Race to His Heart

by Sara Noble

  “What’s she doing?” Maddie whispered as she kept her eyes suspiciously on Makaela.

  Patty only shrugged her shoulders.

  After a few long minutes, Makaela noticed them staring at her. She turned and glanced up, still frowning. A single tear slid down her stained cheeks. She let go of the damaged hand she was holding and opened her palm to show them a sparkling object. There she held the engagement ring Connor had given her, all four carats of it.

  Maddie thought it was odd that it was off of her finger. She waited for Makaela to explain. Instead, she rose to her feet and approached Patty. Her eyes were pointed to the floor the entire ten paces to the opening of the curtain. When Makaela stopped before Patty, she looked up and switched glances between them both. Then she held the ring in front of Patty and dropped it into her palm.

  “Here. I won’t be needing this anymore.”

  “Wh…wh…why?” Patty stuttered.

  “Connor doesn’t love me.” Makaela’s voice was weak and frail.

  Patty and Maddie looked at each other, both completely surprised by Makaela’s actions. Maddie couldn’t help but feel a teensy bit happy about her sudden revelation. It definitely increased her chances of repairing the damage to her heart.

  “Are you going to explain this to my son? You can’t just walk away while we’re waiting for him to come out of this!”

  Makaela began to turn away. “You can tell him. He probably won’t ever want to see me again.”

  “Why?”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.” With that reply, she turned and walked out of the room. The click of her high-heeled boots echoed down the hallway until they could no longer hear it.

  “What the hell?” Patty asked out loud. She threw back the curtain and shrugged when there was no sign of Makaela.

  Maddie cleared her throat. “Sounds like she’s breaking up with Connor. But why? Why now?”

  “I'll tell you what; this day is getting stranger and stranger,” Patty said as she settled into the chair beside Connor. She clasped her hand around his and smiled at him as he slept. “For some reason I don’t think this will upset my son. I doubt that he will chase after her.”

  Maddie took her spot next to the bed and gazed fondly at the love of her life who was still unaware of all the drama around them. So many questions ran through her tired mind. She was sure Connor would have plenty of his own once he came back to consciousness.

  “Obviously, something else was going on that we didn’t know about,” Patty said. “I bet Connor can clue us in later. Until then, we’ll have no idea.”

  Maddie had an interesting thought. “I bet Casey knows something. Or Jackson. Those guys are close friends, right? I’m sure they’d been talking in the garage or mentioned it behind closed doors.”

  Patty pursed her lips. “Maybe. I gotta call them soon, anyway. They’re all back at the speedway still, trying to tie up some loose ends. Poor Mason was left with a lot of baggage out there. He’s worried as hell about Connor.”

  “I’m surprised they’re not all here in the waiting room,” Maddie said, recalling seeing some crewmembers of Austin Smuthers’ team in the lobby downstairs when she had arrived.

  “Well, Jackson and Mark came over to the hospital in ‘dega. In fact, Mark drove us since I was too distraught to drive myself. Jim wasn’t doing well, either. But when they decided to air lift Connor over here they wanted to stay and help Lucas clean up the mess.”

  “Where is Jim, by the way? I haven’t seen him around.”

  Patty sighed. “He was being interviewed by race officials about an hour before you got here. Then he said something about hospital paperwork. We had a rep follow us out here to get all the details. I didn’t feel like talking to him, so Jim is taking care of it. He’s probably almost done and should be coming back up here soon.”

  “Oh,” Maddie sighed. “Is he doing better now that Connor seems stable? I mean, despite the fact that he’s still unconscious, but breathing.”

  “It’s hard to tell.” Patty turned her head back to Connor and said, “You gave us all quite a scare, didn’t you honey?” She patted his hand and left her seat. “You want to sit there now? I’m going to find Jim. Your mother disappeared, too.” She motioned to the chair with her hand.

  “Sure,” Maddie answered quietly and took her spot.

