28
Gigi
Scary words—brain swelling, brain trauma, possible fractured vertebrae, induced coma, and worst of all, ‘we won’t know the total extent of his injuries until he wakes up’—were being thrown around by the nurses and doctors.
When I asked when they thought Trey would wake up, the doctor looked at me with sympathy in his eyes and said, “We just don’t know yet. His injuries are significant, and his body needs time to heal.”
I’d texted Dr. Barnes as soon as we’d arrived. He didn’t even say hello. Instead, he said, “Sweetheart, I’m on my way.” I verified which hospital we were at, then he said, “You tell him he better be okay, or his big brother’s going to kick his ass.”
And I did tell Trey that.
I just wasn’t sure he could hear me. All the tubes and machines he was connected to beeped incessantly. It seemed surreal that my friend was somewhere underneath all that mess.
His face was even more swollen now.
If someone had told me it was Trey in the bed—and I didn’t know for sure—I’d think they were lying to me.
Nothing about that lifeless body in that pristine, white bed resembled anything of him.
My phone beeped, and I peered down at it.
It was Beau wondering what was going on.
I’d been texting him every time I had another update, even though the game had still been going on. I knew he’d look at his phone as soon as he could.
I texted him back that there was nothing new to report since my last message.
“Ah, Brother. You really did a number on yourself this time,” Dr. Barnes said from the doorway. I stood up and walked over to him.
My arms circled around his middle and I hugged him tight. “It doesn’t look good.” Then I told him everything I knew about Trey’s condition.
“Yeah, that’s definitely a whole lotta not good. Thanks for being here with him, sweetheart. It was nice to know he had family with him in that ambulance.” Dr. Barnes had told me a while ago he considered me family. But hearing it in this context meant so much.
I gazed up at him. “How’d you know I was with him?” I asked, thinking it had to be more than a wild guess on his part.
He chuckled and held me tighter. “Saw you hurdle that railing like a darn pro. I was sitting in the next section and I knew you’d find a way to catch a ride. I would have been here sooner, but traffic was terrible.”
We sat with Trey for a while, holding his hands and talking softly to him.
When my phone buzzed again, I excused myself and left to find Beau.
He and the other guys were in the waiting room. Never had there been a more sullen group.
Beau strode up to me, scooping me up in his arms as I went. He didn’t say anything, just buried his face in my neck and breathed in deeply.
We held each other like that for few minutes until he let go.
Then I spoke to the team.
I went over everything the doctors had told me about Trey’s condition—even though I was one hundred percent certain Beau had already relayed all my messages.
It helped to hear it more than once.
I didn’t know why, but it just did.
After that, I answered their questions to the best of my ability.
Which wasn’t great, but I tried my hardest to give them answers.