Where have you been?

Chapter Eleven

"Cassie." I slowly opened my eyes and saw Ronnie's dad smiling at me. "How is he?"

I looked at Ronnie and back at his dad. "There hasn't been any change. Their keeping him in a coma until the swelling goes down. They don't know what kind of damage will be done, if anything." He nodded and squeezed my shoulder.

"Cassie. Why don't you go back to the hotel and sleep a while. I know you didn't sleep much last night. Get something to eat." I shook my head and held Ronnie's hand tighter.

"What if he walks up, Russell, and I'm not here? I can't go. I'll just have the guys bring me something."

"Alright. I wasn't trying to force you." He smiled and sat on the other side of Ronnie.

"I know. I'm sorry if I got snappy. It wasn't intentional." I ran my hand through my hair and sighed.

"I know it wasn't, honey. I know your worried." I nodded and looked back at the door as it opened again.

"How are you today?" The doctor walked in and tried to smile.

"About as good as can be expected. This is Ronnie's dad." They said their hellos and the doctor went over everything with his dad.

"Cassie. We're going to run some more tests, see how the swelling is going. We're going to have him out of here for a couple hours. Good chance to go grab some food and shower. I'll call you as soon as he's back in his room." I nodded and leaned forward to peck his lips gently.

"I love you. I'll be back soon." I kissed him once more and took Russell's hand as we walked out. I walked to the waiting room and sat down.

"What are you doing? Food, shower. Come on." I shook my head and looked away from him.

"I can't. What if something happens and I'm not here. I can't." Russell knelt down in front of me and took my face in his hands.

"Honey. He's going to be fine. You need to take care of yourself too. You're no good to him if you're not rested and feed." I looked back at the door as they wheeled him out and down the hall.

"Alright. But I don't want to be gone too long." He nodded and held my hand as we walked out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After I ate and showered, we made our way back to the hospital. I was hoping that I would hear some good news. I needed him to wake up. I couldn't do this waiting anymore. We walked into his room and the nurse smiled at us.

"I'm going to let the doctor know you're back. He wanted to talk to you as soon as you got back." I nodded and sat next to Ronnie again, holding his hand and telling him I was back.

"Cassie." I tried to smile as the doctor walked back in.

"Good news. The swelling is going down. We're going to go a head and take him out of the coma."

"How long till he wakes up?"

"It could be hours to days. It just depends on when his brain is ready to. I want you to be prepared though. There could be permanent damage. He might not be the same as he was before. There might be memory loss. We just won't know for sure until he does wake up. You need to prepare yourself for the worse." I nodded and took a deep breath. "I'm going to inject this medicine in his IV and that will start the process of waking him up."

I watched as he injected the medicine and smiled when he looked at me. "Is it ok if I stay here with him?"

"Of course. If you need to leave at all, let the nurse at the desk know. She'll call you right away if there's any change. The police should be here shortly as well. They wanted to ask you some questions."