Grasping her friend’s hand, Kaylee said, “Thank you.”
Allie wiped at her face, as she was now crying. “Of course, Kay, I’d do anything for you. And obviously, so would Blayne. The police let me know you were on your way here in an ambulance.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” Kaylee squeezed her friend’s hand.
“Oh, and,”—Allie winced—“I called your parents. They’re on their way up here.”
The neuro attending didn’t want Kaylee to leave her room until he’d had a chance to reassess her later in the day. But her nurse and Allie conspired against him as soon as they got word that Blayne was out of the recovery room and in the med/surg unit on the same floor as neuro.
“You’re my only patient right now,” said Tammy, the nurse assigned to her. “So, I’ll just go with you. I can do your neuro checks on the go.” She winked.
The dread Kaylee had been feeling since Blayne had been closed into the back of an ambulance eased somewhat. Tammy had assured her that he must be doing fine, or they wouldn’t have put him on med/surg, he would be in the surgical ICU.
They’d already unhooked her from the IV fluids, leaving the capped IV in Kaylee’s arm. She grew dizzy when transferring to the wheelchair Tammy insisted on using, but she didn’t tell the nurse about it. She didn’t want anything to keep her from Blayne.
The nurse pushed her into his room, Allie close behind them. Blayne lay in bed, the head of the bed slightly elevated, an identical sling to hers on his left arm. His face was still pale, but not the deathly white it had been the last time she’d seen him. He smiled and reached out to her as Tammy wheeled her right next to him. “Kaylee,” he clutched her hand. “I’m so sorry.”
His name came from her mouth as a sob. “Blayne.” She stood shakily from the wheelchair and laid her head against his chest, taking the ER doctor’s advice and allowing herself to lose control and weep. With some trouble and some help by Tammy to untangle his IV tubing, Blayne hugged her to his chest with his uninjured arm. He pressed his lips to her head, holding them there as she let hot tears flow onto his hospital gown.
In the background, she heard Tammy whisper, “Let’s give them some privacy,” and shortly after, the door opened and closed.
Blayne just held her without saying a word until she’d let it all out. The pent-up fear, the flood of relief that he was alive, the worry about Mama C. After several minutes, she pulled herself together, sat back in the wheelchair, and wiped her face. She realized at that moment what she must look like—dirty, tangled hair; no makeup; hospital gown. But she didn’t care.
They held hands, Kaylee ran her thumb across Blayne’s red, swollen knuckles. He repeated, “I’m so sorry—”
“Don’t,” Kaylee said. “Don’t apologize. None of this is your fault.”
“If I hadn’t been such an idiot in my past—”
“No. Stop,” she commanded with a soft voice. “This is a new day. And you can’t control what other people think and do. It wasn’t your fault.”
He looked up at the ceiling and pursed his lips. He whispered, “I was so afraid I was going to lose you.” He closed his eyes and swallowed, then looked at her again. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. Or so angry.” He shook his head and let go of her hand. He softly ran his fingers over her bruised face, her swollen lip, the worry lines creasing her forehead. He fixed her gaze with his eyes. “I love you, Kaylee. I wanted to tell you. I started to tell you a couple of times and I didn’t. Then I was afraid I’d lost the chance. When you wouldn’t answer your phone or texts, then when those assholes had you. That’s why I said it at the bowling alley, just in case.” He grabbed her hand. “I will never again pass up the opportunity to tell you how much you mean to me. Ever.”
“I love you, too. And thank you. For saving my life.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “But don’t you ever risk your life like that again.”
He smiled wearily. “No guarantees.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, his lips lingering there, flushing her skin with warmth. He held it there even as the door opened and Allie, Tammy, and a doctor entered, only returning their hands to the bed when the doctor stood next to him.
“Well Mr. Ellis, you were quite lucky. I’m Dr. Bennet. I’m the surgeon who operated on you.” He unsnapped Blayne’s gown over his left shoulder and rolled it down to look at the dressing. “Now that you’re more awake, I’ll explain what I did.