  Patty disappeared behind the curtain again and Maddie was left alone with the patient. She gently swept her fingers across his bruised and battered face. She led them over the top of his head and felt the hair on her fingertips. Specks of blood were crusted over behind his ears and on the back of his neck below the hairline. Maddie wondered why the hospital staff couldn’t have cleaned him up better.

  Her thoughts turned back to Makaela. It was becoming more difficult for Maddie to be happy about the impromptu break up between the two, even though it had been her biggest wish for months. Judging by Patty’s observations, Connor will probably be okay with it. There was just something not right with the whole situation and it ate Maddie like a termite chewing on wood. She did something, something real bad.

  Maddie had no idea what it could be, though. She thought long and hard while she sat next to Connor. She remembered that he had carefully avoided the topic of his fiancée whenever possible and didn’t mention much about her life outside of him. She shook the thoughts away and decided it was more important to pray for him to wake up and let them all know he was going to be okay. The thought of not knowing if he would be able to walk, or even talk again, clouded her mind. "He’s going to be okay," she murmured to herself, over and over like a mantra.

  A sound stirred Maddie from her thoughts. The curtains swung open again and a pleasant looking nurse popped inside the tiny space. She had a bright pink stethoscope hung around her neck and wore the cutest Minnie Mouse scrubs that Maddie had ever seen. A soft smile formed on the nurse’s mouth as she noticed Maddie holding Connor’s hand and leaning close to him.

  “Hey, I’m Jackie and I’ll be taking Mr. Gray up to his room now. Are you a relative?” She studied Maddie’s face while she waited for an answer.

  “Huh? Oh, no. I’m not. I’m a good friend. Patty brought me up here. I hope that’s okay?”

  “Well, as long as you all keep quiet I’m okay with it. It’ll be more private when we get him up to the room. Would you like to walk with us?” The nurse made her way around to the other side of the bed and unlocked the grips on the wheels.

  Maddie nodded. “Yeah, sure. I can help.”

  “Thanks, dear,” Jackie said quietly. She seemed to move the rolling hospital bed effortlessly out of the intensive care unit and into an elevator at the end of the long corridor that branched off from the main hallway. Jackie explained a few things once the doors closed.

  “I saw Mrs. Gray on the way to get him so she knows her son is coming up here.”

  “Okay, good. Thanks.” Maddie smiled the best she could, which was still quite weak.

  “Also, you should know that any type of movement or communication should be reported to a nurse right away. Do you plan on staying throughout the night?”

  Maddie hadn’t thought of anything else she would be doing that night. It was already into the early morning hours. She may as well forget about sleep for a while.

  “I’ll be here. Don’t worry; I’ll let you know if he wakes up. I’m hoping it will be soon.”

  “He needs his rest. His body went through a lot.”

  “Right,” agreed Maddie, feeling guilty for wanting to speed along the process for her own sake. She felt like she would explode from anticipation if she didn’t talk to him soon.

  The nurse settled Connor into his new room and checked his vital signs again. Maddie watched from the corner while Jackie sponged off the wounds and other marks from his skin. He was still banged up, but looked better nonetheless. Finally, she was finished and Maddie thanked her as she left.

  Connor continued to sleep through the entire move-and-sponge bath p
rocess, which got her thinking that not even a fire alarm would wake him that night. She quietly dragged a chair next to his bed and took back up with holding his hand. She watched him for a while, watched his chest gingerly rise and fall with each breath. It didn’t take her long to become sleepy and so she set her head on the stiff pillow under his shoulders and closed her eyes.

  ***

  A soft pressure on her head woke Maddie up sometime before dawn. She pried her eyes open as she straightened up and out of the awkward position she had folded herself into at Connor’s side. Her eyes widened with surprise and relief.

  “Hey, babe,” Connor muttered through bruised lips. His eyes twinkled beneath the tiny slits of his eyelids. He looked pale under the road rash.

  Maddie couldn’t believe her eyes. “Connor,” she choked out. That had started the tears. She couldn’t hold back the emotions as he attempted a little smile and squeezed his fingers around hers. She folded over the side of the bed again and nuzzled into his chest. The water poured out of her like a floodgate had been broken down. Her tears of joy kept her speechless for a long moment while she silently cried next to him.

