Hidden Fates (Hidden Heroes #4)

Chapter 30

“Why don’t you sit down before you fall down,” Orly suggested, taking Reese by the arm and guiding her to an empty chair. Reese had already been checked by a doctor and had gotten four stitches near her temple. Other than that, she had some scrapes, and her ribs were bruised, either from the air bag or Russell’s rough handling of her. But even the pain of each breath couldn’t take her mind off Garrett.

Luke had called Orly on the way to the hospital, and all their friends had met them in the Emergency Room waiting area. Even Caden and Blake had come. Tanner had called Garrett’s parents and sister, who were making plans to catch flights to Dallas as soon as they could.

Reese sat for a moment, Hallie and Orly sitting on either side of her. When she started tapping her foot nervously, Hallie put a soft hand on her knee. “He’s going to be okay,” she said, then added, “He just has to be.”

Reese nodded, needing to believe her more than anything. “I should’ve done more to stop him from ever going inside. I should’ve left when I could. I should’ve fought Russell harder.”

“No,” Orly said, pulling Reese into a comforting side hug. “If Garrett is anything like Luke, nothing, and I mean nothing could’ve stopped him from going in after you. I bet when he wakes up, the first thing he’s going to say is how glad he is that it was him and not you who got hurt.”

Reese sighed, drawing in a ragged breath and staring sightlessly at the other people in the waiting area. “Did you know the first real conversation we had, he actually shut off the power on his property because he knew I preferred to be in the dark? I mean, he didn’t even know why back then, but he did it anyway. What kind of guy does that?”

“Your kind of guy,” Orly said.

The large heavy door opened then and a man wearing a white doctor’s lab coat with salt and pepper hair, gray eyes, and a five o’clock shadow came out holding a clipboard. “Garrett Cooper’s family?”

Reese stood so fast, her vision blurred momentarily and she had to hold on to the armrest for a second to steady herself. “How is he?” She asked, foregoing any formalities and introductions.

The man turned a concerned glance to her and extended his hand. “I’m Dr. Shaw. Are you family?”

“Yes,” Luke said before Reese could even utter a word. “Please, tell us what you can about Garrett’s condition.”

All their friends surrounded her now. Hallie and Orly stood on either side of her, with the guys standing just behind them, except for Caden and Luke, who stood by their wives.

Dr. Shaw stared at Reese for a moment, then spoke. “Garrett is in critical condition. The only reason he’s even alive is because he was in the doorway and the blast threw him outside of the cabin. If he’d taken even one more step inside, we’d be having a very different conversation right now. That being said, his heart did stop for almost two minutes until paramedics were able to resuscitate him.”

“You’re trying to warn us about brain damage,” Caden said. “All we care about right now is that he’s alive.”

Dr. Shaw nodded in understanding.

“Has he regained consciousness? Can we see him?” Reese asked.

“Not yet. He does have multiple abrasions and contusions, as well as some burns, but we’re actually more concerned about his head injury right now. After the trauma he’s experienced, it’s not surprising that we’re having trouble waking him up. In my professional opinion, Garrett has slipped into a coma, but he’ll need more testing to confirm that.”

Reese covered her mouth, swallowing her gasp as tears streamed down her face. “A coma?”

“He’ll wake up though, right? It’ll just take some time, but he’ll wake up,” Luke said.

Reese couldn’t tell if he was asking or telling the doctor, but she held her breath waiting for the man to confirm Luke’s words.

Dr. Shaw stood for a long moment, as if considering his answer. “He can. Right now, it’s more of a wait and see. He’ll be transferred to the ICU where he’ll be closely observed and treated for all his injuries. You can see him there, though visiting hours may be over by the time we get him settled up there, so you’ll need to check with his nurse.” Dr. Shaw turned to leave, but Reese placed a hand on his arm. She didn’t even know what she wanted to say, but somehow this man leaving felt so final and filled her with an unspeakable dread. She needed more from him, but what - she didn’t know. He’d told them everything he could. It just wasn’t enough. Garrett was still - she couldn’t bring herself to say it, so she just thought of him as asleep. Sleeping was something she could handle.

“Thank you,” she finally said, and Orly gently reached for her, pulling her hand from the doctor’s arm. Dr. Shaw gave a parting nod and disappeared behind the heavy door again.

“Why don’t we go find somewhere quiet to sit,” Luke suggested. “Maybe see if we can find a vending machine. We can make our way upstairs in a little while and see if Garrett is ready for some visitors.”

Following Luke’s suggestion, they all headed to the hospital lobby, taking up an entire section of couches. A few of the guys got some snacks from a nearby vending machine, and Hallie went with Caden to find coffee for everyone.

“How are you doing?” Orly asked, sitting next to Reese.

She wrapped her arms around herself, desperately trying to hold it together. “I’ll be okay when Garrett wakes up.”

Time seemed to pass slower than ever. Everyone around Reese was having a snack or drinking what looked like a bad cup of coffee from one of those small disposable cups, but she couldn’t bring herself to do any of that.

“Hey,” Skyla said, joining the group. “I finally got a hold of my assistant manager and she came in as soon as she could get a sitter.”

Reese stood to greet her and the women hugged. “Thanks for coming. We haven’t heard anything yet.”

Skyla pulled back from Reese and glanced at Blake who immediately shook his head.

“What’s going on?” Reese asked.