“The bullet missed your subclavian artery by about five millimeters. Had it punctured that artery, you would have bled out in minutes. As it was, you were minutes away from dying due to blood loss without the artery being damaged. We transfused two units of blood. I removed the bullet and repaired your shattered clavicle using a few metal plates and screws. I project that you’ll regain full function of your arm and shoulder barring any unseen nerve damage.”
Dr. Bennet reached over and pressed on Blayne’s left hand. “Can you feel that?”
Blayne nodded.
“Wiggle your fingers for me.”
Blayne complied.
The doctor nodded. “You’re getting antibiotics now. As per your request as we wheeled you into the operating room, you’ve been given no narcotics. Your surgical site should still be numb for a few more hours thanks to the nerve block, but it’s going to be flaring with pain when that wears off. Are you still refusing narcotics?”
“Yes. I don’t want any narcotics.”
“Okay. I’ll write an order for ketorolac, it’s like a super ibuprofen, NSAID. That should take the edge off, at least. Do you have any questions for me?”
“When can I get out of here? And when can I go back to work?” Blayne asked.
“I anticipate that I’ll be able to release you sometime tomorrow. As far as work goes, you will not be able to do any moderate to heavy labor or lifting for about six weeks. You’ll be in that sling for about two weeks and probably need some physical therapy. Hopefully your work can accommodate that.”
Blayne sighed. “I hope so.”
After the doctor left the room, Tammy, Kaylee’s nurse, said, “I’d better get you back to your room before the neuro team does their rounds.”
“Okay,” Kaylee said. “Thank you so much for bringing me down here. Can I have just a couple more minutes, please?”
Tammy smiled and nodded.
Allie patted Blayne’s hand. “I guess you won’t be signing to me for a few weeks. You’re going to have to shave soon or I won’t be able to read your lips, either.” She bent over and kissed his cheek then whispered, “Thank you for saving my friend.”
“Thank you for being there when we both needed you.”
Allie winked at him then left the room with Tammy.
“I need to tell you something,” Kaylee said.
“I don’t like the way you said that.” His voice trailed off, and his eyes closed for a bit longer than a normal blink.
“Well, the reason I was at your apartment was to tell you that Mama C… I went to check on her and she was worse. Much worse.”
“Is she…” Panic rose in his voice.
“She’s alive,” Kaylee hurried to say. “But it doesn’t look good. I called an ambulance. They brought her here, and I went straight to your house. I haven’t seen her since then. She’s in the ICU.”
Blayne let go of her hand and grabbed the side rail to pull himself up. His face paled, and he fell back against the bed. “I need to see her.”
“I know.” She caressed his arm. “Get some rest first. It’s too early in the morning to be visiting, anyway. We’ll sneak down later.”
“That’s right,” he mumbled, eyes closed. “I forgot it was practically the middle of the night.”
Kaylee put her tired, achy muscles to work one more time to stand and brush his lips with hers. “I love you, Blayne,” she whispered.
His lips twitched to a smile. “Love you, too. So much.”
She brushed his hair back and stared at his sleeping face until Tammy came back in to take he
r back to her room.
The rattling of Mama C’s labored breaths filled the otherwise silent room. Kaylee gripped the door to steady herself. As soon as the neuro doctor had said she could get up and walk around, she’d headed to the MICU to see Mama C.
It was late afternoon. Allie had gone to her nursing clinicals and Blayne was sleeping when she’d peeked in on him.
A nurse stood at the bedside, trying to get Mama C to drink some water. “It looks like you have a visitor, Mrs. Watson.” As the nurse slipped past Kaylee she whispered, “Try to get her to drink something.”
Kaylee nodded and moved into the room. She leaned over Mama C so she could see into her eyes. “Mama. It’s so good to see you.”
The old woman’s eyes widened. “What happened,” she paused for breath, then continued, “to you?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I just took a tumble down some stairs.” It wasn’t a complete lie. “They tell me you aren’t doing so great.”
“It’s my time to go, dear.” She patted Kaylee’s hand.
