Without You (gxg)

Part 48- Present Day

I don't even remember getting to the hospital. Or how long the cops drove me there. But it wasn't a hospital that I recognized- it had to have been closer to where Noelle had met Elena.
The police walked me to a hallway in the hospital. At this point- I didn't even know if Noelle was alive. I asked them if they knew- they said they did not know. If they knew, they would tell me. I could tell the cops felt bad.
"Wait here. A doctor will come out and talk to you." the male cop said to me, "I really hope everything is okay."
"Me too." the female cop said, and then they nodded their head at me- and they were gone.
I stood in the hallway for a moment. The cold hallway where I was the only one. Until I heard heels clacking down the hall. I turned to see if it was by some chance a doctor- but I thought it would be unlikely that they would be wearing heels after 2 am.
But no. I knew exactly who it was when I turned and saw her.
The dark hair. The big brown eyes. And when my eyes laid upon her outfit- I felt pure rage inside me. The tightest black jeans you could possibly imagine paired with a super tight red turtleneck sweater that was tucked in that showed her boobs off. And she had on heeled boots.
So that's how she was dressed to meet my fiancé. Newsflash bitch- she isn't your wife anymore.
She caught my eye. "Harley!" she then rushed over to me. And I could see as she got closer to me that she had been crying. Her mascara stained her cheeks.
She looked like she was going to hug me for a moment. But then she must've looked at my composure- and she stopped. I was not about to hug her.
"Is Noelle okay?" I asked her, coldly.
And that's when I heard a woman's voice behind me say, "Are you Miss Harley Edwin, Noelle's fiancé?"
I turned to see a pretty woman with dark skin and curly hair in scrubs behind me.
"Yes, I am. Is Noelle okay?" I asked her.
"My name is Dr. Vaughn, I've been taking care of Noelle since she got here."
Since she got here. So she was alive?
"Is Noelle okay?" I asked her, frantically.
"She's injured. She has some serious injuries to her chest and back. When you go see her, you might be a bit alarmed. She's covered in scrapes. She isn't awake currently. She was in a lot of pain and we gave her some medicine." Dr. Vaughn said.
"But...she's alive?" I said.
"Yes. She is alive. She's very lucky to be alive." Dr. Vaughn said.
"Please tell me whoever she hit was okay." I said, starting to worry about whoever else was involved in the accident.
"Another reason why she is lucky- it was a one car accident. She was going extremely fast- and she drove off the road into a ditch-like area." Dr. Vaughn said.
My heart was pounding. "Okay." I said.
"But there's a more important matter we have to discuss here, Miss Edwin. Does Noelle have a bad drinking problem? Her blood alcohol level was 0.23. Thats almost three times the legal limit. There is no way she should have gotten in the car." Dr. Vaughn said to me.
0.23? And Elena let her drive?
I couldn't myself. I turned around- and Elena was still standing here, crying.
"Are you fucking serious?" I said to her. I had officially lost my cool. For hours I had no idea if Noelle was even alive. And now I lost it.
Elena looked at me with her big brown eyes.
"You're not going to say anything?" I practically shouted at her, "How the fuck could you let Noelle drive??"
"I-I'm sorry." Elena stammered.
"Fuck you, Elena!" I then actually shouted at her.
"Harley. Look at me." I felt Dr. Vaughn's hand gently on my shoulder. I turned around, and she said, "Take a deep breath with me."
So I did. I looked at her and breathed in. And let it out.
"I know you're very upset right now. But focus with me. If you need resources, we can help you here. Noelle clearly does need some form of help."
"She does." I nodded, and I could feel myself tearing up.
"Would you like to come see her? She's not awake. But I think she would be very pleased to see you when she does wake up. She kept asking for you- even when she was in a lot of pain and was practically delirious." Dr. Vaughn said.
"Yes. I need to see her." I said, and I started to follow Dr. Vaughn.
I then heard heels clacking behind us.
No.
"Miss, I can only allow one person in the room. And that will be Harley." Dr. Vaughn turned around and said directly to Elena.
I followed Dr. Vaughn to the room Noelle was in. And when I entered, my heart dropped to my stomach. She was just laying there on the hospital bed, with an oxygen mask. I could see her scrapes on her arms and her legs. As well as her face.
"She was having some trouble breathing from her chest injury." Dr. Vaughn said, "Why she has the mask on."
"But she's going to be okay?" I asked Dr. Vaughn.
"I expect a full recovery- physically. She just has to take it extremely easy. And she will need some physical therapy. But I am more worried about her making a full recovery with the alcohol issue."
