Saving the Heart

♥ Chapter Twenty ♥

♥ Chapter Twenty ♥

    I stood in the waiting room, chewing on my thumb.  Christmas.  This was Christmas.  My eyes were swollen and puffy from crying, my nose red.  The clock read two in the morning.  three hours had passed.  It felt like three years.

    “Kennedy!” Reagan all but yelled as he came into the waiting room, hugging me to the best of his ability.  And I broke down all over again, my knees going weak as I hugged him back.

    “I’m so scared,” I breathed, my voice light, foreign to my ears.  “Reagan, I’m so scared.” I repeated, a faint whisper.

    “I know,” Reagan told me, resting his chin atop my head.  “I know.”

    “Kennedy,” the rest of the flock came filing in, one after the other.  Even Patrick was with them, hurrying along which his canes, velcroed to his arms.  That wasn’t safe.  Why wasn’t he at least being safe?

    My father hurried over to the reception counter and started talking to the lady there as they exchanged nervous glances.

    “I saw him and he-” I choked back a sob, “he wasn’t moving, Reagan.  He wasn’t breathing.”

    “He’s going to be okay,” Reagan tried to console me as I shook my head.  My father came over to use, hugging us both before pulling me aside and out of earshot of my brothers.

    I hastily wiped at my eyes, freeing the tears there in an attempt to compose myself.  Prepare myself.

    “What happened?” He asked, holding me by the shoulders.

    “I-we went skating.  Sam was upset so I-I took him to go skating and he-he-” I looked up at my dad.  “This is all my fault.” I breathed.  I never should have taken him skating.  He was lightheaded to begin with.  Why was I so stupid.  “This is all my fault.”

    “Kennedy, don’t you dare say that.”

    “I’m the reason he’s in here…”

    “No,” my father shouted, shaking me.  “You’re the reason that Sam is going to get out of here, you hear me?  You’re the only family that boy has right now, Kennedy.  He needs you to be here for him.  He needs you to be strong.”

    “Strong,” I looked up at my father, meeting his determined blue eyes.  I sniffled.  

    “He’s going to be okay,” and with that he pulled me into another hug, holding me close, comforting me the same as when mom died.  Died.  Then his shoulders shook.  My father cracked.  I could feel him straining with composure, battling to keep strong for me.  So I could be strong for Sam, but the moment he pulled away he was strong, and I knew that I had to be too.

    “Kennedy, Kennedy Smith.” I looked up at the nurse as she came down the hall, flipping through her papers.  

    “Th-that’s me,” I voiced lightly, still holding onto my father.  The nurse’s brows were drawn as she looked from the papers to me.

    “Wife of Mr. Samuel Smith?” She asked hesitantly.  I nodded, wiping at my eyes.  She looked between my father and me for a moment before sighing it off.  “You can come with me now,” I went to leave, still holding my father’s hand and beginning to drag him along, he was my rock.  “He has to stay,” she chided.  “Only family.  Sorry.” My father let go of my hand and I broke.

    “I’ll be right here when you get back.” He told me, taking a step back and clasping his hands together behind his back.  I nodded hesitantly, dazed, distant before following the lady in the dog patterned scrubs down the hall.