by Smith, K. S.
WHO’S ALL COMING OVER?
MOM, DAD, MY IN-LAWS, A FEW OF CASEY’S COUSINS.
COUSINS? WHICH ONE’S EXACTLY?
CONNOR, CADE……..COLE.
I dropped my phone onto my desk. Of course, Cole would be there. His parent’s lived hundreds of miles away, he’d need someone to spend the holidays with if he wasn’t visiting California. A few minutes later my phone chimed again.
I CAN UN-INVITE HIM IF YOU WANT?
“Seriously!” I shouted out loud, thankful no one else in the office heard me. “Oh perfect, make me look like the big bad guy for making Cole spend Thanksgiving alone, while the rest of his family is all together.” I shot back a text ending the conversation.
IT’S FINE, ONE DAY WITH HIM WON’T KILL ME, I HOPE.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Looking in the mirror, I was totally pleased with my wardrobe choice. The cool weather had blown in early and I was thankful, it meant I got to put my boots and scarves to good use. Adjusting my scarf, I smiled at the finished product, dark denim jeans that rested snug on my hips, a loose coral sweater, my favorite leopard scarf, knee high brown boots, and gold chunky jewelry. The combination was one of my favorites, a mixture of sweet and sassy, yet sexy enough, sure to get Cole’s attention and make him stare. I’d thought long and hard for two days about Teresa’s advice, and I’d finally decided it was time to let Cole explain what really happened that night, and if I was going to spend more than five minutes with him I wanted to ensure his undivided attention would be focused on me.
Running into the kitchen, I grabbed the dessert I’d picked up from my favorite Italian bakery the night before. Three dozen stuffed cannoli and full tray of tiramisu, not your usual Thanksgiving dessert, but it had been tradition in my house since before I was born, and something I’d continued every year, even after my parents passed. I got everything settled into the car and took off towards Addison and Casey’s house.
After I pulled into their oversized driveway, I studied all the cars that were parked in front of the house, looking for Cole’s black SUV. There was one similar, but it wasn’t his. Part of me was excited I’d beat him there and part of me wasn’t. The part that needed a glass of wine was definitely glad I’d arrived first.
I opened the door and stepped into the house, the smell of all things Thanksgiving sent my nose into overdrive. Case was on the phone in the foyer when I walked in. He came right over to me and hugged me, still talking to whoever was on the other line of the phone. I whispered, “Happy Thanksgiving,” as he smiled and pointed towards the kitchen. Laughing to myself while I walked away, my first thought was Addison would kill him if she knew he was on the phone -probably talking business- on a holiday. I came around the corner and the house was full, all of Casey’s family was there including his cousin’s and their girlfriends, the Cartwright’s were there and even Addison’s uncle, aunt and their families. It was a packed house.
“Happy Thanksgiving, everyone,” I shouted over the commotion of multiple voices holding conversations. They all turned in my direction and I was greeted with shouts from all over, “Happy Thanksgiving!” I set the dessert’s down as Addison ran over to my side. She looked too cute in her fall attire covered by an apron that read, “Taste Tester” in hot pink. I chuckled lightly, knowing she hadn’t cooked anything that would be served for dinner tonight.
She pulled me into a tight hug whispering into my ear, “Don’t worry he’s not here yet.” I smiled at my best friend, as I took the wine glass out of her hand and gulped down her entire glass in one breath.
She laughed at me before yelling for Casey, “Babe, we need more wine. I need a refill and Reagan needs a glass….or maybe a bottle!” She winked at me just before I was passed off to her parents.
Two full hours and four glasses of wine had passed by the time I’d finally made it around to everyone. They’d all wanted to make sure I’d been okay since the breakup. It was torturous, I was grateful to have people who cared so much about me, but it was still making me crazy as I had to explain that I was okay to each person. I felt like grabbing a megaphone and screaming, “Yes, Cole broke my heart, but don’t worry, I’m okay. I’ve been through worse. I’ll survive.”