  “Sshh…” he whispered and patted her on the back.

  Maddie lifted her head and looked at her love with watery eyes. “Oh, my God,” she said and covered her mouth with her palms to hold back the urge to scream.

  Connor stared at her for a long moment.

  Maddie stared back; tears made crooked paths down her cheeks. Their silent thoughts hung in the air like a thick fog.

  After a while, Connor spoke. “You’re here?” he asked and tried to lift his head. He rose a few inches, but then grimaced in pain.

  Maddie reached out and guided him back towards the pillow. “Of course,” she said, for lack of better words.

  “Why?” he muttered.

  Maddie could tell it was painful for Connor to speak. His eyes welled with tears, no doubt the cause of the twinkling she had noticed before.

  “Let me get the nurse. She can give you some extra morphine.” Maddie pushed the red call button on the side of the bed. Connor moved her hand away and shook his head.

  “What?” she asked, wondering why he would object to pain medication.

  “What happened?” Connor closed his eyes for a moment; his breaths were slow and shallow. Maddie pushed the call button despite his objection.

  “Connor, you’re in pain.”

  “I want to see you.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. Besides, they made me promise to alert them immediately when you woke up. I have to call your mom, too.”

  “Oh, my mom,” Connor mumbled. Maddie knew he would be worried about the well being of his mother. She already had health problems due to the stress of his job before the accident.

  “She’s okay, don’t worry. She’s a trooper. You’re dad, too. Although, I haven’t seen him since I got here last night. I fell asleep for a little bit.”

  “What happened?” Connor asked again.

  Maddie shook her head, afraid to give him the bad news.

  “Please?” Connor slowly reached his good hand up to his face and touched a wound on his forehead.

  “You got into a pile up,” Maddie said slowly. “At the end of the race.”

  “In ‘dega?”

  Maddie sighed. She dreaded having to tell him the story. “Maybe I should wait until your parents get here. They will want to fill you in on what happened. I just saw it on TV, so I don’t know everything.”

  “You…you were watching me?” Connor smiled, sort of.

  “Yeah. But we’ll talk about that later, okay?”

  They paused for a moment and only stared at each other again.

  “It hurts everywhere,” Connor said through clenched teeth.

  “I know,” Maddie whispered and another tear dropped from her right eye. It was hard to think about the accident that did that to him. “Try not to talk too much. You don’t want to strain yourself.”

  “Did we finish…the race?”

  Maddie shook her head. She didn’t even remember what had happened after the collision. Just that she went home and cried in front of the TV before she flew to Birmingham. The whole night was a blur.

  Before Connor could ask any more questions, the door to his room flung open and in came a nurse and a doctor. Maddie moved away so they could examine him. They tested reflexes, took vital signs, checked his eyesight, and asked several questions. Connor seemed to be quite alert and in a sound mind, but his body was so weak that he could barely move the limbs that weren’t bound in casts or tightly wound bandages.

  The stern doctor glanced over at Maddie in the corner. “Are you family?” he asked.

  Maddie gulped. “No.” She was afraid he would make her leave.

  The doctor looked away and then back to Connor. “Someone find out where his family is and get them up here, stat.” He shined a flashlight back and forth between Connor’s eyes again. Connor grimaced from the brightness.

  “I…I can call them. They’re here in the hospital.” Maddie grabbed her cell phone from her pocket and waved it in the air.

  “Nurse, please. Do it now,” the doctor commanded again. There was a hint of distress in his voice. Maddie’s heart raced when she realized that something could be wrong.

  Connor fidgeted in the white sheets. “What?” he croaked.

  In the calmest voice he could manage, the doctor explained, “I’m going to order some more scans and blood work. I want to rule out a spinal injury.”

  Maddie gasped. “You mean, like, paralysis?” She slapped her hand over her mouth after the words escaped. She hadn’t wanted to scare Connor with the thought.

  “Well, we’ll have to wait and see. I need to speak with his family first.” The doctor scribbled some notes in Connor’s chart and then tucked it under his arm.

