Cacophony

26: a n d i ' l l d r e a m

Grabbing hands that pull your hair. Stealing everything that's there. Everything.

"Have you guys been here long?" Chris asked tiredly, surprised at how many people were in the waiting room.
"No." Susan smiled, wrapping him in a hug.
He returned it autonomously, his eyes still getting used to the fluorescent lights. Sydney's room was kept pretty dim when the nurses weren't working on her.
"We just came to make sure you're holding up alright." Jerry said somberly.
  Gunny approached, holding out a styrofoam container of food.
"Thanks. I haven't had much of an appetite."
"How's our girl?" Stone asked.
  Chris sighed. He didn't want to do this, but he knew it wasn't cool of him to keep them all hanging for so long. They were all worried about her, and nobody really knew what had happened yet. He hadn't called anyone to tell them what he'd learned, and Kim was the only other one who had been back to her room until today. Even he didn't know yet what exactly had happened to Sydney. The officer in charge of her case had come by only a few hours ago, informing Chris of a clue in Sydney's case that almost certainly explained what had happened.
"She's... stable. That's what they said."
"What happened to her? Kim said he didn't know... but I've never seen him that shaken up." Susan asked.
  Keeping his eyes on the floor, he took a seat in a nearby chair and set the food he probably wouldn't eat down.
"It was Adam. I don't know how he found us, but he must have been watching her. He waited until he knew she was alone and broke in. In broad daylight."
  Susan looked horrified, the others upset.
"I thought Adam was in jail." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"They fucking let him out early. My guess is that he used his daddy's connections to find her or something. If I hadn't forgot my shit at home that day, she would be dead right now. I'm pretty sure I interrupted him when we had to turn around and go back to the house, and he ran out the back door."
"Shit." Stone cursed, shaking his head angrily. "Fucking coward, man."
Jerry turned his back on them, walking over to the nearby window. Gunny's eyes widened in shock and sadness.
"Is she going to be okay?" Asked Susan.
"They think so. Doctor said her surgery went really well, and that she was lucky. One of her lungs was punctured and her spleen had been grazed. She's in a medically induced coma and hooked up to a ventilator. They're going to try and wake her up tonight as long as there aren't any complications. He... he stabbed her, three times in the abdomen."
  Shocked silence blanketed the room. They had all assumed that he'd beat her up again, but this was the kind of thing you read about in books or saw in movies. Knowing this had actually happened to someone they all cared about was mind blowing.
"Please tell me they arrested him." Whispered Susan.
"They didn't have to. He lost control of his car in the rain and hit a guard rail on The Aurora at like a hundred miles per hour. He's dead."

***

  The process of waking Sydney up was slow, and nothing like Chris expected. She woke slowly, and she was scared. She was barely able to hold her eyes open as the drugs weaned, but she was able to start moving her arms. Twice she tried to pull the breathing tube from her mouth and they had to restrain her. Chris was nervous. She was waking up, but she wasn't herself. Finally, the nurse told him to try and talk to her.
"Can she hear me?" He asked.
"She probably won't remember, but she can hear you. Knowing that a loved one is close by might help her stay calm."
  He looked from the nurse back down to Sydney's pale face. Grabbing ahold of her hand, he traced small circles over her knuckles. She flinched a little, her eyes moving rapidly behind her closed lids.
"Sydney Lee." He crooned. "It's time to wake up now."
  She responded with a low groan that sounded nothing like her. Pulling her hand away from his, she pulled against the restraints again.
"You're safe, Sydney Lee. I'm right here with you. I know you're uncomfortable, but please trust me. Nobody will hurt you here. You're going to be okay."
  His voice was soft as butter as he grabbed her hand again, the beeping of her heart rate spiking. She turned her face toward him and tried again to open her eyes. For a moment he got a glimpse of that brilliant green color before her eyelids fluttered closed again. The lights were all on in an attempt to rouse her, and he could tell that she hated it. Another, more frightened sound escaped her lips, and it broke his heart. She must be so scared.
"You're doing great. Let her know where she is and remind her to stay calm. We can take the tube out as soon as she's awake enough to show us that she can take a couple of deep breaths on her own." The nurse encouraged.
He nodded.
"Syd, we're in the hospital and I know you're scared. That annoying tube in your mouth has to stay there for a little bit longer, but I promise it can come out soon as long as you stay calm. Can you do that for me baby?"
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"Just relax and take your time."
  She laid still, slowly blinking a few times. Her eyes then focused on the ceiling, motionless. Chris wondered what was going through her mind. Seeing her this active lit a little hope inside of him. It took a long time for her gaze to find his, and when it did he smiled at her through threatening tears.
"Hi." He breathed.
Another unintelligible groan came from her but he could tell that finally, after over an hour, she was slowly but surely coming back to him. Her eyes were watery, and all he wanted to do was hold her.
"Welcome back Sydney." The nurse said, speaking clearly and smiling down at her.
  Sydney didn't take her eyes off of Chris. It was nearly impossible to read her with the breathing tube still in the way, but he sensed a whole lot of emotions simmering beneath the surface.
"It's going to be okay. I'm right here with you." He reassured.