by Rachel Burns
She thanked the man and told him where she needed to go. She was in luck; he would be driving through her hometown because of road construction on the highway.
Jennifer could be in her boyfriend’s arms this evening yet, but first, she would go home and get some of her own things to wear.
She didn’t want to show up looking the way she did now.
Scott couldn’t sleep. He got up and called the hospital. She had been transferred to Texas Heart in Houston. She was still alive but in a coma, in critical condition. Scott sat down on the bed and covered his face with his hands. He cried again.
“We were able to find out why your daughter had heart failure. One of the pills she was taking wasn’t what it was marked to be.” The doctor looked at Mr. and Mrs. Banks. “If she wakes from her coma, then we have a very good chance of her being perfectly fine. Her brainwaves look really good and if any damage has been done, then therapy could help her. She just has to wake up.”
After the doctor left, Eva resumed her position stroking Brianna’s arm, and Charles continued to read aloud to her. They had been doing this for days already.
Her condition had yet to change.
“Floor meeting. Everyone in the lounge,” Scott called out.
They saw him sitting on a chair when they came in. They weren’t sure what that meant. The last floor meeting had been on Monday afternoon when a couple of psychologists had showed up to talk to everyone.
They feared that Scott would announce that Brianna had passed on.
“The reason I called this meeting is to inform you that I will be visiting Brianna on Saturday. If any of you want to write her a letter or a card, I will be glad to take it with me for you. While I am gone, I want you to be on your best behavior. The Dean, personally, will be filling in for me. Now ladies he is really old school so I recommend that you use Saturday to really concentrate on your studies. He won’t tolerate any music, no matter how quiet you feel it is. No talking in the halls, and you should probably refrain from visiting each other in your rooms. For an old guy he has good ears. I’ll be leaving early Saturday morning and returning Saturday night. Any questions?”
“How is Brianna?” Stephanie asked.
“Her condition hasn’t changed yet. She is still in a coma.” Scott was glad when none of the others had questions for him. He dismissed them and went back to his room.
The guilt of not knowing was ripping at his own heart. He would have done so much differently. He hoped seeing her again would be good for him and not make things worse.
Her parents had requested that he come.
Did they want to yell at him or thank him?
Chapter 16 – I’ll Hold Your Hand
Saturday morning came, and Scott took the things the girls had made for Brianna and carried them down to his car.
The Dean was waiting for him. He handed him a letter. “For her parents.”
Scott nodded and laid it in the box. He wondered if Brianna would ever see these things, which had been so lovingly made for her. “Any news from Jenny?”
“Poor thing is back with her old boyfriend, even though he is married and has a kid. They are living in a trailer, all of them together. He convinced her that his seed is so great that it would be better to have two women bearing his children for him. She did seem happy, even smug.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that. I know how fond of her you were.” Scott felt that the Dean looked so sad. “It really wasn’t a happy week. Well, the girls are all still asleep.”
“Have a safe trip.” The Dean walked off towards the building. He had a briefcase with him. Scott had offered him the use of his room, but the Dean had refused. He would sit around in the lounge all day.
The drive had been really long, but it was just getting light out when Scott pulled into the hospital’s visitor’s parking lot. He grabbed the box and went in through the sliding doors. He asked which room she was in at the information desk, and then he took the elevator up to her floor.
Scott quietly knocked on her door. Her mother opened the door and fell around his neck thanking him.
Charles took the box from Scott and set it down on a chair. Then he pealed his wife off of Scott and held her to his own chest. “I’ll just take her out for a moment. Thank you for coming, Scott. Thank you for everything, son.” They left, and all Scott could do was to stare after them. He turned back around to look for Brianna.
She was lying on the bed exactly as pale as the last time he saw her. If it weren’t for the audible beeping, he wouldn’t believe that she was alive.
Tubes were attached to her everywhere. He sat down on the chair next to her and stared at her. Staring at her was something he had always liked to do anyway.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I begged you to. Brianna, there isn’t anything you can’t tell me. I’ll always listen to you. Please, believe that.” He picked up her hand and held it for a long time.
After a while, he started in talking again. He told her about Cathy. She was feeling a lot better. He told her that his parents and all the girls on the floor were very worried about her. He told her about the Dean babysitting for him and the warning he had given the girls.
Scott was surprised by how naturally he could talk to her. Her parents checked in on them every once in a while, but then they left again. He told Brianna that he thought that they looked terrible. He told her it would really be best if she woke up soon.
As he said that, she gave a soft moan.
He wasn’t sure if that was normal or not. Then her other hand moved a little, and then it flipped up over her head. He watched her unsure. He continued talking and a bit later she nodded her head away from him. Then her leg bent and straightened out again.
He would have to ask her parents the next time they came in if that was normal. Her fingers stretched out then relaxed again. He felt that she was breathing deeper now than when he had come in.
