Jessica
"Is everything okay? How's he doing? Does he need stitches? Is he-"
"He's fine. We're at the hospital. I think he'd really like to see you and the kids." I nodded while listening to Grayson talk, and I found myself pacing the living room.
"We'll be there asap. Tell him I love him and the kids and I will be there soon. I love you too, Gray."
"I love you, Jess." With that, I hung up the phone and got the kids' shoes on them, putting them in the car.
"Where are we going?" One of our sons, Ryan, asks from the backseat of the Ford Fusion.
"Daddy got in an accident. We're going to see him at the hospital." The words came out smoother than I thought they would. Gasping comes from the backseat, and our daughter, Katherine, bursts into tears almost immediately. Ryan and his brother, Teagan, are trying to calm her down, as she's sitting in between the both of them.
A few minutes later, I'm pulling into the hospital parking lot, and I can see Grayson's Porsche a few rows away. I hurry the kids out of the car and into the lobby.
"Hi, is there an Ethan Dolan here?" I ask, my words and breaths coming out rapidly. This isn't the first time he's been in the hospital since we've been together, but it's never been because of a vehicle accident.
"Yes. Are you family?" The receptionist asks, and she seems to be cheery on this Thursday afternoon.
"Yes. I'm his wife, and these three are our kids." I motion to Teagan, Ryan, and Katherine who's still crying, but not as heavily. The receptionist gives her a sympathetic look.
"He's in room 203."
"Thank you, so much." I exhale, feeling sort of relieved, and I hold the boys' hands while Katherine is on my hip, although, she's getting heavier to hold each day. At four years old, she's still very persistent to be held, but the boys, both 6, were eager to stop being held as soon as they felt like it.
"Oh, my baby." I take one look at Ethan in the bed, and those are the first words that come out of my mouth. My brother-in-law rises from his seat, and I let go of the kids. Grayson opens his arms for a hug, and I press my cheek against his shoulder, looking at Ethan. He blinks his eyes open, and when he sees our children, he smiles sleepily. Grayson lets me go, and I step over to my husband cautiously. When I get close enough, Ethan puts his hand on my thigh.
"It's okay, baby, you can't hurt me." I'm not sure if I've ever seen him this beat up. All because of a stupid rock on the road. I put my hand over my mouth, trying my hardest not to cry, and lean down to hug him best I can.
"Everything is going to be just fine. I promise, my darling." Ethan chuckles in my ear, and I don't want to let go.
"Daddy!" Katherine's little voice fills the room, and I feel her pushing me out of the way. I move, helping her onto the bed.
"How's my princess?" Ethan asks with a smile, holding onto Katherine carefully. There's still spots of blood on his hands from where they were torn from the asphalt.
"Are you okay, Daddy?" She asks, her voice cracking. It breaks my heart, and Grayson puts his arm over my shoulders, letting me lean into him.
"Of course Daddy's okay. Can anything hurt your Superman?"
"No!" Katherine exclaims happily, making Ethan smile. The boys are only sitting in two chairs, looking at him as if they can't touch him or go near him.
"It's okay, boys. Go ahead." I crouch next to them, nodding toward Ethan. His eyes land on his sons, and his expression lights up. It's amazing to me how much he adores these children. Teagan and Ryan get up, walking over to their father. They've never seen him like this.
"We should give them a little time." Grayson suggests, and I agree. The two of us step out into the hallway.
"How bad was it? Did you see it happen?" He doesn't have to say anything as I see him start to cry.
"Oh, Gray." I gather him in my arms, and his shoulders heave up and down with sobs. I run my hand in circles on his back, closing my eyes to try and keep myself calm.
"I didn't want them to see me cry." The words come out angry, almost like a yell, but there's no one else in the hall to witness it. I run my hand through his hair quickly, before squeezing him once more.
"It's okay. You heard what E said, he's just fine. You even told me that."
"I know that, but I saw it, Jess. With my own two eyes, I saw my brother completely flip his motorcycle, and it took him with it. Thank God he was wearing a helmet, it could've been so much worse. Those kids could be fatherless...and you could be a widow. God, I didn't even think about that, I'm so sorry."
"You don't have anything to apologize for. We're all hurting, but the important thing is that Ethan is okay, and we'll all make sure he heals up just fine. I'm just glad you were there, because if you weren't, God knows how long he would've been there before someone saw him and-" I couldn't even finish my thought as I started to cry. Hard. The thought of not having my husband anymore felt like all of the bones in my body were being crushed, and there was no way I could stop it. I wanted to hug him and kiss him forever and let him know that I would never leave him.
The two of us go back into the room, and by now, Ethan and the kids are watching something on tv with Katherine still in his lap. I don't realize I'm staring until he looks back at me.
"What?" He smiles. I start crying again, and fold my hands in front of my face, shaking my head.
"I just love you...so much." Then, Grayson claps his hands together.
"Hey, kids, why don't you come with Uncle Gray to the cafeteria." The boys happily oblige, but Katherine hands onto Ethan's neck, sticking out her lip in a pout.
"Kat, honey, come on." Grayson pulls her away, and fat tears well in her eyes, but they don't fall. He keeps her in his arms.
"We'll be back soon, don't worry." I watch them all walk out, and he kisses her cheek, and kisses away the tears that have fallen on her face by now. Grayson closes the door behind him. I turn to Ethan.
"Does anything hurt? Do you want me to get you something?"
"I'm just glad you're here, that's all."
I pull a chair up to the bed and sit, holding Ethan's hand in mine, looking into his eyes. The eyes that I would go crazy over if I couldn't wake up to them every morning.
"Do you remember the accident?"
"Oh, yeah. One minute I was driving in front of Gray, and the next, I was flipping and tumbling all over the place. I think I screamed a couple times, but maybe that was just my imagination. I got a pretty nasty gash on my side, though. And my hands got scraped pretty bad, but other than that, it isn't that bad. Thank God that's all." I try to keep myself from imagining what the scene must've looked like, but it's hard not to. I pull away the hospital blank, lifting his gown just enough to see the scrape on his tan skin.
"That's gonna take awhile to heal."
"For sure."
"Did they say when you'd be released?"
"I'm sure sometime tonight. You and the kids can go home, though." He suggests. I shake my head no immediately.
"I'm staying with you until you're released. Gray can bring the kids home. You're coming home with me." He begins to laugh, and I raise a brow.
"What?" I snort out a laugh.
"You're cute. I love you. I never want to lose you, darling."
