"Will do." I get out of the truck and head back to Garrett. Nothing has changed, and as I stand there, I take better stock of him. There’s lots of shattered glass, and the blood seems to be coming from a cut on his forehead. While I’m trying to get a look at the rest of his body without moving him, Geo arrives in another ranch truck.
From that moment on, everything is hazy. Geo takes control, gets the emergency crew out, and they remove Garrett from the truck and then take him to the hospital. We follow behind the ambulance. Geo drives me, as I’m shaky. When we get to the hospital, they whisk him away behind the emergency room doors.
Geo and I are forced to wait and told to fill out forms. How do they expect you to concentrate on forms when you don't know if your loved one is alive or dead behind those doors?
Before I know it, my dad is there. Probably, because Geo called him. The moment his arms wrap around me, I start crying. I don't have to be strong anymore, because my dad is there to be strong for me. Geo tells him the details of what happened, and then we sit and wait.
When the doctor finally comes out, I'm terrified.
"Family of Garrett Hayes?" The doctor asks.
"That's us." The three of us stand and don't even flinch.
"He's still unconscious. As you know, he hit his head in the crash, so we’re monitoring him. He has a few bruised ribs and lots of cuts and scrapes. For a few of them, he needed stitches. We had to give him a blood transfusion because he had lost so much thanks to the deeper cut on his leg. Now, it's just a wait and see for when he wakes up. Meanwhile, we’ll be monitoring his brain to make sure he's okay."
"Can we see him?" I ask.
"We are getting him settled in his room, and then I’ll have a nurse take you up. Keep the lights dim in there, because when he does wake up, harsh lights will be painful to him."
So now, we wait.
Kaylee
From the moment they brought us back to Garrett's room, I haven't left his side. The doctor wasn't joking around about him being all banged up. He has cuts and bruises everywhere. His head is wrapped up because one of the biggest cuts was on his forehead, and that's where all the blood I saw came from.
He’s connected to an IV and all sorts of machines. I try not to think too hard about what they do, because it can get a bit scary. Instead, I just sit next to his bed and hold his hand.
My dad has stayed with me. He goes and gets food, and then makes sure I eat. He called Becca and told her what was going on, so she could tell work. She's covering for me there, and even packed me a bag of clothes with my bathroom stuff and brought it down last night.
Garrett's parents got in this morning and came right from the airport to see him. His mom cried, and they hugged me, but we didn't talk about too much. I think they were still processing it all.
Geo took them out to the ranch, where they’ll stay, while here. Since Geo has been taking care of the ranch, Garrett's dad said he'd help, too. I'm sure he wants something to keep him busy because we are all just waiting for Garrett to wake up.
It's been three days, and the nurse and doctor keep saying he should wake up any time now. The nurse told me again when she stepped in to check on him.
"I’m really hating that phrase," I mumble.
Behind me, my dad chuckles, "Me too, sweetheart."
My phone dings, and it's Becca checking in. Keeping one hand in Garrett’s, I answer her that there’s no change, and we’re still just waiting.
I finish texting her when there’s a light knock on the door. I look up to find Carter Grant and his wife, Janie, at the door with a brown bag.
"Violet sent us with some food," Janie says, as she takes the bag from Carter.
"And to check and see how you’re doing," Carter says.
"Still just waiting. I wish I had more news, but until he wakes up, we just don't know anything."
"Waiting is the worst. Would you like a bit of company?" Janie asks.
"That would be nice." I smile at her.
Janie is the pastor’s daughter, and we never really ran in the same circles. Though, she has always been really nice to me and Garrett in the past.
"How about you take a walk with me? I could use some fresh air," my dad says to Carter.
Cater looks over hesitantly at Janie, who nods and gives him a big smile, before he agrees.