He stopped talking and just watched her. All at once, she gasped loudly like she was thirsty for air. Her fingers stretched, and her legs sort of jumped. She seemed to go back to sleep after that. The little movements that she was making made it easier for him to picture her sleeping and not in a coma.
She made movements like that the whole time he talked to her. He was telling her about his own plans for the future when a nurse came in to check on her.
“She keeps moving. Is that normal, ma’am?”
The nurse looked at him over the rim of her glasses.
Then Brianna moved again as if proving his point. The nurse looked her over and pressed the call button. Other nurses came running in. So did her parents.
“She’s waking up,” the nurse told them over her shoulder.
Scott backed out of the way again. They all fussed over Brianna so much that she even said ‘no’ very softly. He smiled at her. He was so proud of her. Her parents were crying and hugging each other again. “I told you she was a trooper. She always pulls through. Our little Brianna is a fighter.”
Scott thought about what Brianna had told him. He felt sorry for her again. If anybody had reason to be scared, it was her. It wasn’t fair to deny her that. If she were his, he would want her to be able to come to him with her problems.
A doctor came in, and everyone was talking to Brianna like she should be able to understand them. She was just too tired. Why didn’t these professionals see that?
Scott moved over to her parents. He would leave the family alone so they could have a moment. He glanced at Brianna quickly before he left. She seemed to be kicking. Give ‘em hell, darling, he thought as he left. He went down to the cafeteria to eat lunch.
He knocked on the now quiet door, after staying away for an hour. There was no answer at all, so he knocked again. He opened the door and went in. The room was dark. Brianna had been freed of a couple of tubes, and that she was sleeping was obvious.
He sat down by her bed again. He reached for her hand. Her fingers wrapped around his hand in response. Scott was so g
lad that she was going to be all right. He was also glad that he got a moment to be alone with her.
He thought about the good moments he had enjoyed with her. She could be the cutest thing in the world. He laughed to himself when he thought about her playing a particular song when she wanted him to go away. She was so clever. Her face when she said that was the story she wanted to stick to. When he had asked where she had been after he had upset her so, she had fire in her too.
He thought about those two guys and the picnic grounds who wanted to hurt her. He had been so mad back then already. Now he felt even more protective of her.
Her parents came in and whispered to him how thankful they were that he had been able to save her. They were very sincere.
Scott was embarrassed by the attention that he was getting from them. Charles told Scott if he ever needed anything, he should tell him. Like a job after he finished graduate school.
Scott told them that he would rather earn his job by doing well in school. Brianna’s father was falling in love with Scott too. He would later joke to his wife that if Brianna didn’t want him, that he would take him.
“Mama,” a soft noise came from the bed. They all looked at her. First now did Scott realize that he was still holding her hand. He let go and stepped away from her. Her mother sat down next to her. Brianna looked so weak. His mom was right. This would take a long time for her to recover from.
“Thirsty,” she whispered. She felt a straw in her mouth, and she sucked on it. Her mouth was so dry that she didn’t know where to send the water to first. She tried to swish it around in her mouth, but she was too weak for that. Swallowing hurt her so much it brought tears to her eyes. She bravely took another sip. That one burned too.
Brianna opened her eyes and looked at her mother. Then she closed her eyes and opened them again. She just stared at her mother. She wasn’t in that much pain so she wondered if she was in heaven.
“Am I dead?” she asked so softly that it was hard to hear.
Scott felt like he was disturbing. He inched his way to the door.
“No, honey. You’re not dead. They just pumped you so full of medicine that it doesn’t hurt.” Her father answered her.
She looked across the room to where her father’s voice had come from. Scott was standing next to him. Why was he here? She checked to make sure that she wasn’t in her dorm room. No, she was in a hospital. The beeping of her heart filled the room. It wasn’t as weak as she thought it would be.
“Did I have another operation?” Brianna asked.
“No, sweetheart. The new medicine did this to you. You didn’t do anything wrong. You will be just fine again. We are going to take you home and get you back on your feet. How does that sound?”
Brianna looked over at Scott again. “Did he say yes?”
Scott laughed and rocked back on his feet a little. “You may go home with your parents but only if you promise to return.”
Brianna looked at her mother confused.
“You have been sleeping for over a week. Scott came to visit you. He wanted to see how the girl whose life he saved was doing. He also brought you some letters from the girls on your floor.”
Brianna was shocked. He saved her life? That meant major CPR. It also meant that he saw her scars. He saw her, all filled with scars. She was very embarrassed. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“I’m just so glad that everything turned out.” Scott stepped closer to the door. He opened it and left. He sat down in one of the chairs in the hall. She was embarrassed, he laughed to himself.
Brianna was shy too, realizing what he saw. She must be really sensitive about those scars. They weren’t really that bad. They probably wouldn’t disturb her future husband at all.
Her mother helped her go to the bathroom, which meant raising her bottom for a bedpan. She washed her up and brushed her hair. She smiled at her daughter the entire time. Her father told her what had happened.
