“Is it dangerous?” I found my chin quivering as I thought of Ronny unconscious on a table as they opened his brain up.
“With any surgery comes risks, but we’ve got a great team up there with him and they’ve seen this kind of situation before. When I talked to them last, they were confident that they could get the swelling down and have him on track to full recovery.”
“When will he be out of surgery?”
“The surgery usually lasts somewhere between three to five hours, so he’s got some more time up there. He’s got a lot of injuries, and once he’s awake we’ll talk to you both about recovery. He’s got a long road ahead of him but based on his health beforehand I think he’ll make a full recovery in time.”
“Is there anything I can do for him right now? Does he need anything when he gets out of surgery?”
“Nothing right this moment. It’s just a waiting game for now. He’ll be here for a week or two once he comes down. Now would be the time to go home and pack some things he’ll want with him. Tablet, chargers, maybe some pajamas he likes. We want him to be as comfortable as possible.”
I thanked him again as he shook my hand and exited quickly. I plopped back down on the couch and went through what he had just told me. My phone went off and I pulled it back out to reply to Cash and Dallas. I explained as briefly as I could about what was going on and they both told me they were coming to the hospital.
I’m on my way. Do you need me to bring anything? I’m at my place.
Cash replied faster than Dallas to my messages. I typed out the list the doctor had suggested. He sent a thumbs up and no sooner had I closed out his message I received one from my brother.
I’m drunk. Called a driver. Omw.
I sighed but sent him a quick response telling him what floor I was on. As I slumped back down, I thanked the powers that be that Ronny was alive, but also that my brother hadn’t been in the van with him. Things could have turned out so much differently had Ronny been driving.
I realized then that I hadn’t asked about the other driver. Was he alright?I hoped Dallas would be able to answer some questions, considering they were supposed to have been together tonight. Apparently something had changed.
I yawned, which made me realize that I could use some coffee. As I walked out of the room and down the hall to get some, I paused when I saw the nurse that helped me before. She was talking with other nurses and the doctor that talked to me earlier.
“Excuse me, do you know what happened to the other person in the accident? The one...” I paused, unsure of how to be polite about it. “Who hit him?”
The nurses swung their eyes towards the doctor. He smiled, but again, it didn’t reach his eyes. He shook his head as the smile quickly faded into a grim line.
“I did ask about the other person in the accident. The EMT’s said he died on impact.”
“Who was it?” Fear shot through me as fast as faces of our friends shot through my mind.
“An elderly man. We’re still looking into who he was. He had no identification on him.”
I nodded and thanked them again before finishing my trek to the coffee station.Another wave of relief as it had been a stranger, and not one of us.
Returning to the waiting room, I stared blankly at the TV as I waited for either news of Ronny’s surgery or Cash or Dallas to show.
My brother got there before Cash, surprisingly. He looked like he had just gotten out of bed. His inky black hair was a mess and he wasn’t even wearing a shirt under his leather jacket. I wanted to roll my eyes, but I was too exhausted.
“Jim?” He stumbled a bit in the door, looking around for me. I knew he was still drunk because it took him a moment to find me in the empty room. “Jim! Shit, are you alright? How’s Ronny?” He hurried over and sat down beside me.
“He’s still in surgery. Are you alright?” I asked, rather bluntly. I wasn’t in the mood for his antics. He waved me off and reached over, plucking the cup of coffee from my hands. He was lucky it had cooled to lukewarm because he downed it like a shot.
“Yeah, I’ll be alright. Just gotta get right. Still in surgery, huh? Okay. I guess we wait.”
“I thought you two were together tonight?” I asked, my voice accusatory. His eyes shifted from concern to suspicion in an instant.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing, I’m just confused about how he ended up in his car, parked, alone, and wherever he was at. I don’t even know where the accident happened.” I crossed my arms.
“He was at my place,” he said simply, his anger subsiding quickly.
“Where were you?” I glanced at him. He shrugged and gave me a half smile.
“Trying to get laid. I got a call, offered to bring Ronny. You know, share the love some, but he didn’t want to go.”
