My heart dropped as I heard the urgency in her tone. “What’s going on?”
“Lelani and I were in a car accident earlier this evening.”
“Is she okay?” I shot back, already dashing down the hall toward the elevators.
“She’ll be okay. She needed emergency surgery. We were on the way home, and another car ran a red light. We’re at Rush Hospital.”
CHAPTER 16
MYTHIC GREY
LELANI HAD SUFFEREDsignificant injuries during the car accident—her side had taken the brunt of the impact when another vehicle t-boned them. The doctors had to perform emergency surgery to repair a lacerated spleen and some internal bleeding. It was a severe injury, and she would need to stay in the hospital for a few weeks to recover.
Her mother had only sustained a few cuts and bruises.
I stayed with her overnight. Her mother was too groggy on her own pain meds to battle with me over that.
Lelani was in and out consciousness all night as the anesthesia wore off, but by the next morning, she was fully awake and aware of what had taken place.
The monitors beeped steadily as the nurse checked her vitals.
“I can’t believe this shit.” Lelani pouted as she attempted to adjust her position in bed, but moving made her wince in pain.
“Unt-uh,”her nurse grunted. “You should be still. Let me help you if you need to move.”
Lelani’s pout deepened. “If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any.”
“You’re lucky,” her nurse told her. “At least you were able to come out of that accident with your life.”
Lelani rolled her eyes, though the nurse wasn’t looking as she was diligently adjusting the IV drip.
I knew that Lelani was moreso upset that all of this had happened on top of what she was already dealing with. I wanted to comfort her, to hold her hand, but I felt a loyalty to Aviana that I couldn’t shake. My protection was for her.
Luckily, the door of the hospital room opened, and a doctor in scrubs and a white coat entered, preventing me from having to be loving to a woman who didn’t own my heart.
As the doctor strolled in, the nurse looked at him, and they both smiled a greeting as if they were familiar with each other.
“Good morning, Lelani. I’m Dr. Collins,” he introduced himself as he tapped on the iPad in his hand. “I was your surgeon.” He looked up from the tablet and glanced at her. Taking her in, he smiled a bit. “You’re looking as well as can be. How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?”
“Not really.”
“On a scale from one to ten, what’s your pain level?’
She thought for a second. “A five.”
His smile widened as he gave her a quick nod. “Well, that means the pain meds are working. But we’ll increase the dosage to get that down to zero.”
“Thank you,” she said weakly.
“I want to go over a few things with you, then I’ll be out of your hair so that you can continue to get some rest.”
As he spoke, I leaned closer in order to hear every detail in case she didn’t remember.
“You suffered a lacerated spleen during the accident,” he explained. “The surgery went well. Expect some pain and fatigueas you recover. We’ll monitor you closely, and I’ll prescribe medication to help manage any discomfort.”
Lelani nodded with heavy eyes. She was trying to process everything he was saying, but her expression shifted slightly as she listened.
“Will she still be able to get her biopsy?” I asked. “Her appointment is in like two weeks.” I looked at Lelani for verification, but strangely she nervously avoided my eyes and the doctor’s.