“That means I was dead. But I don’t remember any lights.”
“That’s because it wasn’t your time, sweetheart. This is just a bump in the road. You get to go back to school in a couple of weeks. The Dean sent us a letter telling us that he would save your place at school for you. He better too, or I will have another talk with him.”
“Daddy, you can’t talk to the Dean that way.”
“Well, maybe not to the Dean, but I can talk that way to your godfather. He stayed with you until we got here.” Her father turned serious again. “I’m sorry that we went so far away baby. We won’t again.”
“Scott saved your life, sweetheart. He did CPR on you for a very long time, and he didn’t give up. He yelled, ‘Brianna, stay with me.’ I heard him while I was on the phone with the Dean. It was twelve minutes before the paramedics came, and I don’t know how long before the Dean arrived. He really did a lot for you, and he didn’t give up. You really have to thank him.”
“How can you thank someone for doing that for you?” Brianna asked, feeling exhausted.
“I don’t know darling, but you have to try. Be very good for him and do well for him.” Her mother shrugged her shoulders.
Brianna nodded at her mother and then looked over at her father. He looked like he was laughing. Something about that got her dander up. “What is so funny, Daddy?”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I was just letting my mind wonder. The thing is that it was him who saved your life, and today he comes in here, holds your hand, talks to you and you wake up.”
“Do you think he is some kind of a healer?” Her grandmother was constantly dragging her to anyone who claimed that they could heal. It had never worked before.
He laughed even harder. Her mother started in laughing too. “I don’t care how he does it, I’m just glad that he does. I’ll go get him so you can say thank you.”
Charles opened the door and saw Scott waiting outside. “She wants to say thank you.”
Scott stood and went to her father. “I can see how weak she is. She doesn’t have to do this.”
“She wants to.” Her father didn’t go in with him. Her mother left after smiling at him again.
Scott went back to Brianna. He smiled at her. She looked so serious.
“Thank you for everything you did. I’m sorry I misled you at the end. It was just recently that I realized that you didn’t know. I assumed, and I shouldn’t have and then – I don’t know why I didn’t just tell you. I didn’t see myself as being savable.”
“I told you I could help. And I’m really glad that I could.” He fought against his own tears, but he was smiling. “Oh, I got to find out what the biggest mystery was on the floor. I found out why you were at my school. I know what you and Cathy pulled to get into trouble and well I feel like I have everything under control on my floor for the first time all year.” He smiled at her and reached for her hand again.
“So little makes you so happy?” She smiled back at him.
“Yep.”
“That makes you a control freak.” She yawned and covered her mouth with the hand he was holding, lifting both hands to her mouth. She laid their hands back down and snuggled into the pillow. “Thank you, Scott.”
“My pleasure, Brianna, it was all my pleasure.” He watched her fall asleep while he held her hand. He felt happy just to sit with her.
After a bit, her parents came back in. He had enough time to pull his hand away and be sitting up proper next to her on his chair. “She fell asleep.”
They talked for a while, and then he had to leave. He explained that the letter on top was for them from the Dean. The rest was for Brianna. They thanked him again before he left.
Scott stepped a lot lighter when he got out of his car than what he had getting into it this morning.
He hurried up the stairs and greeted the Dean who was still sitting in the lounge. He smiled at him, and then he called out to the girls. ‘Floor meeting.’ They all came running. The lounge filled in seconds.
They stared at Scott. “As yo
u all know. I went to see Brianna today. I gave her your letters and cards. She asked me to thank you in her name.” He waited for that to sink in. She didn’t actually say that, but she would have if she could have stayed awake.
The Dean wiped tears out of his eyes.
“Does that mean that she woke up, and that she is okay?” Gretchen asked him.
“Yes, it does. It even looks like she will be able to return to school next trimester. They also found out the cause. They mislabeled a bottle of her medicine. She was taking the wrong medicine. So it was really good that you sent her bottles along with her Melissa, or it could have happened again.” He looked at her and nodded.
“She still needs our prayers, but it really does look like she is out of the woods.”
Scott’s mood was great. He laid in bed and thought about Brianna’s hand in his. It felt so right. He wasn’t sure if it was just because he saved her life, but she was more special to him than any other girl he had ever met before.
He smiled as he thought about her, smiling at him.
Scott was finally able to sleep peacefully.
The phone was ringing. Scott was tired, but he jumped for it. Was something wrong with Brianna? “Hello.”
“Scott, I’m really sorry to bother you in the night like this, but I wanted to tell you that Cathy is in the hospital.” Scott dropped into a chair as his father spoke to him. “That boy that hurt our baby tried to rape her again this evening. The cops have him, but she is hurt and in shock. He hit her and tried to –” His father’s voice broke as he cried.
“Dad, should I come home?” Scott was crying again. Today had been too emotional. Too many ups and downs.
“No, just talk to me son. The women are all with her. I just don’t want to be alone.”