Page 102 of Choosing Skyler

…I’ll always find you, Beautiful...

…I’ll always choose you...

…beep…beep…beep…

Chapter 37

Skyler

Devon stayed in the hospital with me last night while Timothy ran out to get me some clothes since I was in a hospital gown with nothing to change into except my blood-stained bathing suit and sarong. I didn’t want to get into the bed, but Devon insisted. He climbed in with me, and we held onto each other as we waited for updates about Brady’s surgery.

The nurse finally came back in around two in the morning to tell us that Brady was out of surgery and in the I.C.U. We couldn’t go in to see him yet since no visitors are allowed in the I.C.U. between eight p.m. and nine a.m.

It’s just after eight now and I’m waiting for the doctor to sign my final discharge paper so that I can head up to the Intensive Care floor to see Brady. Timothy comes in with two bags in one hand. One has clothes and the other has brand new tennis shoes and socks. He has a tray of coffees in his other hand. I grab the bags, thanking him before running to the bathroom to get dressed. By the time I come out, Devon has my discharge sheet from the doctor. He hands me a coffee as we make our way to the elevator.

“They’ll only let the two of you in to see him while he’s in the I.C.U.,” Timothy says as we wait for the elevator. “I’m going to head home and make some calls. I’ll find out how long you’ll be locked out of the house since it’s still a crime scene. Then, I’ll arrange for a cleaning crew to come in as soon as the property is released. Please call me if there’s any change?” he pleads.

“We will,” Devon and I both say before I continue. “Thank you so much for everything, Timothy.” I raise up on my toes to wrap my arms around his neck.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he says, kissing my cheek before turning to Devon and pulling him into a hug.

Devon and I step into the elevator when the doors open and turn to wave at Timothy as they close. The ride up to the sixth floor is agonizing. I grip Devon’s hand as we step out of the elevator, and he picks up the phone to call the nurses’ desk for us to be let in. The harsh smell of disinfectant burns my nose and my hand trembles in Devon’s when the doors open to let us in.

His grip tightens and he leans down to whisper in my ear. “I’m right here, Sweets. I’ve got you. No matter what, okay?”

I nod and we follow the nurse to Brady’s bed. My free hand flies to my mouth to stop the scream building in my throat. He’s hooked up to so many machines. There are tubes and wires connected to him everywhere and he’s on a ventilator.

Devon glares at the nurse. “We were told his lungs weren’t injured.”

“They weren’t,” she assures us. “He’s only on the ventilator as a precaution due to the heavy pain medication he’s on until he’s awake and alert. As soon as he wakes up and we’re sure he can breathe on his own, we’ll remove the ventilator.”

“Has he regained consciousness at all since his surgery last night?” Devon asks.

“No, but that’s to be expected with the trauma and the anesthesia. We expect him to wake up sometime today. We usually only let one visitor in at a time on this floor. So, you won’t both be able to stay all day. You can both stay for now, but I’ll have to ask one of you to leave during the shift change since there will be extra staff in the room for the patient status report,” she says with a frown.

“That’s understandable. Thank you for letting us both stay otherwise,” Devon tells her. “What time is the shift change?”

“Eleven o’clock. So, from about ten forty-five to eleven fifteen is when one of you will have to leave,” she explains.

“We’ll both go…” Devon says and stops when my head whips up so I can glare at him. He waves the nurse out and puts his hand on my shoulder. “You have to take care of yourself, Skyler. You didn’t eat dinner last night or breakfast this morning. I let it go because I knew you needed to see him. But I’ll be damned if I let you sit here and starve yourself to watch him sleep. I wouldn’t let him do it when it was you in a hospital bed either.”

I take a deep breath and nod. I’ve reverted back to not talking apparently because I don’t seem to have any words. I look at the clock and notice that I’ll only have an hour and a half before I have to leave. I release Devon’s hand and take a seat in the chair next to Brady’s bed. I take his hand and squeeze it gently. Devon walks up beside me and puts a hand on my shoulder again.

“Talk to him, Sky. You said you could hear us before you woke up. Maybe he can, too,” he says, squeezing my shoulder reassuringly.

“I’m here, Brady. I love you. Please don’t leave me,” I cry, laying my head on the edge of his bed and sobbing into the blanket.

“You better get better, man. You two are gonna make me an old man before my time this summer.” Devon chuckles behind me with forced humor.

I stand and turn to wrap him in a hug. “I’m so sorry, Devon…” I stop when he squeezes the breath right out of me.

“No apologies, Sweets. I love you both to the moon and back. You know that, right?” He leans back to look at my face.

I nod and push him into the chair before climbing in his lap so we can both sit by Brady’s bed for the next hour. We take turns talking to him and holding his hand until the nurse comes back in at ten thirty to let us know it’s almost time to leave.

“Let’s go get some brunch,” Devon says as he stands and sets me on my feet. “Then, we can come back after shift change and sit with him until eight. I won’t try to make you leave for the rest of the day as long as you eat something now. Deal?”

I nod.

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