While You Were Sleeping

Chapter 3

My mind was still racing, attempting to replay each word the doctor had said over and over in my head.

Seriously injured... too much blood lost... brain damage... memory loss... broken... coma.

And that's where my head got stuck, each time. A coma. This beautiful boy was in a coma.

He hadn't been out of surgery yet, but the doctor had told me there was nothing else they could do inside his head. The damage from the car accident had left him with a major brain bleed, leading to his coma. There was nothing they could do about it and they had no idea how long he would be unconscious. Wonderful.

They said it would take at least another four hours to fix the other damage including the stitches required in his face, the massive bleeding from his stomach and broken leg. I got that sick feeling all over again every time I let myself even think about him lying there, broken...

I placed my head in between my hands, leaning over in my chair. It had to be nearing midnight and the doctor had left me hours ago, which meant Harry should be out of surgery any minute, right? I could check on him, make sure he was alright and then I could leave. The doctor said he most likely wouldn't remember the accident when he woke up, so I had no obligations. I just needed to see that he was okay.

He had to be okay.

"Ms. Parks?" My head snapped up, tired eyes finding it difficult to focus on the nurse making her way towards me, charts in her hands. "Harry is out of surgery now and set up in his room if you would like to see him."

I nodded and stood up shakily, noting what a long sleep I would need after I got home but doubting I would even be able to close my eyes. I followed the nurse away from the eager eyes in the waiting room, each awaiting good news for a family member and in that regard, I felt rather out of place. I wasn't related to Harry at all and I had no responsibility towards him, despite what I'd told the doctor and clearly the nurses now knew as well. I was just going to check on him once more and leave. And then we could all forget this ever happened and move on with our lives.

At least, that was the plan.

"Here we are. Now, don't be alarmed, but your fiancé will be hooked up to plenty of different machines, several to monitor his breathing, his heart rate... things like that. He has an IV and a couple of tubes hanging off of him, but it's nothing for your concern." I nodded again at the sympathetic nurses' explanation and entered the room slowly as if going to a funeral viewing.

The nurse was right in warning me. It was absolutely terrifying to see Harry lying there, helpless and unmoving, pale even in comparison to the stark sheets, plugged into machines that probably held his life. I looked away quickly, but still stood at the end of the bed for a moment, noticing that the nurse hadn't left yet. She was watching me carefully.

"Can I help you?" I snapped, too exhausted to care if I sounded rude. And, if I was his fiancé, wouldn't I be upset and rude anyways? Good role playing, Jade.

"Well, don't you want to know how Harry's surgery went overall?" She asked, suddenly unsure. I sighed, rubbing my tired eyes.

"Uh, yeah, sure. I mean, he's going to be okay, right?"

"In time, he will recover. But we're still not sure of the extent of his brain damage, which I suppose would be a huge problem considering his career..." The nurse got quieter in the later part of her sentence but corrected herself quickly, getting back on track. "His leg was fractured horribly so we had to insert a few poles and screws to keep it healing back in the right place. He'll need another surgery in several months on that. His internal injuries were extensive, but were fixed with no further concern, and his face should be back to normal, give or take a few scars, within a month or two." She finished with a cheerful smile, closing the binder with the charts in her hands. I nodded slowly, taking it all in while inspecting each machine with my eyes. Were they all truly necessary? Really, I was doing anything but looking directly at Harry.