I nodded, and sat down in a chair. I pulled it up right next to the hospital bed.
Dr. Vaughn put her hand gently on my shoulder, "I'll be back soon to check on Noelle, okay?"
"Yes. Thank you." I said.
I sat there in the chair, feeling completely numb.
I almost lost someone I loved again to a drunk driving accident.
I couldn't keep having this happen. Noelle needed to get help. There was no way in hell I could let this occur again.
I wanted to call my mom in that moment- but I looked at my phone. It was past 4 am at this point. I didn't want to wake her up.
My phone background was a picture of Noelle and I at Priya's wedding. It was a selfie of us smiling, she had her arm around me. I looked down at the photo of her smiling on my phone, and then at her laying in the hospital bed. Covered in scrapes and cuts, with the breathing machine. And tears started flowing from my eyes. I couldn't believe we were now at this point.
On the ride to the hospital, I just kept thinking what I was going to do if I lost her. I was beyond relieved that wasn't the case- but I knew we now had a long road ahead of us.
I buried my head in my hands and just cried. As quiet as I possibly could- to not wake up Noelle. I wasn't even sure how long I had my head buried in my hands. But I just could not stop crying.
"Hey, stop crying. I'm okay."
I short my head up when I heard Noelle's voice. It was muffled. But I could make out what she said.
"Noelle! You're awake!" I said, looking at her.
"I'm going to stick my hand out, because I think I'm even too sore for you to hug me." Noelle said, and she weakly stuck her arm out. I moved my chair a little closer and held onto her right hand.
"I was so scared." was all I could say to her.
"I am so fucking sorry, Harley. I cannot believe I let this happen." Noelle said, and I could hear in her voice that she was choked up.
"You need help. You know that, right?" I squeezed her hand lightly.
"I know. I know I do." Noelle nodded weakly.
In that moment, Dr. Vaughn and two other medics professionals in scrubs walked in.
"I heard voices." Dr. Vaughn said, "Noelle, how do you feel?"
"Honestly, everything hurts. Especially my chest. Can I take this breathing thing off?" Noelle said.
"No. You may not. You need it." Dr. Vaughn said, firmly.
She then turned to me, "Harley- do you mind stepping out for a moment, honey? I just want to examine Noelle."
"Sure." I said.
"Can you call my dad?" Noelle asked me as I walked out.
"Yes." I nodded.
I stood out in the hall for a moment, just staring at my phone. I was thankful in this moment that Noelle's stepmother, Mary, had given me her number so we could talk about hair. There were times that we texted back and forth giving each other trips.
It was so early- but I called her.
She surprisingly answered on the third ring.
"Harley? Why are you calling so early, is everything okay?" Mary sounded concerned.
"Can I talk to Ed?" I asked her, "I'm sorry if I woke you."
"Of course you can. It's okay. Let me go get him." she said.
A minute later I heard, "Did something happen to Noelle?"
I took a deep breath, "She got into a car accident." I said, "She's okay. Injured, but she will be okay." I said, shakily.
Ed sighed, "Was she drunk?"
"She was."
"I'm sure you know, Harley. We've got to get her help. Look, let me just process this, figure out what to do,  and I will call you right back. All I need to know in this moment is that she is alive and okay." Ed said.
"Okay. I'll talk to you later." I said.
I put my phone in my pocket. The hallway was still empty. Or so I thought.
And then I spotted her again- Elena. She was sitting on a bench all the way down the hall.
I found myself making my way down to her. Until I was right in front of where she was sitting.
"Are you going to yell at me again? I can't handle that, Harley." she said, looking down.
Cry me a fucking river.
"Just tell me why. Why did you let her drive?" I said to Elena.
"She just kept drinking at dinner, okay? And I did tell her she should slow down. But she told me she was fine. And I believed her. I'm sorry I believed her. I clearly shouldn't have." Elena said.
"Why did you even have to meet her for dinner? Couldn't she have sent you the watch?"
"I...wanted to see her." Elena said.
"Clearly. I can tell by your outfit." I said.
Elena looked at me, "We were  still married once. That has to count for something."
Nope. Not anymore.
"No, Elena. It doesn't. You were married, yes. But now you're not. And you haven't been for a long time. And now she's my fiancé. You need to let it go. And you need to leave Noelle alone. Do you understand me?" I said.
Elena kept my gaze. "Okay." she said, "I understand."
"Okay. Good." I said, and then I decided I couldn't be near her anymore.
So I walked away.
Back down the hallway. Back to Noelle's room. Back to what really mattered.