Page 4 of Knox
All I know is she’s still in surgery but may be put in a medically induced coma. How are things there?
Fuck. That’s horrible. We’re good here though. Had some dinner and now we’re watching a movie. Is there anything I can do?
No but I can’t leave her here alone
Understandable
And looks like you’ll be doing bedtime after all. Give little man a hug and kiss from me
Will do. Love you
Love you too
About an hour later, the nurse from before peeked her head into the room. Once she saw me, she walked over. “She madeit through surgery and is stable, but they did put her into a medically induced coma because of the swelling in her brain.”
I swallowed. “Can I see her?”
The nurse hesitated. “Sure, but only for a minute.”
I followed her down the corridor. My shoes squeaked against the polished floor, echoing loudly in the otherwise quiet hallway.
When we got to the room, I stopped just inside the doorway. Mallory barely took up half the bed. A ventilator tube was taped to her mouth, while the machine beside her hissed with every breath it forced into her lungs. IV lines snaked from her arms, and a thick bandage encircled her head. Her left arm was in a cast, elevated slightly by a rolled towel, and I could see dark bruises along her cheek and jaw. The thin hospital gown had shifted just enough for scrapes along her collarbone to show. Only a few hours ago she was laughing, and now, as I looked at her, the thought that she might never wake up knocked the breath right out of my chest.
I walked over to her and clasped her hand with mine.
“The doctors are hopeful the swelling will go down enough so they can lower the anesthesia and she’ll wake up on her own, but it’s too early to tell,” the nurse explained.
I nodded, not able to say anything because what was there to say? It was up to Mallory.
“Is there any way I can stay in the room with her?” I asked.
The nurse started to shake her head.
“Please,” I begged. “I’m all she has until her mom gets here. If something were to happen—” I couldn’t finish the sentence. “I don’t want her to be alone.”
If she didn’t wake up, if this turned into something worse, Mallory deserved more than to slip away in a room without family beside her. She needed someone who knew her. Someone who had memorized her laugh, someone who had shared yearsof history with her, who had been there for the good and the bad, who loved her as more than the broken body lying in that bed.
I needed to stay because she mattered.
And because even if nothing official said it, we were a family.
Grady deserved to know someone had stayed with his mom. That she hadn’t been alone. That no matter what, Mal was loved.
3
Knox
I staredat my phone for a moment after Crew’s last message. It had been several hours since Mallory left for what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend at the spa. Now, she was in the hospital, and we still didn’t know if she was going to be okay. I couldn’t imagine how Crew was feeling, sitting in the same building but unable to do anything to help her.
Not long after I put my phone down, the movie ended, and I stood. “All right, it’s time to get ready for bed.”
Grady climbed off the couch and begrudgingly followed me down the hall, making a pit stop in the bathroom before we went to his room.
“I want to wear my fire truck jammies,” Grady whined as I dug through his dresser drawers, looking for the specific pajamas he requested.
“I think those might be at your mom’s house because I’m not seeing them in here.” I held up a sports-themed pair. “How about these?”
“No! I want fire trucks.”
