Stranger Things Have Happened, I Know

Ch 37

Chapter 37

Dave’s Point of View

It was almost three in the morning when I arrived at the hospital. Kate was asleep in a hospital bed and Heidi and Danielle were dozing in recliners nearby. I knocked softly on the door frame and they both opened their eyes. Heidi’s face was scratched and bruised and when she rose to greet me, I could tell she was sore. I gently hugged her.

“I’m glad you are alright,” I said. She bit her lip and we both turned to look at Kate. I slowly walked over to her hospital bed.

Her face was bruised and swollen, her head bandaged. She had a deep slice across the bridge of her nose. Her left wrist was in a splint and her right hand was wrapped in gauze to protect her IV site. I ran my hands through my hair and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Her eye lids fluttered a little bit.

“They wanted to keep her sedated until they could figure out how badly she’s hurt,” Heidi explained. “And actually, the doctor said she’s a lot better off than they would have thought.” I looked at Kate in the hospital bed. She looked awful.

“What happened?” I asked, turning to face Heidi.

“Kate was driving, we were stopped at a red light and the car behind us wasn’t pay attention and rear ended us. He pushed us right out into the middle of oncoming traffic and a big SUV slammed right into the driver’s side door,” Heidi explained. “She was bleeding, from her head and nose… but she kept talking to me, telling me to call 911, asking if I was ok…” Heidi started to cry. Danielle stood and hugged Heidi and whispered to her to calm down.

“I think I’m going to take Heidi home,” Danielle said and I nodded. I hugged them both and promised to call them in anything changed.

                As soon as they left, I dragged one of the recliners close to the hospital bed and curled up in it and watched Kate sleep. Had I told her how much I loved her before she left the house back in LA? I know I had said, “I love you” but did she know what that meant? I wished I had said, “Kate you are my entire world and I never knew what love was until I met you.” I wished I had made her stand there until she understood exactly what I meant every time I said the words “I love you”. Eventually, I managed to doze off into a fitful sleep. I’m not sure how much time went by, but I sensed movement in the room and my eyes shot open, suddenly wide awake. A middle aged man in a lab coat was flipping through the chart on the end of Kate’s bed.

                “Is everything ok?” I asked as I stood, stiffly. “I’m Dave, I’m her boyfriend…”

                “Dr. Dvorak,” he said, “Nice to meet you.” He shook my hand. “She’s actually very lucky, we are going to start tapering off her sedatives, let her wake up a little bit, since there is no internal injury. Just a few cuts and broken bones. A healthy, young woman like this… she will be up and out of here in no time.” I felt immensely relieved at hearing this and thanked him. He made a few notes in the chart and clipped it back to the end of the bed before he left. A little while later, a nurse came in and fiddled with Kate’s IV machine.

                “There, she should start waking up in a little bit. If you need anything, just hit the call button,” she instructed me. I nodded. I sat and watched Kate for signs that she was coming around, but she stayed asleep. My throat was tight with emotion and I felt so fucking helpless. Kate was hurt and there was nothing I could do to make her better. I stood and stretched and began to pace the room. Kate’s nurse was passing by the room and poked her head in.

                “There is a coffee shop downstairs,” she said, smiling. “You can grab a cup of coffee, something to eat, a few magazines. Just take the elevator down to the lobby, you can’t miss it.” I rubbed my chin and considered this. Coffee sounded fucking amazing right then. I bent down and kissed Kate’s cheek.