“No. No,” said Kaylee. “There has to be more they can do than just give you oxygen!”
Mama C coughed then took several minutes to catch her breath before responding. “I don’t want them to, Kaylee. You listen to me, okay?”
Kaylee nodded, fighting back tears.
“If my heart stops, don’t you dare let ‘em pound on my chest. You tell ‘em just let me go be with my…” Another fit of coughing cut her off. It sounded like her lungs were full of gunk. An alarm started beeping, and the nurse came back in.
Kaylee looked at her questioningly.
“It’s her oxygen. Every time she has one of these coughing spells, her O2 drops.” She laid a hand on Mama C’s arm and shook her head. “She’s refusing to be intubated or even to have CPaP.”
Mama’s eyes pleaded with Kaylee. “I want to go be with my Daniel and Gene. I want to see my Savior.”
“How can you believe in God after what has happened to you?” Kaylee spit out before thinking.
Mama C narrowed her eyes. “How do you know?”
“I dug a little into your past.” Kaylee looked away from her.
“Nosy college girl.”
Kaylee let out a sound that was half laugh/half cry. “How can you still believe?” she asked again.
Mama C grabbed her arm with a strength that belied her condition. “God is my only hope. He’s the only way back to them.”
“Mrs. Watson, you need to get some rest.” The nurse looked at Kaylee. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Kaylee nodded but said to Mama C. “I’ll be back later.”
Mama C closed her eyes. “Bring Blayne.”
Out in the hallway, the nurse said, “If she keeps refusing treatment, we’re going to have to put her on hospice. Do you know what that is?”
Kaylee nodded. Her grandma had been on hospice. It was the care given to someone at the end of their life, when nothing else could be done. Or when the person didn’t want anything else done to try to save them.
“Are you related to her?” the nurse asked.
“No. She doesn’t have any living relatives.”
“And, she’s of a sound mind, no doubt about that. Stubborn woman.” The nurse smiled wryly.
“That she is.” Kaylee agreed. “I don’t suppose you can force her to accept treatment?”
“Nope. She has the right to choose. Plus, I don’t know that it would result in a good outcome, anyway. Sometimes medical treatment is just prolonging death, not life. Her lungs are shot. She also had a heart attack sometime in the last few days, so her heart isn’t doing great either.”
“Heart attack?” Kaylee cursed herself for not checking on Mama C sooner.
The nurse nodded and touched Kaylee’s arm briefly. “I have to go get Mrs. Watson’s breathing treatment and antibiotic set up. You can come back any time before eight o’clock tonight.”
Kaylee’s parents waited for her back at her room, hurrying to her for an embrace as she walked in.
“Mom, you’re hurting me.”
Her mom released her hug and wiped at her tear strewn face. “I’m sorry, Kay. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You guys didn’t have to drive all the way up here.”
“Oh, yes we did, young lady.” Her dad’s stern voice made her smile.
Luke, her fifteen-year-old brother popped into the room carrying a soda. “Kaylee! What the heck, sister? Do I need to move up here with you to keep you out of trouble?” He gave her a one-armed hug.
Even though part of her heart was breaking over Mama C, a big part warmed up like a Christmas fire. She laughed. “I’m glad you’re all here.”
“The nurse came in while you were gone,” her mom said. “She said they’re going to discharge you in a couple of hours.”
“Oh, good. I was afraid they’d make me stay until tomorrow.” Kaylee sat on the bed.
“So,” her dad said. “What exactly happened to you?”
“Yeah,” Luke said. “Allie didn’t tell us anything.”
Kaylee sighed. She spent the next hour telling them everything. Well, almost everything.
Discharge papers in hand, Kaylee headed down to Blayne’s room. Her family had gone to the cafeteria to get dinner and would text her on the new phone they’d brought her when they were done. She’d have to get the number switched to her old number, but she was thankful to have it. Who knew how long the police would hold on to hers for evidence? Looking at the settings on the phone reminded her she still needed to call Beth, Mama C’s friend in New York. She hoped the number had automatically stored to the Cloud. She logged in and found it. Her heart raced as she dialed. How was she going to tell Beth that Mama C was just giving up, going on hospice?