Addison and Casey were sneaking into the box cannoli when I snuck up on the both of them. “Get out of there!” I hollered in a deep voice as the two of them jumped, guiltily turning around, laughing hysterically when they realized it was me. Case kissed Addison’s lips, licking the leftover cannoli filling that was proof they’d gotten into dessert before dinner.
“So, where is he?” I asked, filling my wine glass, yet again.
Case looked at his phone. “I’m not sure, you want me to call him?”
“I guess,” I responded hesitantly.
Casey scrolled through his address book and then hit Cole’s name. I leaned up onto my tiptoes, pressing my ear as close to Casey’s phone as I could possibly get it, to ensure I could hear their entire conversation, a grin coming over my face as I heard him answer, “Hey, man, what’s up?” Oh how I’d missed that deep voice.
“Where in the hell are you? Everyone is here, you’re the only person we’re waiting on.”
“I’m sorry, I’m going as fast as I can. I had to come down to one of the construction sites, there was an emergency. We’re wrapping up in a few minutes, I should be there in about half hour.”
“Alright, hurry up, I’m hungry as hell.”
“Is Reagan there?” My heart skipped a beat at the sound of my name on his tongue and I instantly held my breath.
“Yeah, she’s here”
“How does she look?”
Case looked me up and down, “gorgeous as ever.”
I heard Cole sigh. “Fuck man, is she purposefully trying to kill me?” Case just laughed as Cole finished, “I guess in her eyes I deserve it. Alright, let me go so I can finish up. I’ll be there as soon as I can, make sure I have the seat next to her, even if she throws a fit.” My heart skipped again. “Will do, I’ll see you in a bit.” And at that he hung up.
I threw my arms around Casey’s neck. “I love you, Casey Conrad!”
He squeezed me and said, “Love you, too, babe.”
An hour had passed since Case hung up with Cole and all the guests were beginning to get antsy. “Honey, when are we going to serve dinner?” Teresa asked Addison.
“We’re waiting on Cole. He should be here any minute.”
“Well, can we at least start getting the main course on the dining room table? We can’t hold everyone up for one person.”
“Yeah, sure, Mom, Reagan and I will help you. Babe, call Cole again, find out where in the heck he is.” Case got on his phone, and Addison and I went into the kitchen to help get everything on the table.
We’d fully set the table when Case came into the dining room. “I’ve tried four times, it keeps ringing through to voicemail. I guess we can just go ahead and get started without him and when he gets here he can join us. I’m sure he wouldn’t want us to wait on his behalf.”
“Alright, everyone, let's get seated and enjoy this wonderful meal.” Teresa shooed all of us towards the table.
Dinner was spectacular, Addison was lucky she had such wonderful cooks in her family. She and Casey would never have to go without amazing homemade meals. Everyone had stuffed themselves as full as the turkey when Case asked if I would grab the cannoli.
“Casey, you just ate three plates, I think the cannoli can wait until we’ve cleared the table.” His mother scolded. I laughed, getting up to grab them.
Walking into the kitchen, I heard Casey’s phone ring. “Dude, where in the hell are you he asked?” I smiled, assuming it was Cole telling him he was on his way. Plating the cannoli, Teresa came in to help me.
“You seem better today.” She smiled as I opened the box that had the tiramisu in it.
“I am, I thought a lot about what you said. I’m going to talk to Cole tonight and get down to the bottom of it. I love him, and miss
him so much, I wish he’d just hurry up and get here, so I could tell him that.”
“I’m glad you thought about it, I know he is going to be elated.” She smiled and pulled me into a hug, grabbing the tray of cannoli. I picked up the dish holding the tiramisu and followed her back in towards the dining room.
“I hope that was Cole telling you he’s almost here, what in the world has taken him so long?” I asked, looking up just in time to notice the entire table staring at me, looks of sheer horror etched on all of their faces. I instantly realized Casey’s mom crying into Mr. Conrad’s shoulder, Addison couldn’t even look at me. I knew this had to be bad. I turned directly towards Casey and noticed that his eyes were in a losing battle with the tears that were welling up inside of them. My heart stopped beating as I sucked in what seemed like my last breath of air. “Case, what’s wrong?” I begged with a shaky voice. No one said a word; they all just looked around at each other. What is wrong, what the hell happened, where is Cole, why isn’t anyone saying anything?! I screamed from the inside.
