Page 11 of Shimmering Emeralds
Just when I thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse for us on this wretched day, a blaring code blue alert was announced through the hospital’s sound system.
9
Meg
I’d seen enough medical dramas on television to know that a code blue was very bad news for the patient it was called for. Even though I knew it wasn’t fair to even think such a thing, I silently prayed that this particular code was for anyone else but my daughter or sister.
Despite my selfish wishing, my stomach dropped to my knees. Some innate mother’s instinct kicked in, and I knew that my daughter’s life was in peril. This dire announcement and call to action was the hospital’s last-ditch effort to save her. I didn’t know how I knew it. I just did.
My eyes circled wildly around the crowded waiting area, looking for anyone that might be able to help. People were sitting on the edges of their seats with tension visibly emanating from them as they waited for news on their loved ones. The urge to scream at them that they didn’t have to worry so much because my daughter was the one coding nearly overwhelmed me.
Finally, my frantic gaze landed on Levi. I was hoping to find reassurance in his expression, but his sickly gray pallor made him look just as frightened and filled with dread as I felt. Without speaking, he reached over the wooden arm of the chair and pulled me to him.
Despite my initial instinct to lean away from his comforting embrace, I found that I couldn’t. Instead I sank into him, savoring the warmth he offered as the icy chill of fear raced through my veins. I didn’t want to need him––or any man––but I found myself unable to resist his quiet strength.
The announcement over the loudspeaker finally silenced. I had to assume that meant the emergency that had prompted it was being properly handled by the appropriate medical personnel.
My legs jiggled up and down as we waited for news on what had happened. A quick glance around the crowded waiting room told me that everyone else was anxious, too, wondering whose family member was facing a life or death moment.
I locked eyes with another mother, whose face was drawn down into a weary mask of despair. She looked like she would gladly trade places with her loved one that was behind the swinging doors. Her expression perfectly mirrored my feelings in that moment. We gave each other a single nod of understanding before looking away, once more lost in our own downward spiral of frightened thoughts.
The silence in the waiting room was almost deafening. The intrusive code announcement had been so alarming that the quiet after it finished seemed wrong. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of frantic beeping and shuffling was happening behind those damn doors. It wasn’t fair of the hospital staff to keep us sequestered like this, with no idea what was happening with our family members.
Proving that he was on the same wavelength, Levi let out a frustrated huff of air. “They need to give us an update. Don’t they know people are sitting out here worried half-to-death about their loved ones?”
His outrage on our behalf was touching and a little surprising. Levi had always been one of the most laid-back, reserved people I knew––except when he was performing on stage. Seeing him get riled up was new and would have been refreshing if I hadn’t been overcome with terror for my only child’s wellbeing.
Evidently having enough of our patiently-waiting routine, Levi eased his arm out from around me and stood to approach the reception desk. I immediately missed his comforting touch, even though I tried to tell myself that I didn’t.
Speaking in a kind, but firm tone, he said to the front desk clerks, “We need an update on Harper Stark’s condition.”
One of the women clacked her fingernails on a keyboard before looking up at him. The hesitation and subsequent softening in her expression before she spoke made me even more certain that Harper was the reason for the code. “The doctors will be out to give you an update soon.”
Levi glared at her for what seemed like an eternity. His shoulders were rising and falling with deep breaths. It was obvious that he was weighing his options about how to proceed. Obviously deciding that he wasn’t going to get any further with her, he nodded once before turning to return to the seating area where I was waiting.
“I feel so useless,” he admitted sadly as he sat back down beside me.
I knew exactly how that felt. Nodding, I said, “I should be in there doing something to help my little girl, not sitting out here waiting and wondering.”
“You’re doing everything you can. She knows you’re here and pulling for her,” he assured me softly.
When I shifted my weight in the increasingly uncomfortable waiting room chair, the swelling in my ankle caught Levi’s attention. “Your ankle! It’s huge. That must be painful.”
I gave my foot a surprised glance. My mind had been so consumed with worry for Harper that I’d completely forgotten about my sprain.
“You should get that x-rayed,” Levi suggested.
I was already shaking my head before he finished the sentence. “It’s just a sprain,” I told him confidently. He looked like he was getting ready to question how I could know that, so I shut him down by saying, “I’m not going anywhere until I know my little girl is okay.”
He nodded his understanding of that before brightening with an idea. “I’ll go get you a bag of ice for it.”
Although my ankle was very far down on my priority list, Levi looked so anxious to do something to help, I said, “That would be great, and while you’re at it, swing by the restroom and clean up that gash on your forehead.”
Looking thrilled to have an important mission, Levi darted up out of his chair.
As much as I hated to admit it––even to myself––I desperately missed having his steady presence by my side while he was gone. I would need to make sure to guard my heart and not get too used to having him to lean on during this crisis because he was sure to go back to his real life once things calmed down here.
Levi had the proud look of a triumphant warrior returning with an impressive kill as he brought the plastic bag of ice to me. Once he sat down, he gingerly lifted my leg to support it with his own before pressing the cold pack against my injured ankle. I winced at the chill, but had to admit the constant throbbing pain I’d barely taken note of began to subside almost immediately as numbness replaced the ache.
