first time in hours, hearing those words.
We stop as we get to a man in a doctor’s coat who is talking to another nurse.
“Doctor Warren, this is Landon Wood, Poppy Bertrum’s emergency contact. He has just arrived from Boston. Do you want to chat to him before I take him in to see her?” With all thechaos around her, Monica looks like she handles it all in stride with the unruffled way she’s talking.
Holding his hand out to me, I study his face, and his reassuring expression doesn’t look like he’s about to give me bad news. I finally try to take my first deep breath in a few hours as I shake his hand.
“Mister Wood, I’m glad you’re here. Poppy wouldn’t let us call her mother, so I told her she needed to find someone else who wouldn’t freak out and who could turn up to be here with her. Looks like you drew the short straw.” I know he’s trying to put me at ease, but it just pisses me off instead. In this whole big city, there is not one person she’s close enough to that she wanted them by her side.
“She had just forgotten to change her emergency contact to me. I’m her boyfriend, and I got on the first plane as soon as I got the call. What happened? She was struggling to speak when she called me.” I’m sticking with the boyfriend story because they’re more likely to let me stay with her and to tell me everything if they think we’re together. That I’m not just some random she called so she didn’t freak out her mother.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize. Of course I’ll tell you what we know. She was brought in after she was trapped under a fallen roof beam. Luckily her gear did its job and she wasn’t burned in any way. However, her oxygen mask was knocked off her face, so she did suffer some smoke inhalation. But that should resolve itself in a few days.” I just nod for him to continue, as I want to know everything before I start asking questions. But learning that she’s not suffering from any burns is a massive relief to begin with. “She’s suffering a concussion from where she was hit with the beam, but neither of those are her biggest problem. Unfortunately, the rest of the roof then came down and pinned her, with the majority of the weight landing on her right leg, and she’s had a significant break in both her tibia and fibula. She’llneed surgery tomorrow to plate and pin them back in place so they heal without any weakness. I know her job depends on her being medically fit, so we will make sure she has the best chance for a perfect recovery.” He looks at me like he’s waiting for me to say something, but there’s so much information to take in. I had no idea how serious an accident it was.
“She could’ve died,” I murmur to myself in a voice that almost sounds like I’m in pain. But it was obviously not loud enough for either Dr. Warren or Monica to hear what I said. Monica places her hand on my arm and gives it a comforting rub. But it does nothing to soothe the stabbing pain in my heart right now at the realization of what could have been.
“She was extremely lucky. From what I hear it was the quick action of a couple of her colleagues that got her out before the whole structure started collapsing around them.” Dr. Warren pauses long enough for me to take in everything he just said. It’s like my brain is in slow motion trying to process it all. “Would you like to see her now?”
“Yes,” I blurt out so quickly.
“She’s been given some heavy pain relief, so she might not wake for a while, but you can sit with her. Talk to her, touch her, and let her know you’re here, it’ll help her to find a calm place in her sedated state.” He smiles, trying to give me some reassurance. “I’m on for the rest of the night if you need me for anything. I know it’s a lot to take in, but she’s going to be just fine. She just needs time.”
“Thank you for everything. I don’t know…” The words catch in my throat, and I can’t finish the sentence.
“It’s our job. She saves people’s lives, so deserves the very best care we can give to her.” With that, he nods at me, and he’s about to step away when someone shouts from one of the rooms behind him. He pivots quickly, moving with speed towardthe call for help, along with all the other available doctors and nurses that begin rushing in that direction too.
“Come with me, Landon.” Monica takes my arm and guides me away from the emergency and down the hall.
Pushing a door open, she steps to the side to let me enter, and I freeze in the doorway.
In front of me is Poppy, looking so pale and frail.
Nothing like the vibrant woman so full of life who turned my world upside down last Christmas.
Instead, she has wires attaching her to a monitor that has all sorts of numbers and moving lines. I know they’re just monitoring her breathing and heartrate, but I hate seeing her so vulnerable like this.
“Just so you know, we also had to give her something to calm her down. After she called you, she went into a delayed shock, but that’s very normal in this kind of situation. You being here now will help. I’ll leave you alone with her. Just press on the buzzer if you need me.” The moment I hear Monica’s voice, it snaps me out of the stunned trance I was in from seeing Poppy looking so broken.
I clear my throat, trying to speak. “Mm-hm, yes, thank you.” Stepping toward the bed, I hear the door closing softly behind me.
I just stare at her lying on her back, with the head of the bed tilted up so she is almost sitting up. Her blonde hair looks so messy, and I can smell a hint of smoke coming from her body. Her face still has smudges of ash on it which makes me mad. Why hasn’t someone cleaned her up and made her feel better?
I don’t want to wake her, she needs rest to recover, but I’m also desperate to see those beautiful blue eyes. The spark of life that she has in them. It’s like every time I look deep into her eyes, she’s opening her soul to me.
Reaching out with my hand, I softly stroke my fingers through her hair that is hanging down the side of her face, tucking it behind her ear so it won’t tickle her. I can feel the warmth in her skin as I slide my fingers over her motionless hand that is lying flat on the bed next to her leg. She flinches slightly but then is still again.
I lean down and place my lips on the top of her hand, ever so softly, and kiss her.
She doesn’t taste like my sweet Poppy anymore, but I don’t care. I just need to ground myself with what was always our most powerful connection. From the first moment I kissed her in my living room, I knew once was never going to be enough, and it wasn’t. I couldn’t get enough, and neither could Poppy. There was just some kind of magnetic pull between us, and it always resulted in the most explosive kisses. The kind I can’t shake the memory of and still dream about every night.
Pressing my lips to each cheek and then lingering one last time on her forehead, I try to get her to feel what I need her to know but can’t say out loud. I finally pull away as a few stray tears fall down my face. Slowly lowering myself into the chair beside her bed, I still haven’t let go of her for one second, and I slide my other hand under hers. With it cocooned between mine, I slowly wrap my rough fingers around hers. The feeling of her hand in mine, and that it’s warm, is enough that I let out a loud sigh of relief.
“I’m here, Poppy, just like I told you. Just rest, I’ll keep you safe now.” I kiss the top of her hand again because I need her to know I’m here. I want her to feel me, and I’m desperate for a sign she does.
“Just squeeze my hand if you can hear me.” And I don’t know if I imagined it, but I swear I felt her give me the slightest squeeze. “Good girl. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Layingmy forehead on the bed for just a minute, I take a moment to process the last few hours.
