CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Erika
It’s been three whole days, and despite having normal vitals, Leon hasn’t woken up.
His CT scan showed nothing; his vitals are stable, but he’s still worryingly unresponsive.
“Erika.” A familiar voice, one I am so grateful to hear, alerts me to her arrival.
“Valerie.” I release Leon’s hand and scoot my chair back so quickly that it topples over behind me. “Jack.” I reach out to Leon’s parents and wrap myself around them. “I’m so happy you’re here.” I break down in their arms, both Valerie and Jack doing the same.
“Let me see my boy,” Valerie says, her voice full of cracked emotion as I release her and step aside. She covers her mouth with her hand as she gasps, and I jump into medical mode, reassuring them that he’s okay. Well, not okay, but not critical.
“The machines are monitoring his heart rate. He’s not on a ventilator because he’s breathing on his own. The pulse oximeter on his finger is measuring his oxygen levels, and the IV line is for fluids and electrolytes. He’s stable.”
Jack and Valerie make their way to the side of his bed, where Valerie plants a kiss on his forehead. “Hey, golden boy, Mom and Dad are here now.”
I can’t watch this.
“This is all my fault.” My stuttered breath comes out in short bursts.
“Don’t you dare think that this is your fault, Erika. He fell. Nothing more. We’ve all watched the video.” Jack’s voice is strong, unwavering.
The captain retrieved footage from the security cameras, which showed us exactly what happened the night of Leon’s accident.
“Leon tripped, hit his head on a metal horned rope bollard, then crawled across the decking of the yacht, and that was it, Erika. There was nothing sinister about it.”
I fold my arms around myself, feeling gut-wrenchingly sick to my stomach. “But if I hadn’t booked this vacation, and if I hadn’t agreed to marry Huck, then we wouldn’t be here.”
Valerie makes her way to me, firmly clasping her hands around my shoulders. “Now you listen to me, dear,” she starts in her eloquent English accent. “It was an accident, nothing more. It could have happened at any time.” She reaches up to wipe away my tears as Jack picks the chair up that toppled over when I welcomed them.
“You look exhausted, Erika.”
“I haven’t slept,” I admit.
“Take a seat, sweetheart.” Valerie gestures toward the chair. “Have you eaten today?”
I shake my head as I sit. I’m starving, but I can barely eat—everything tastes like cardboard.
Even the sunshine feels dull.
“Jack, please go to the canteen and fetch Erika something to eat.”
I dismiss her. “Please, don’t. Stay here with Leon. You’ve only just arrived.”
“I know, and the rude bugger hasn’t even woken up to say hello.” Valerie winks then signals for Jack to go do as she asked. “Leon will still be here when he gets back.” Leon’s mom pulls another seat over to mine and sits beside me as Jack slopes off.
Even with a huge bandage wrapped around Leon’s head, making him look like Mr. Bump, he looks gorgeous, that is, except for the deep purple bruising around his eye and cheek that spreads like ink on blotting paper, upward and into his hairline.
“Tell me again why he won’t wake up, Dr. Hill.” Valerie places her hand in mine.
I blow my nose into a tissue and laugh at her calling me that for the first time. “Well,” I start, “he has what they call a Diffuse Axonal injury, which means that when he hit his head, it rattled his brain.”
“So, he has a brain? That’s good news, although I did question that when he took so long to tell you he was in love with you.” Valerie does her best to make the mood more buoyant.
“There is definitely a brain in there.” I motion to Leon’s head, the skin on my cheeks sore from crying, my eyes stinging too. It’s been an emotional few days. “The movement can cause stretches or tears to axons, and that’s why he looks fine on the outside, and the CT scan didn’t show anything. They want to do another MRI later today to see if it will show up. Sometimes it does, but it’s a long shot.”
“So, will he wake up?”
