Forced (1st book in The Forced Series)

Forty Two

Forty Two

"She'll be okay." China said, squeezing Van's hand.

He looked over at her. It had been ten hours since he had woken up, and yet there was no news what's so ever about Hazel.  The doctors denied him the option of seeing her, saying she was still critical. He'd prayed, came to the verge of tears and yelled several times. Things simply didn't look good.

By the next morning, he'd become just a bit numb. Zash and China stayed with him for a long while, and he and his father had many quiet games of chess, but nothing stuck with him. Nothing besides the pain in his chest.

Then Violet George came in. Her hair curled and glossy, unlike Hazel's frizzy mane, was up in a neat business like bun. She had on a blouse that showed off her more than supple bust. Her skirt left little to the imagination and heels made her seem taller. Van knew from the look on her face, what she was up to.

"Hi...I just wanted to come and see how you're doing." she murmured.

"I'm fine." Van answered stiffly.

"Oh... well, you know that if you ever need any comfort, you can always look to me. Okay, V?"

"No, I'm fine. I don't go around telling my problems to children."

Her eyes widened, then she nodded, coming closer, if that was possible. If she moved any more, she would be straddling the bed,"That's why I'm here and not, well her. I know my sister. She is always so backward and childish with her moods. I can offer you solitude, what you really need."

"Your fu-," he took a deep breath,"Your sister is down the hall in the ICU and you are here prepositioning to her husband and you call her childish? Look in the mirror, no matter how you force out woman wood, put on clothes that should come with a pole, you'll always simply be a child and nothing more; especially to me and compared to Hazel, you look like a blow up doll. Leave."

The look in his eyes was enough to melt a concrete wall. Violet gasped, and turned, running from the room. She had tears in her eyes. Zash entered just then, looking puzzled. Seeing Van he grimaced,"Again?"

"Yeah...but this time she was pretty clear about it. The bitch."

Zash snorted,"You should have told her off since the wedding."

Van nodded, his expression turning hopeful,"Any news?"

"The doctors haven't said anything. I've told them to come straight to you though. I heard her parents bad mouthing her yesterday. Kinda see why Hazel doesn't visit, or talk about, them."

Van nodded, knowing exactly what Zash was talking about. After all, Mr. George wasn't exactly keeping his voice down. Van had been about to shout an insult when his father's angry voice made him stop. He was grateful to his father for standing up for Hazel.

His thoughts wandered back to the baby; not that they strayed much. The fact that there was no baby to expect, or prepare for, was almost alien. It haunted him. He thought of how Hazel would react. She would need him when she woke. She too couldn't just leave him.

×forced×

Some hours later, Van was discharged from the hospital. His shoulder throbbed but nothing a couple of pain killers couldn't fix. As soon as he stepped out of his room, a doctor came up to him.

"Mr. Steel? May we talk."

"Yes, how is she? Is Hazel awake?" Van asked eagerly.

"No. She is still unconscious. But as she's just got out of surgery, she will be disoriented and will  need to rest. I'll let you go see her soon, but we need to discuss... the arrangements for the baby."

Van's eyes widened, and he swallowed hard,"Talk...talk to Zash. He's the one that helped with my papers. He'll... he'll make the arrangements."

The doctor nodded, seeing clearly that the man before him didn't want to face the music about his dead child,"I'll talk to him. Wait for another five minutes or so before you go into her room."

Van nodded, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. In a matter of three days, his whole world was thrown up side down. There was no baby. Hazel would become even more reserved than before. Damn, he had spent nearly four months trying to get Hazel to simply sit in the same room with him and talk, and now Van was sure she would go back to being a shell.

"Doctor!" he called.

"Yes?"

"I'll.. talk to you. Ab-about the-the baby." 

The man nodded, walking back to Van. He pointed out some options, and advised him that it would be best to wait until Hazel was well enough to either  make a decision or attend whatever Van organized.

An hour later, after throwing up what little food he'd been able to eat, Van opened the door that separated him and Hazel. He took a shaky breath, and walked in slowly. Her pale skin was the first thing that struck him. She had lost the sun she had caught on their trip to Jamaica. Her pasty white skin was covered in bruises and several burn marks were visible on her arm. A band went around her head and wires in her nose that connected to many machines. The doctor had told him that Hazel had a concussion and that she was having trouble breathing, but he had not realized it was that bad.

"One of her rib bones were cracked. The X-ray didn't show that her rib was that bad. While in surgery we realized how it was but it was too late. To stop her bleeding, we had to proceed with the operation. The rib splintered and punctured her right lung. Steps has been taken to support her injury but we'll need to keep her longer than we had originally planned."

Tears rushed to his eyes, and he struggled to keep them at bay. Grabbing her hand gently, he kissed it. The tears escaped and spilled out over her hand clasped in both of his. They felt cold and that disturbed him.

"Haze baby you have to wake up. Don't leave me."

He lowered his head, resting it against their interlocked hands. His head was throbbing, as was his shoulder, but he ignored his discomfort, sending up a silent prayer for her to fight everything.

"Come back to me Haze."

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