“I can help him,” Skyla blurted out. “We can all go home tonight knowing Garrett will be just fine. I just need a few minutes -”

“No,” Blake said, his voice firm and loud. He closed the distance between them and took both of Skyla’s hands in his. “You’re pregnant, Skyla. You can’t risk it. We have no idea what it will do to you or the baby if you put yourself in that kind of state right now.”

Skyla sighed. “I’m sure it will be fine.”

“No,” Blake said again. “We both know you’d never forgive yourself if something happened to our baby because of you putting yourself at risk like that.”

“It doesn’t hurt me, Blake.”

Reese felt like a bobblehead, trying to keep up with their conversation.

“Yes, it does. Or have you forgotten how weak you get afterwards? Because I haven’t. I still remember carrying you out of that house. Out of that damn motel when you couldn’t even keep your eyes open. I still remember all of it.”

Reese winced, knowing exactly what motel he was talking about. “I’m sorry,” she said, just loud enough to be heard. “I would never ask Skyla to do anything that would hurt her or the baby.”

Skyla turned to face her then. “Of course not, and I honestly don’t think it would.”

“There’s time,” Blake said. “Garrett is critical but stable.”

“You said he was in a coma when you called me,” Skyla said.

“He is, or at least the doctors think he might be, but they also think he could wake up on his own anytime,” Luke said. “There’s no reason for you to put yourself or the baby at risk right now.”

The tension between everyone subsided only when Skyla gave a seemingly agreeable sigh. “Fine,” she muttered. “We’ll wait.”

Everyone sat back down on the couches, and a heavy silence filled the space, interrupted only by a few whispered exchanges.

Luke and Orly were leaning on each other, barely able to keep their eyes open. Hallie and Caden were playing a game on his phone. Blake and Skyla were looking at sonogram pictures on her phone, and the rest of the guys were just sitting quietly, like they were ready to do whatever needed to be done at a moment’s notice.

They had all tried to distract Reese, but she just wanted to be left alone. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate her friends’ efforts, she just couldn’t really focus on anything but needing and praying for Garrett to wake up.

Two hours later, they all stood when Dr. Shaw approached. “He’s all settled upstairs if you’d like to see him. I made sure to let his nurse know that you would be coming. Just don’t stay too long because he needs his rest.”

“Is he awake?” Reese asked with all the optimism she could muster. The doctor probably would’ve opened with that if Garrett’s condition had changed, but just in case it had slipped the doctor’s mind, she had to know.

“Unfortunately, not yet,” Dr. Shaw said.

She appreciated his choice of words. Instead of just saying ‘no’ he’d said ‘not yet’ and that oddly gave her more hope than she’d had five minutes ago. “Okay, thanks. I’d like to spend the night with him if that’s okay?”

Dr. Shaw nodded. “Let the nurse know and she’ll bring you a cot and some bedding.”

Reese forced a grateful smile. Dr. Shaw left and the guys quickly cleaned up the area while the women got their things together. As they rode the elevator to the fourth floor, Caden pulled Hallie to his side. “He’ll be okay. He probably just needs the night to sleep it off.”

Reese swiped at a tear on her cheek, and Hallie forced a smile and nodded. Her friends were the best people in the world, but the only thing she wanted right now was for Garrett to wake up and look at her the way he always did.

She hadn’t missed the part about him possibly having brain damage, but she honestly didn’t care. Of course, she wanted him to be okay, but if that wasn’t the case, Reese already knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She’d take care of him, and if he couldn’t work, she’d find a way to earn enough money to support both of them.

They stepped off the elevator and followed the signs to the Intensive Care Unit. Garrett’s nurse, Tina, introduced herself and allowed them to see Garrett one at a time. Reese offered to go in last because she knew once she went in, there was no way she could leave him.

When it was finally her turn, she said goodnight to the guys, and hugged Skyla, Hallie, and Orly. Then she quietly stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. Garrett looked so peaceful. She wasn’t sure what she’d imagined, but aside from a few scrapes on his face and a white bandage taped to the back of his head, he looked almost perfect. Even his color was good. His cheeks were pink. His lips full, ready to be kissed. All that was missing was the tenderness in his eyes every time he looked at her. She stood at his bedside and leaned in to kiss him. She pressed her lips to a scratch on his forehead, then to the tip of his nose. When she touched her lips to his, she couldn’t hold back the tear that escaped down her cheek. “I love you,” she whispered. “You just have to come back to me.”

The nurse had brought in a cot for her just as Dr. Shaw had said, along with some sheets, two pillows, and a blanket. Reese arranged them on the cot then went into the ensuite bathroom where the nurse had left her some towels and toiletries.

She laughed through her tears. This place almost felt like a hotel room instead of a hospital room. If only Garrett was awake, teasing her from the bed instead of lying there in a coma with an IV in his arm and at least half a dozen other tubes and wires, she could almost call it romantic. She sighed heavily, letting out a ragged breath.

It was going to be a long night. She brushed her teeth and finger combed her hair. By the time she crawled under the covers, she was feeling every ounce of soreness and exhaustion from the day. But nothing about this sleeping arrangement felt right. Despite being in the same room, Reese still felt too far away from Garrett. She threw the covers off and went to stand at his bedside again. She stroked his cheek, and pressed another kiss to his mouth. Then without giving it much thought, she carefully laid down on the bed next to him. Turning onto her side, she had just enough room to place her head in the crook of his arm and gently draped her arm over his torso. She briefly worried about hurting him, but Garrett didn’t even flinch, let alone move so much as his pinkie finger. “Come back to me,” Reese begged. “I love you.”