“Don’t move,” says a harsh voice next to me. “You’re restrained to the bed, and you’ll only hurt yourself trying.”
“W-Why?” I close my mouth as my throat burns.
“Don’t talk, either,” she says. “They had to intubate you, prepping for surgery, but turns out, you may not need it.
It was the first piece of good news that came out of the woman’s mouth.
The room is dim but not necessarily dark. I can see the speckled walls and ceiling in front of me, but I can’t turn to see the person speaking.
“Who are you?”
“Shelly Jeffries, your nurse for tonight. But you can call me Ms. Shelly if you’d like.”
“Not just Shelly?”
“No, we’re not friends yet, Mr. Tucker.”
Despite her terse words, a grin tugs at my lips. Ms. Shelly adjusts my blanket and moves the bed higher so that I’m half sitting up.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“Mm hmm.”
There’s commotion at the door, loud voices getting louder, and then Austin, Jane, Charlotte and Caleb all walk in. Charlotte covers her mouth as soon as her eyes find me, as though I were a ghost, but Jane maintains her composure. Only her tight lips give away the concern on her face.
“Fuck,” Austin whispers as he approaches the bed.
“Do I look that bad?” I whisper.
Charlotte doesn’t answer, her hand is still over her mouth, but Caleb does. “You look good, man. Like you’re ready to step on the mound tomorrow.”
“Caleb,” Charlotte warns, finally dropping her arms. She skewers him with a look that I bet makes Caleb consider trading places with me only to get Charlotte’s sympathy instead of her wrath.
“Maybe not tomorrow, but the next day I’ll be ready,” I whisper. There’s little bravado in my voice, but it makes me feel better to say it.
“Casey.” Charlotte’s voice is laced with pity, and my chest tightens with anxiety.
“I wouldn’t worry about playing right now,” says Austin. “The important thing is you’re all right. I mean, when you went down and didn’t move, I was—”
His voice cracks, and Jane gently places her hand on his forearm. “We’re glad you’re okay, Casey. What’s important is that you’re here and you’re conscious now.”
“Now?” My eyes scan the room for a clock, but I don’t find one. “How long have I been out?”
No one answers at first. Then I look at Austin. “How long?”
“A few hours.”
“Did the doctor say when I can leave?”
“He… uh… said it would be a few days. They have to run some more tests.”
As though he were summoned, a man wearing a white lab coat and blue scrubs walks in. “Mr. Tucker. Good to see you awake.”
“Thanks, Doc,” I mutter, unsure if that’s a compliment since it doesn’t really make me feel better. “When can I get out of here?”
“Well, like your brother just said, we still have to run some tests. The good news is we didn’t need to perform any major surgery as we had originally thought we would. We didn’t find any evidence of a neck fracture, so we can remove the brace now if you’d like.
“That would be great,” I say. “Anything else before I can leave?”
