Page 126 of 2204 Hunter Lane
“He got admitted to the ICU. It’s fuckin’ serious.”
ICU. Intensive care. Why would he need intensive care? Why would he need any care? He was okay. I could take care of him. I could fix him, I could help, I could…
My knees hit the ground before I even realized I was falling. The frost penetrated my jeans, tickling my skin and numbing my body. But I was already numb before it could puncture any other part of me. I was already frail, and weak and cut open by razor blades as I looked upon the crash.
“Get up. Let’s go.” Dex ordered, sniffing as he lifted me to his side and secured me under his arm.
We walked and walked and walked. I dragged my feet across the ice until I fumbled with the passenger handle and locked myself away in Dex’s truck. I was here not too long ago, before I knew what was to come. Maybe I can find that place again. Maybe if I settle in the same position, I’ll find that blind comfort I lost.
But as we drove towards the direction of the hospital, my thoughts spiralled out of control.
Is he dead?
Is he breathing?
Is my Hunter still with me?
He has to be. I can’t lose him. He can’t lose me.
Wecan’t lose us.
My dad’s words replayed in my mind as I gripped Dex’s arm, the skin of a Lane, and repeated, “if you aren’t willing to fight for what you’re after, you don’t deserve it in the first place.”
Well, I deserve you Hunter Lane.
And you deserve me.
???
“I’m sorry ma’am, he’s in surgery right now. You can’t see him.”
The nurse had spoken to the paramedics who informed her of what happened at the scene. Apparently Hunter had slid on a patch of black ice while he was turning and flipped his truck over. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand how that was possible because his truck was huge and he drove safe for the most part… at least now he did.
“Surgery for what?” Dex pried, a grovelling mess next to me.
“Hunter sustained life-threatening injuries, Mr. Lane. I don’t know if you want to hear the –”
“Spit it out, goddamnit!”
Normally, I would’ve sided with any health care worker and defended their position to carry professional composure, but my mind was a bees nest of anxiety and fear. All I needed to know was one thing.
“Is he alive?” I whimpered, rubbing my eyes for the hundredth time in thirty minutes.
She nodded. “He is. But Hunter is suffering from multiple bone fractures and cerebral edema.”
“Cerebral edema?” Dex questioned.
“Brain swelling. There’s a significant amount of fluid build up in his brain from the trauma of the crash, and we are doing everything we can to –”
“You better be. You fuckin’ better be.” He threw up a finger and pointed directly in the nurses’ face. “If my boy dies on a metal table, without me, I’m going to sue this fuckin’ hospital.”
“Dex, they’re…” I needed to fight this pain, I needed to. I couldn’t drop down to the ground again, not with the reality settling into Dex’s mind. “They’re going to patch him up. He’ll be okay.”
The nurse smiled sadly before mumbling a soft “I’m sorry” and returned back into the staff quarters.
“Dex…”
“I need a minute.” He walked towards the seating area and took a spot near the window, burying his face in his hands.
