These Broken Roads

Chapter 24: The Choices We Make

~Elliot~

Everything hurt. Everything hurt so bad...

It was dark. Too dark...

I felt someone take my hand.

Wet. Something was wet.

Then I heard voices. Far away, but were getting closer.

I felt so tired and weighed down. Even breathing was hard.

Slowly the pain faded and I felt myself drifting off...

~Natalie~

"There." The nurse said after injecting something into E's IV. "We gave him pain medicine."

"How can you tell he's in pain? He hasn't even woken up yet." Quinn snapped at the nurse.

She was sitting beside E's bed, holding his hand. I watched as the nurse shook her head and left the room. Quinn kept staring at her brother who was covered in red marks and cuts.

They said that E suffered a broken leg and arm. He had to have surgery to help heal it, but Quinn mentioned that the scout was coming to the game tomorrow and if E can't play he won't get in.

I thought back to my acceptance letter.

"Natalie." Quinn said softly. "What if he doesn't wake up?"

I walked over to her side and touched her shoulder. "He will, Quinn. He's strong."

Quinn sobbed and held E's hand to her cheek.

I know how hard this was for her. I was exactly like this when it was Nate in that hospital bed. Now the fact that E will most likely not play tomorrow. It's heartbreaking.

I heard footsteps coming up the hallway.

"Where is he?" I heard Taylor shout from the hallway.

I quickly walked out to the hallway, where I waved Taylor into the room.

E has told me that Taylor doesn't show emotions, but in that moment I saw a tear form in Taylor's eye when he saw E, but he quickly wiped it away.

"What did the doctors say?" He asked both of us.

"Broken leg and arm, Dad." Quinn said without looking at her father. "He's not playing tomorrow, or maybe ever again."

"What?" Taylor and I asked in unison.

Quinn didn't say that when I asked her.

Quinn nodded slowly and turned her face away from E. "When they first brought him in the doctors told me that he broke his arm and his leg. They said that he may not get full mobility again in his shoulder."

I watched as Taylor's adam's apple bobbed as he looked at E. "We'll get him some physical therapy. That should fix him up."

"Maybe." Quinn said softly. "The doctors didn't seem hopeful though."

Taylor scoffed. "What do they know?"

Quinn glared at him. "He won't be playing if it's hurting him, Dad."

Taylor rolled his eyes, his gaze finding me again like he just remembered I was here.

"We will talk about this when he wakes up."

Taylor pulled up a chair and sat next to E's side. After a few minutes of silence he spoke again.

"What happened in the accident?"