  “She is family. Talk,” Connor said.

  The nurse that had disappeared only moments before had returned with Patty and Jim. Grace kept her distance behind them and lingered in the doorway. Patty’s face exuded emotion as she saw her son awake and alert in his bed. A weird choking sound escaped from Jim as he approached.

  “Oh, thank God!” Patty whimpered as she took her son in her arms. Connor could barely move to reciprocate the embrace; he only gingerly patted her shoulder with his uninjured right hand.

  “Mom,” Connor whispered. His eyes were runny with tears.

  “There’s so much to talk about.” Patty glanced around the room at all the eyes and ears that were staring at their reunion.

  Jim cleared his throat. “Doctor, what can you tell us about his condition? Also, we would like him flown back home to Charlotte, where he belongs.”

  The doctor stepped closer to the family. He held out his hand for a shake and Jim took it. “I’m Dr. Weinstein. I’m the attending physician that will be overseeing Connor’s recovery. I can’t give you any answers, yet. I’m going to order some more tests.”

  “What kind of tests?” Patty asked incredulously. Her eyes widened with fright as she realized, too, that something could be seriously wrong. She twisted her fingers as she bit her lower lip, waiting for the prominent doctor to answer.

  “Well, from looking at the initial scans we can see that there are small signs of paralysis in his legs. He may have a spinal injury. With the swelling going down we will be able to tell for sure. That’s why I want to have more scans done.”

  “My legs were crushed?” Connor muttered in shock.

  Jim put his hand on Connor’s wrapped leg. “A whole lotta cars pinned you down, son. It took a lot of man power to get you outta there.”

  Dr. Weinstein backed up into the doorway, forcing Grace to move aside. “I’ll let you all catch up while I get the orders out. An orderly should be up soon to take him to radiology. If you have any questions, please have a nurse page me.”

  “Thank you,” Grace said to the man. Everyone else in the room was too stunned to speak. Paralysis was a scary thought.

>   Maddie felt sick. She had thought that Connor would be okay. Never once had she thought the nightmare could get worse. She shivered as Grace made her way over to her.

  “Come on, honey. Let’s let them all talk.”

  Maddie let Grace pull her towards the door. Her eyes stayed fixed on Connor and his face full of fear.

  “You can stay,” Connor whispered. He motioned for Maddie to come close. “Please.”

  Grace let go and Maddie slowly approached the bed beside Jim and Patty. She couldn’t keep the tears from leaking from her tired eyes. So many emotions filled her within; she was ecstatic that he was awake, but the thought of him being permanently injured was dreadful.

  “Where is everybody?” Connor asked, his eyes floating around the room as if he were counting bodies.

  Patty sighed. “They stayed back in Talladega. They’re awaiting word on your condition. Mason had to take care of a lot and had to help out with PR stuff. You know Lucas can’t do it alone.”

  “I’m not in ‘dega?” He switched glances between Jim and Patty.

  “No, son,” Jim answered. “You were flown to Birmingham.”

  “Oh.” Connor paused to take a long breath. “Were there…others?”

  Patty and Jim looked at each other. Both their eyebrows wrinkled with distaste when they realized they had to tell him the gory details.

  “Lots of others involved, yes. Some of the other drivers are here, as well.” Patty took Connor’s hand and stroked his skin. She looked down as she spoke her next words. “Austin Smuthers is in a coma, Connor. He was crushed, also. He’s out of surgery, but in very bad shape.”

  Connor was speechless. He turned his head toward the window on the adjacent wall. A bleak light filtered through, signaling the beginnings of the morning’s first light.

  “I’m sorry, honey,” Patty cried.

  “Who else go hurt?”

  “Calvin Wright is here. I heard he’s not doing well. His lungs collapsed.”

  Connor’s face went completely white. “What’s wrong with me?” he asked in horror. He was shaking once the news had sunk in. Maddie wondered if the memories of the accident were coming back to him. She watched his face intently and could almost feel his pain as if she were sitting in the passenger seat.