“What if she doesn’t?” I instantly felt guilty for saying those words.
“She will,” Raven said. “She has to.”
I didn’t know how long I stood there staring out into the open parking lot before me. I watched people come and people go, some crying, others smiling and even laughing. I knew that our sadness was not their fault, but every time I saw someone who was happy, it grated on my nerves.
“I need the family of Maddison—” I didn’t even wait for him to finish her name before I was running toward him, practically shouting yes as I closed in on him. “Are you family of Ms. Douglas?” A round of yeses echoed throughout the waiting area.
The doctor repeated the surprised look the first doctor expressed before he quickly recovered.
“First and foremost, Ms. Douglas’ vitals are good. She is stable.” A humming noise filled my ears, and I reached out to steady myself on the counter at my side. “Her ankle is broken, and we’ve done surgery to repair the damage to her tendons and muscles that were compromised from the fall and the continuous trauma she’d suffered.”
The words “trauma” and “suffered” made my stomach churn.
“Our concern is the nerve damage may be so extensive that she may never get full functioning of her foot again. She will have to go through physical therapy when she’s able to.”
All things we could deal with. Hell, I’d carry her everywhere we went if I had to.
“The injury to her head is a little more concerning.” And there it was. “The fall mixed with the continuous batting of her skull against the ground.” My vision grew blurry. “There is a lot swelling, especially to the left side of her face. Her jawbone, her eye socket, all suffered from the impact.”
“What are you saying?” Alexis asked, and if I thought I couldn’t break any more, I was proved wrong in that very moment. Maddison’s mom looked completely lost, and her father, I had never in my life seen Colt cry. Then Colton was sitting in the corner, his body hunched over, shaking heavily as Gran tried her best to soothe him.
“What I’m saying is that your daughter’s injuries are extensive, but unfortunately we will not know the severity of them until she’s awake and is able to talk to us.”
“But what can be caused by this type of injury?” I knew this, I didn’t need him to break it down for me, but I knew everyone else needed to hear it, and I couldn’t be the one to explain. My heart couldn’t take it.
“In some cases, the patient wakes up, and with monitoring of the swelling, they can make a complete recovery. But there are those rare cases where a patient doesn’t recover completely. They may suffer from speech deficiencies, among other struggles.”
“And her memory?” The doctor looked at me, and for a split second, I thought he might recognize me.
“She may suffer some temporary memory loss or…” He paused, his throat bobbing when he swallowed hard. “It could also become permanent.”
An echoing silence filled the waiting area, and I found that I suddenly wanted to punch something. No, I wanted to pulverize something until I’d reached the point where I had lost all feelings in my hands. Pivoting around, I walked down the long corridor that led to outside, and the second my feet hit the concrete pavement, I started to run. Not because I couldn’t face it; the last thing I wanted to do was leave Maddison. The problem was if I didn’t leave, I would explode, and I needed to get rid of some of the anger I felt.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chloe
“Has anyone heard from him?” I asked as I looked around the waiting room. Everyone instantly looked at their phones, like magically there would be a message from Mike saying, I’m here and all is good. Does anyone need coffee?
A collective “no” was spoken, followed by those shaking their heads. Maria looked worried, sad, and to be honest lost.
“Does anyone have Landon’s number?”
Again, everyone shook their heads and said no, except Rhett.
“I don’t think I have Landon, but I’m sure Terrance does. They’ve been hanging out lately.” He was already dialing his phone as he stood and gave AJ, who looked half asleep, a kiss on her forehead. The baby was with her parents.
Reed and Kori were still in the back visiting with Grace, who we’d been told was awake and talking. She was also continuously asking about Maddison and me. I hadn’t found the strength yet to go back and see her because I knew the moment I did, I was only going to fall apart again.
“Mr. and Mrs. Douglas.” A tall, older doctor stepped in and looked around the group. Colton stood and helped Alexis up as they moved closer. “Your daughter is back from her MRI. She is in her room. If you would like to go back now and see her, I can take you. However, I do need you to understand that she has a lot of swelling and bruising. She doesn’t appear as the Maddison you’ll expect. We do have a plastic surgeon coming in to have a look, but unfortunately, it will be a while before those procedures can take place.”
This was insane. All of it. We were out on a ride, having a great time. We were teasing Grace about Terrance, they were teasing me about my humiliating moment with Landon, and we were all laughing. Maddison was on cloud nine, talking about the house they were renting and Mike. Hell, every single time his name was mentioned, she would beam with such joy it was blinding.
We all watched as Maddison’s parents were led back, holding hands with Colton trailing close behind.
“Sweetheart.” I looked up to see my mother standing