“Hello?” the familiar voice answered.
“Hi, um, Beth?” Kaylee said.
“This is Beth.” Her voice picked up a little as she said, “Is this Kaylee?”
“Yes.”
“What in tarnation took you so long to call me, girl?”
“It’s a long story—”
“Well, you can tell me about it later, let me talk to Claire.”
“Well, I will let you talk to her later. I just wanted to call first to…to warn you.”
“Warn me about what?” Beth asked.
“Mama…Claire is really sick. She’s in the hospital and, well, she’s giving up, Beth. She’s refusing treatment. They want to put her on hospice.” Kaylee’s voice cracked.
“Oh no.” Anguish dripped in Beth’s voice. The anguish of someone who’d just found a long-lost friend only to be losing them again, for good.
“I’m so sorry, Beth.” Kaylee wiped the moisture from her cheeks. “I’ll let you talk to her when I go back to see her later.”
She slipped into Blayne’s room, happy to see he was awake and sitting up eating Jell-O. Or trying to. He was having trouble negotiating with one hand.
“Need some help?” Kaylee asked.
His smile still looked exhausted, but his eyes lit up when he saw her. “Yes. Go get me a cheeseburger. This stuff stinks.”
Kaylee raised an eyebrow at him. “You have to start out slow. Here,” she reached for the Jell-O container, “let me help you. Between the two of us we have two good arms.”
She held it while he spooned it out and mostly into his mouth. “Maybe they should get gowns the same color as their Jell-O.” Kaylee wiped his chest with a napkin, the red stain not going anywhere.
“So,” she said. “You’re looking better than you did this morning.”
“You too.”
“It’s amazing what a shower and hairbrush will do.”
He ran his fingers through her hair, his intense gaze locked on hers.
“But, seriously,” she said, a bit of hoarseness in her voice. “How are you feeling?”
“Seriously?” His arm dropped, and he leaned back against the pillow. “The nerve block is wearing off. And it hurts.”
; “Did they give you some of that medicine the doctor talked about?” Kaylee wrinkled her forehead.
“Not yet. I was going to try to tough it out.”
Kaylee shook her head and pushed the button to signal the nurse.
A voice came over the little speaker on the side rail. “Can I help you?”
Blayne tipped his head back and gritted his teeth.
Kaylee answered for him. “Blayne is ready for some pain medication.”
“Okay. I’ll let his nurse know.”
Kaylee rubbed his forehead until the nurse came in a few minutes later with a syringe. She hooked it to the IV line and Blayne put his hand on her arm and said, “What are you giving me?”
“Ketorolac.”
“Not a narcotic?”
“No. This is what the doctor ordered.”
Blayne nodded once and dropped his hand. The nurse pushed the medication slowly into his IV then said. “That should start working right away.”
“Good,” he said to Kaylee as the nurse left. “I need to go see Mama C.”
After ten minutes, the grimace on his face only eased slightly, though. “Blayne, maybe you should let them give you something a little stronger.” Kaylee couldn’t stand to see him sweating with pain, his eyes screwed shut.
“No,” he said harshly. Then softer, “No. I can’t risk it, Kay. I’ll be fine.”
Several minutes later he opened his eyes. “Well, I think this is as good as it’s gonna get. Let’s go see Mama.”
“Let me get a wheelchair.” Kaylee hurried out before he could protest.
The nurse came in and unhooked his IV and helped him into the wheelchair. Sweat dripped from his forehead and he gritted his teeth, his jaw muscles flexing with the effort. “Give me a sec,” he said, panting.
“I can ask the doctor for something stronger,” the nurse said, her brows knit together.
“No.” He laid his head in his hand. “I can’t. I’m a drug addict.”
“Recovering,” Kaylee added.
The nurse nodded in understanding. “Well, when you get back, I have a couple of non-pharmaceutical things we can try.”
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