Princess of the universe // Hardzzellee

Chapter 28

"Hey, sweetie. How are you doing?" Ben asked while brushing some hairs out of Addison's face. He sat down on the side of her bed.
"Doing alright," She sang, mimicking Gwil. Joe looked away from the bed to quickly blinked away some tears.
"Are you in any pain?" Ben asked.
"My arm feels funny," She said while lifting her arm to show her bright pink cast.
"Have you chosen the color yourself?" Ben asked. A smile spread on her lips while she started nodding.
"Where is Gwilly?" She asked. Ben swallowed hard.
"We don't know. We will probably hear from him soon," Ben said.
"Addison? We should draw things on your cast later," Joe said to distract her. Addison gasped loudly.
"Yes!" She exclaimed all happily. Ben and Joe locked eyes. They recognized the feeling the other was having immediately. Ben moved from the bed to the chair next to Joe. He grabbed his husband's hand in his own.

Over the course of the next two hours, Joe and Ben had walked onto the corridor at least ten times. Either to talk without Addison being there or to beg a nurse for more information on Gwil's situation. Ben had lost all hope. For the past half an hour he hadn't said a word. He kept staring at the bedsheets on Addison's bed.
"Dad?" Joe, who had been interacting with Addison to distract himself, looked up. Addison had her eyes fixated on Ben's face. When Ben didn't respond, Joe tapped on Ben's leg to get his attention. Ben finally looked up.
"You look sad," Addison said when Ben finally had his eyes on her. He shot her a forced smile.
"I'm fine," He mumbled.

When a nurse walked in, both Ben's and Joe's heads immediately snapped to the door.
"Misters Mazzello?" She asked. Both of them nodded.
"Please come with me," She said. Joe was the first one to stand up. He walked over to Addison before placing a kiss on her forehead.
"We will be back," He said before following Ben and the nurse onto the corridor.
"Is Gwilym okay?" Ben asked as soon as they walked through the door.
"I honestly don't know anything about his situation. I have just been asked to bring you to the doctor's office."

When they walked into the doctor's office. A police officer was seated next to the doctor. Ben immediately had a feeling that it couldn't be good.
"Take a seat. Sorry that you had to wait for so long," The doctor said. Joe and Ben sat down in the chairs opposite the doctor and the officer.
"I am doctor Kellerman and this is officer Morgan. She is here to brief you about the accident itself." Doctor Kellerman said.
"Let's start with the good news first. Gwilym is alive and for now, his condition is stable," Ben took a deep breath before blowing all the air out through his mouth.

"We are going to tell you everything that happened. It is a long story. So, if you want to, you can record the audio so you can listen to it later," Officer Morgan said. Ben quickly grabbed his phone to do so.
"My colleague and I were the first on the scene after the accident happened. There were two cars involved. Yours and another. It is still under investigation, but we know that the other driver suffered from a heart attack. From witness statements, it looks like his foot slipped onto the brake. To avoid hitting the car, mr Mazzello steered. With that, he hit a curb and the car ended up spinning and crashing frontally into a tree," Officer Morgen explained calmly. Ben's hand looked for Joe's. He immediately locked their fingers together. 
"When we arrived there were bystanders by both cars. Gwilym was unconscious at the mine. Bystanders were trying to help him the best they could given the position he was in. They had also smashed in a window to be able to talk to Addison."

"How big were the chances of survival?" Ben asked.
"If we look purely at the crash, I'd say Gwilym had a chance of 35% and Addison around 65%. Both are very lucky to be alive. If Gwilym hadn't responded the way he did, it would have been a lot worse for all three people involved. Due to his quick response, all three of them survived." Joe's breathing got stuck in his throat. He felt Ben squeeze his hand. So, he squeezed back.
"On the way to the hospital, Gwilym went in and out of consciousness. There was a moment when his heart rate and oxygen dropped so low that he flatlined for three minutes. Normally when something like that happens, people end up in a coma. However, Gwilym woke up around the time we arrived at the hospital. He acted as if he had just woken up from a nap, which is very unusual. We have been monitoring him for the past three hours and everything looks good. He has no brain damage and he didn't have any internal bleeding. His heart rate and oxygen levels are back to normal as well. With that, I can safely say that his life isn't in danger anymore," The doctor said. Ben closed his eyes before letting out a deep breath. Joe bit on the inside of his cheek while he desperately tried to keep his tears in.

"I have to warn you. His situation is still very serious. His right leg is fractured. On his left foot, he broke three of his toes. His left arm is fractured. We had to give him stitches on the underside of his chin. It looks like he has some nerve, brain, and muscle damage, but that should all heal in a couple of weeks. He didn't really want to talk to us, but we think he is severely traumatized. Tomorrow we are sending in a therapist to talk to him," Doctor Kellerman said.
"Can you please take us to him? I need to see him," Joe said, his voice fragile.
"Yes, of course," The doctor said while standing up. Officer Morgan handed Ben a piece of paper with a phone number.
"Call me if you have any questions or want more information," She said.
"Thank you. And thank you for your service," Ben said before following doctor Kellerman.

**********

Hey guys,

I hope you guys weren't too nervous after the last chapter. Although, I have to warn you, that you aren't getting away with so little drama so easily. Prepare for some pretty angsty chapters.

Thank you guys so much for the support you have shown over the past few chapters. It really means a lot! I really like reading the comments you leave on the chapters!

Take good care of yourself and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy.

Goodbye,

Xx Itsametaphorjoe