Page 55 of Only With Me
“He has a concussion and a head wound, but there’s no cerebral edema, so that’s positive. He didn’t break any ribs or any other bones, which is impressive considering how fast he went down,” the doctor explains.
My palm clenches my chest at the relief I feel.
“Oh, thank goodness,” my mom says, squeezing my hand. “Can we see him?”
“We have him on some meds to keep him comfortable and he’ll stay overnight for observation, but if all goes well, y’all can take him home tomorrow afternoon.”
Mom nods at the doctor. “Thank you. I appreciate you takin’ good care of him.”
“Of course. As soon as he’s transported to a patient room, you can go up there.”
“Might take an hour or so to get the paperwork through and find a room, but I’ll page you or find you in the waitin’ room,” the nurse adds. By the looks of it, they know each other.
“Thanks, Paige. We’ll sit out there and wait for my other daughter, too.”
I can’t help the tears of relief that fall down my cheeks. I hate that he’s alone right now, but hopefully pain free and comfortable for once.
“C’mon, sweetie. We should call Delilah and give her the news.”
She texted earlier and said it’d be a couple more hours before she could leave since there wasn’t another manager available to cover her shift.
Wiping my face, we walk out the ER doors, and I’m startled when I hear Noah calling my name. But then I see her parents and all of her siblings, except Wilder.
Noah rushes toward me and Waylon gets to his feet, which is weird because he was just at the café a couple hours ago. So whatever they’re doing here had to have just happened.
“What’s wrong?” Noah asks.
Her gaze moves over my face in concern and then down to my bandaged hand.
“It’s my dad,” I tell her. “He fell.”
“Oh my goodness, is he okay?”
“He has a concussion and is banged up a bit, but overall, he’ll be okay. They’re keepin’ him overnight, so we’re just waitin’ for ’em to move him to a room.”
“That’s a relief. I’m glad it ain’t too bad.”
“Wait, what’re y’all doin’ here?” I ask.
“Waylon found Wilder unconscious in the barn. We’re still waitin’ on answers.” Her voice is strained like she’s trying to hold back tears.
“Oh no. I’m so sorry.”
She smiles weakly. “Thanks.”
“Harlow, I’m gonna call Delilah outside. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, Mama. I’ll wait here.”
“Come sit by us.” Noah leads me over to the rest of the family, and it feels awkward with Wilder’s condition up in the air.
“What happened to your dad?” Waylon asks, taking me by surprise. I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve heard his voice in the past four years.
I explain everything, from the bathroom door being blocked to why my hand is bandaged and how he fell and smacked his head on the countertop.
“Thank goodness he’s okay,” Waylon says.
“Yeah, I’m lucky I got home when I did. If my date hadn’t stood me up, who knows if it would’ve made things worse finding him later.”