Finally, Casey stood up, gripping the chair, to hold himself up. “Reagan, its Cole” he said, a tear sliding down his cheek. And as if I was moving in slow motion my body went limp; the tiramisu slipping from my fingers crashing loudly onto the floor, shattering at my feet.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Casey, even though, the pain in his stare was beginning to make me nauseous. My body began trembling as Teresa came over and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, trying to make me sit down, but my legs wouldn’t move. It’s as if a magnet was holding my feet to that very spot. Finally, words escaped my mouth, entirely on their own, as my brain had already turned to mush. “What happened?” I whispered.
I could feel the stares of the entire room, peering into me as Casey began to speak. “Cole,” he hesitated, “he’s been in an accident.” My heart sunk into the pit of my stomach. I closed my eyes, trying to hold back the tears. Casey’s voice went on, “That was the hospital. I was the last number dialed on his cell phone, so they called me. They suggested that we get there right away,” he paused again and I could hear the anguish in his voice, “it’s not looking good, Reagan.” And with those five words, the identical words the doctor used before my parents had been taken away from me, my heart burst into a million shattered pieces.
Addison was at my side, forcing me into a hug, as the tears began to spill down my cheeks. My breathing began to accelerate, until I heard Cole’s words in my head, ‘Calm down, we’ve really got to work on these panic attacks.’ The sound of his voice echoed in my head, I realized that I needed to get it together and get to the hospital. I could break down later, but right now I needed to be strong for Cole. “Addison, get the car, we need to get to the hospital now.”
She ran towards the garage and I grabbed Casey’s hand, pulling him towards the front door. Addison was waiting for us, so we jumped into the SUV and she hightailed it towards the hospital. Pulling into the emergency room bay, Addison shouted for both of us to get out, “Go! I’ll park the car and find you, just get to Cole.” Casey and I jumped out of the SUV and ran straight to the nurses’ station.
“I’m Casey Conrad, my cousin Cole Conrad was just brought in, I need to get to him. Can you please tell me where he is?” I instantly noticed her eyes widen as she looked to the other nurse, and panic began to rise inside of me all over again.
Pushing it back down for Cole, I leaned over the counter. “Please, can you just tell us where he is? We have to get to him.”
The nurse hit a few buttons on her computer and sighed before responding, “He’s currently still in surgery. As soon as the doctor is available, I’ll let him know the family has arrived.” She paused, it looked like she was trying to gather her thoughts, “Would you two like to wait in one of our private waiting rooms?” she asked sympathetically. No! No! No! This isn’t good; they don’t give you a private waiting room unless they think their patient isn’t going to make it. Tell her no. Case. PLEASE TELL HER NO!!!
“Yes, please, and ma’am, as soon as you hear anything, would you be sure to let us know?”
“Absolutely.” She forced a smile as she led us down a long hallway towards a private waiting room.
Casey collapsed in the recliner chair, while I paced back and forth in the waiting room. After Addison found us, she and Casey were sitting together talking. I tried to listen to what he was telling her, but everything sounded as if Charlie Brown’s teacher was speaking. After an hour of wearing a hole in the floor, I decided to sit down in the corner, away from everyone who had arrived after us. I pulled my knees up to my chest, unlocked my phone in search of the “Cole” folder I’d stored away in my online file system. Clicking on his name opened a world of memories, and after flipping through picture after picture I’d finally found what I was looking for.
I turned the volume down low, so I would be the only one to hear it before opening the video. And there he was, the love of my life, standing atop of the Grand Canyon. He’d made sure to take a half day of his business trip to Phoenix and go see one of the places he’d wanted to visit since he was a little kid. Tears pricked my eyes as his voice came over the speakers of my iPhone.
