“Are you okay?” I wrapped my arms around Micah the instant I got to him. “You don’t look okay.”
“I’ll be fine. The doctors checked me out. They’d love to get me in a bed and keep me overnight, but I was too worried about Brody.” Micah took a step back and grimaced. “I’m sorry, I did everything I could to get him out of that fire before it got too bad.”
“Where is he?” I looked towards the doors that led to the area where most of the patients were kept. “Can I see him?”
“Not yet, but soon. I just spoke with the doctor about ten minutes ago. Brody’s mask got damaged and he inhaled a lot of smoke.” Micah’s face twisted into a sorrow filled stare. “I’m sorry, I did everything I could…”
We sat down and Micah went through everything that happened. I could see the pain on his face. He seemed to blame himself, but I knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to Brody if it was within his control. My stomach was in knots, and I really needed to see Brody. Even if he wasn’t in good shape, if I could just see him—know that he was breathing—hear the doctor tell me he was going to be okay. That would have been better than sitting in the waiting room. We sat there for nearly thirty minutes before the doctor appeared at the door and motioned for us. Brody was in the ICU, but the doctor agreed to let us go back, even if we weren’t actually family. I was just thankful I was going to get to see him. He led me down the hallway and when I saw Brody laying in the bed with a ventilator, the tears just started to fall uncontrollably.
“The worst part is over. We’ve got him stabilized and he should be able to breathe on his own soon, but we left the ventilator in as a precaution.” The doctor pushed the door open. “You can sit with him for a little bit, but I can’t let you stay long.”
“Thank you—thank you so much.” I swallowed hard and walked over to the bed.
“He’s going to be okay.” Micah walked up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. “You know he’s a tough son of a bitch.”
“He doesn’t look like one—not right now.” I squeezed Brody’s hand and prayed he would wake up when he heard my voice.
Micah sat down beside me and I held Brody’s hand as I spoke to him. I told him how much I cared for him and begged him to come back to me. I wasn’t even sure what I was saying half the time—it was just my heart pouring out emotions through my words. I realized how much I loved Brody. I didn’t care if the relationship was new, or if it was too soon for me to have that kind of feeling. Brody meant the world to me. He was my world—or at least half of it. I needed both of them more than I understood before the harsh reality of losing Brody was in front of me. The tears wouldn’t stop falling, but I didn’t care. A river could have formed at my feet and I wouldn’t have even noticed. I just needed to see those eyes open and look at me the way they always did. If I could have that, I would know he wasn’t lost.
“I love you so much, Brody. Don’t leave me—not now. Not after we’ve finally found each other.” I squeezed his hand hard even as mine trembled.
“Wendy?” A voice suddenly snapped me out of my despair and I turned my head quickly.
“Beth!” My mouth fell open in shock.
Wendy
I didn’t know what to say to Beth. I wasn’t sure how much she heard, but the look on her face confirmed that she heard enough to know something was going on. After staring at me with her eyes as wide as saucers for a couple of seconds, she rushed to Brody’s side. Micah took my hand and stood. He motioned for me to come with him, and gave my hand a slight tug. I realized that he was right. We needed to give the room to Beth. It didn’t matter how much I cared about Brody, Beth was his daughter. I tried to put my hand on Beth’s shoulder, but she immediately pulled away. Her lip twitched, but it wasn’t just sorrow—she was angry.
I guess I understand why she’s upset.
I wiped away a couple of tears and followed Micah to the door. I looked back one last time before leaving and saw Beth breaking down into sobs. I wanted to be there for her. I was her best friend, and I had betrayed that friendship when I got involved with her father. There was no way Beth would understand when she was already upset. It definitely wasn’t the right time to discuss it.
Micah and I walked back out into the waiting room. I wasn’t sure how long we would be there, but there was no way I was leaving until Brody was awake. Micah walked over and fixed two coffees while I tried to get enough of my emotions under control to stop crying. When he returned, I had at least stopped the worst of it.
“Are you sure you don’t need to be in a hospital bed next to Brody?” I looked over at Micah as he sat down and grimaced.
“I’ll be fine.” He waved me off and sipped his coffee. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you Beth was on her way. I thought it would take her longer to get here.”
“It’s okay. I should have been more careful with what I said. I was just so overwhelmed—I didn’t even think about other people overhearing me.” I sighed and took a drink of my coffee.
“We were going to have to tell her at some point, anyway.” Micah shook his head and then stared at the floor. “I just wish Brody could have been part of the discussion.”
“What’s done is done. Beth’s my best friend. It will be difficult, but I believe she will understand once she gets over the shock.” I took another sip of my coffee and held the cup in my hands. “I’ll let her have the time she needs, and once Brody is out of the hospital, we’ll sit down with her.”
I tried to rationalize my thoughts in my head, but deep down, I was afraid Beth would view what I did as betrayal. She was in a fragile state, which would only make things worse at the moment. The doctor was lenient and let her stay in ICU with her father for nearly an hour. Micah told me more about the fire, the way it got out of control, and the rescue mission they were part of. I couldn’t help but smile when he talked about Brody demanding that he rescue the dog. I looked up and saw a television that was still broadcasting news about the fire, but it was on mute. It looked like things were still bad, but they had the worst of it under control. My sorrow started to settle down a little bit as time passed, but when I saw Beth walking out of ICU, the feeling returned.
“I should talk to her—I should at least try.” I watched as Beth walked into the waiting area—and then walked across the room to sit as far away fr
om us as possible.
“Not yet.” Micah sighed and shook his head. “Give her space. This isn’t going to be easy for her.”
“I know.” I nodded and sipped my coffee.
The doctor came back a few times before the end of his shift. He seemed to understand that there were issues, so he talked to us separately. I was glad that Beth still let him talk to us, especially since we weren’t family. Hours went by, and then we got word that Brody’s ventilator had been removed. He was breathing on his own, but he hadn’t woken up. They were going to keep monitoring him until morning and then determine if more treatment was needed. The new doctor seemed more concerned than the previous one, and mentioned that Brody could have brain damage because of the carbon monoxide poisoning. I didn’t want to think about that. I just wanted him to open his eyes and smile the way he always did. If I could see that smile—just once—I would know things were going to be okay.
“Do you want more coffee?” I stared at my empty cup and looked over to Brody.