Page 74 of Wreckage of Us
“Just say it, Oliver,” I nudge him when I can’t take it anymore.
“We got the chest wound under control,” he assures me. “But we found he had a subdural hematoma…”
“What the hell does that mean?” Arlene explodes from next to me. Maybe we celebrated too soon.
“Blood clot in the brain,” I whisper and fall back against the wall. “But you said he’s okay,” my eyes fill with tears.
“He is. We went in through his groin, and we got it. But he’s sleeping now, it may take him a while to wake up… And don’t freak out on me, but we had to put him on a vent. He needed a bit of help breathing,” Oliver explains, sounding almost apologetic about it. “But he’ll be fine. We just need him to wake up. And he can’t do anything physical for a while once he goes home.”
I stick both hands in my hair and sigh. I am exhausted.
“Doctor,” Arlene asks more gently now that we’ve been assured Dylan is okay. “When can we see my son?”
“He is in recovery now,” Oliver smiles at her in response. “We’re going to keep him in ICU for observation for another twenty-four hours, then we’ll go from there. He just needs rest now.”
“So we can’t see him?” Her voice hitches at the end, and I can so relate to that.
Oliver just stares at her with an indecisive look on his face. He looks at me too, almost as if he’s asking me for guidance.
He finally lets out a deep breath. “Normally I’d say only one person at a time. But it won’t hurt him any to have you both in there with him.”
“Thank you so much,” I jump and wrap my arms around him.
“Hey now,” Oliver chuckles. “You’re gonna get me in trouble when he wakes up.”
“He’ll be fine with it,” I lie through my teeth.
21
Dylan
“I wantto stay here all summer long,” Ethan tells me in a serious tone.
“All summer long?” I raise my eyebrows in surprise.
“To visit with the baby,” he points to somewhere behind me. When I turn, the picture in front of me is taking my breath away. Becca is standing in front of the large sliding door of our living room. A small bundle of a human is tucked against her chest, and Becca is kissing her head.
Our little daughter…
“I told you it’d be a girl,” Ethan smirks knowingly. “You should let me name her, Dad.” His entire face lights up when he tells me that, and I can’t resist when he calls meDad.
“Okay,” I agree. “But it better not be Peter,” I bop him on the nose and tease him as I refer to the name he picked for Wyatt’s daughter.
“Dylan,” Ethan bobs his head up and down with so much force, I fear it’ll hurt his neck.
“Dylan?” My heart speeds up in my chest. “That’s a boy’s name.”
“I like it,” he shrugs. “When I grow up,” he continues, “I will name my daughter Dylan.”
I am left momentarily speechless. This kid has my heart in ways I didn’t think possible.
I turn my head again to look at Becca holding our baby, but she’s not there anymore.
“Becca,” I call for her. “Becca,” I repeat more forcefully when she doesn’t respond.
“I’m here, baby,” she whispers in my ear. “I’m always here.”
“Where?” I gasp in fear. “Where are you?”