“Hey, baby, can you believe I’m here? It’s incredible, I’ve never seen anything like it. Well, other than you, of course. I miss you, so much, and I wish you were here to enjoy this with me. We’ll plan a trip back, don’t worry. I can’t wait to get home to you. It’s only been a day and a half, but I feel like it’s been a year. Anyway, I hope you aren’t working too hard. I’ll be home soon to fix it, if you are. I love you, so much.”
I touched his face as the movie played over my phone, the tears slowly sliding down my cheeks. As soon as I brought my finger to the screen to start the video over again, the door of the waiting room swung open and the doctor walked in. I stood up as quickly as I possibly could, running straight to Casey’s side, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “I assume you are the family of Mr. Conrad?”
Casey spoke for all of us in his answer, “Yes, can you please tell us what’s going on?”
“Mr. Conrad was in a severe accident at one of his development sites. He was exiting the building from the seventeenth floor when the freight elevator collapsed, while he was inside of it.” I cringed, hiding my face into Casey’s side. He instantly held me tighter. “I don’t have much more regarding the actual accident as I do the surgery. When Mr. Conrad arrived our team began treating him for a traumatic brain injury, as well as several broken bones and collapsed lungs. It wasn’t looking good in the beginning as his brain continued to swell, but, thankfully, we were able to get that under control and begin accessing the rest of his injuries.
“We’ve had to put him into a medically induced coma in order to allow his brain to continue to heal. We’d hoped we could avoid this, but his body was working too hard. This will allow him to rest while the swelling subsides. We’re going to continue to monitor his progress, but we want you all to be aware that the next forty-eight hours are very critical, as the hemorrhaging of the blood in the brain hasn’t fully stopped.” I felt Casey’s body move as he spoke to the doctor, but I again was only hearing muffled voices as I clung to his side, tears rolling down my face.
The doctor began speaking again, “Of course, we’ll ensure he has everything he needs. They’re transporting him now to the Intensive Care Unit. Once he has arrived in his room, the only visitors he’ll be allowed to have are immediately family members, and there’s a two person limit per visit.” My eyes widened as I heard the words immediate family repeat in my head. There is no way in hell you are keeping me from being in that room, I don’t give a damn what your rules are. I thought as the doctor asked if the first two visitors would like to walk with him to the room.
“Yes,” Casey said.
But the doctor went on, “And I’m sorry, but I have to ask your relation to Mr. Conrad.”
“I’m his brother and this is his fia
ncé,” he answered, pulling me closer to his side, the doctor looking at me for the first time with sympathy in his eyes.
He took a deep breath as he went on, “Okay, if I could just have both of your I.D.’s, I’ll get you the proper hospital passes and be back in just a minute.” We handed him our I.D.’s and he exited the room.
Casey’s mom walked up to both of us, taking her son’s free hand. “Honey, I’m not trying to cause any trouble here, but don’t you think your father should go back with you first? Cole is his nephew, and I’m sure your aunt and uncle would want to hear how he is doing from your father.” My head shot up as I glared at her from under Casey’s arm.
“No, Mom, you and Dad can go in after Reagan and me, but we’re going in first. That’ll give you time to call Uncle Harrison and Aunt Candice. They need to get on a flight and get here.”
“But son…”
“Mom, I said no.” Casey said sternly. The doctor walked back into the waiting room, handed us our hospital stickers and asked us to follow him as he led both Casey and me down the white sterile hallway.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Walking through the doors of the ICU my stomached clenched into a thousand knots, taking in all of the rooms that were filled with patients. The doctor stopped in front of Room 8486, turning to face me and Casey before he opened the door. “I need to warn you, he’s hooked up to a lot of machines and his body is pretty bruised up. It’s possible he can hear you, so don’t act frightened when you see him, just talk to him like you normally would. The calmer you remain, the less stressed Cole will be and, right now, we don’t need any stress on his brain. If you need anything just let the nurses know and they’ll get in contact with me.”
“Thank you so much,” Case replied as the doctor walked off. “You ready?” he asked, looking down at me.