Hold My Hand (Sequel to Saved: Adopted by Brendon Urie)

Chapter 6

Zack was awoken by the sound of moaning and crying. He groaned and sat up. His back and neck hurt and while tour buses aren't the best for sleeping at the best of times, he'd never been this uncomfortable before. Where had he fallen asleep? The seats at the front?

Zack opened his eyes to find out what the noise was. Who was groaning and crying?  And why? 

It was when he did finally open his eyes he realized he wasn't on the tour bus. He was in a hospital room. And he was in a chair. Which explained why his body hurt so much. The crying and moaning was coming from the bed. Abby! Was she awake?

He looked up and saw Brendon standing over his daughter, smoothing down her hair and whispering to her.

"Shh, shh, Abs. I called the nurse. She'll bring you something in a minute," he was cooing to his daughter. Her eyes were still closed but she was groaning.

"It hurts," she whined.

"I know, baby," Brendon cooed. "I know. The nurse will be right back. I promise. You're going to feel better soon."

A nurse came rushing in and inserted an needle into Abby's I.V. 

"There you go, sweetheart.  The nurse just gave you some pain medicine and you should start feeling better soon, okay?"

Abby sobbed.

Zack looked at Brendon and then at Abby.

"Hey," he whispered. "Abs, Kala and I are here, too. How ya doin' kid?"

"I hurt," Abby sobbed.

"I know, kiddo. I know. Let the meds kick in and you should feel better, soon. Okay?"

"Wha' happen'?" Abby slurred. The meds were clearly starting to take effect.

"You rest now. We'll talk when you wake up,"
Brendon said, smoothing her hair again and looking down at his daughter, a smile playing on his lips. When it was obvious Abby had fallen back to sleep Brendon sagged into his chair and looked over at Zack.

"I don't know what to tell her," he said.

"What you've always promised. The truth. She was hit by a car, she's got some pretty serious injuries and we're waiting for her to heal some more so we know just what will happen," Zack whispered, hoping Kala was still asleep. It was still dark out and he didn't want her disturbed, too.

"Yeah," Brendon said simply.

Kala, being awake now anyway, offered to go get coffee. Brendon looked out Abby's window to the grey sky as the sun was beginning to rise.

"Kala, can you grab me a breakfast sandwich or something?" Brendon asked. She said she would.

About half an hour later she was back with breakfast sandwiches and coffees. Brendon thanked her, placed his food on Abby's tray table at the foot of her bed, and kept looking out the window. The sun had risen higher in the sky and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Summer in Chicago could be brutally hot. Brendon wasn't sure how long they'd have to stay here. But he didn't care. As long as Abby needed to be here, they'd be here. And he'd be right beside her the whole time.

The three adults ate their breakfasts in silence. Nurses came and went doing their various tasks, checking Abby's I.V., changing her catheter, checking her vitals. Taking notes.

"She's had a good night, I see," the nurse said to Brendon.

"I guess. I mean, she was asleep all night. She only woke up that little bit this morning," he said.

"We'll see if we can't keep her awake longer later with something a little less strong. She needed the rest this morning," the nurse said. "The doctor wants us to reduce her pain medication next dose. She'll still get pain relief. We're just going to switch to something less strong."

Brendon nodded.

"What if she really can't handle the pain?"

"We'll do what we need to do to keep Abby comfortable, but we also want her to start being more awake so we can start doing some assessments. Even with a lighter painkiller, she's probably going to do a lot of sleeping in the next few days. Don't worry. We aren't going to let Abby suffer unnecessarily."

Brendon thanked the nurse who then told the three that rounds were at nine and they'd likely have to leave the room for them. They said they understood and with that the nurse left to tend to her other patients.

Brendon got up, kissed Abby's head and went into her washroom. After using the facilities and washing his hands, he stared at his face in the mirror over the sink. He had a five o'clock shadow, bags under his eyes, and his hair was a mess. He was still in his clothes from yesterday when he'd been doing stuff around the venue, putting out fires, and doing some press.

He sighed and looked again in the mirror.

"Sarah," he said. "Please help Abby through this. You helped her get out of that foster home when she needed me. Please. Help her get through this."

He washed his face, blew his nose and went back into Abby's room.

"Dad?" He heard from Abby's bed. "Dad? Are you here? Where are you?"

He rushed to her side.

"Hey, baby. I'm right here. I was just in the bathroom. What's up, sweetie. Are you okay?"

"What happened? Why can't I move my head?" Abby tried turning towards her father's voice. He got into her line of sight.

"Oh, Abs. You were in an accident yesterday. You were hit by a car. Do you remember that?"

"Kind of," Abby said. "But why can't I move?"

"You have a collar on keeping your neck stable because you have a lot of swelling on your spine and it's pressing on your spinal cord. Which is why they're keeping your head stable. In case your spinal cord injury is worse than they can see right now. They don't want you to move much and maybe make things worse."

"What do you mean by worse?" Abby asked.

"In case you're paralyzed. You said you couldn't feel your arms and legs yesterday."

Tears formed in Abby's eyes.

"I'm paralyzed?" She asked, the tears falling down her cheeks.

"We don't know for sure yet. There's too much bruising and swelling for them to see your spinal cord properly."

"I'm sorry, Dad!" Abby exclaimed, fresh tears falling from her eyes.

Zack and Kala quietly left the room to let Brendon talk to his daughter about some of the difficult things they'd need to discuss.

"Oh, no. Abby. Don't be sorry. I should be apologizing to you! I didn't realize I was letting time get away from me. I'm so, so sorry I didn't make time for you when I should have. You're 13! I thought you were okay with everything and having so much space to yourself. I didn't stop to think you still needed and wanted time with me. That's on me. I'm so, so sorry, Abby."

"But I ran away. I was so mad at you," she frowned. "But now that seems stupid."

"Abby, it's okay. You were upset and I wasn't fair or understanding. It really wasn't until I saw your post that I realized I'd majorly screwed up. Whatever happens, I'll spend the rest of my life making that up to you."

"Dad?" Abby asked in a timid voice.

"Yeah, baby?"

"What if I'm really paralyzed? What's gonna happen?"

Brendon took a deep breath.