Black and Blue: The Calm

16. Filler

Tuesday
October 19th, 2013
3:26 AM

Nyla B.

I briskly walked into the hospital and made my way to the information desk in the emergency room. After receiving the call regarding Damon, I immediately jumped out of the bed and threw on the quickest articles of clothing I could find. My appearance was the least of my concerns. My best friend was in the intensive care unit and the only thing on my mind was getting to him. The entire drive to the hospital felt as if time was moving torturously slow and that I wasn't getting to him fast enough even though E was driving over the speed limit. "Hi, I'm Nyla Bridges. Someone named Venita called me about Damon Fowler."

"I'm Venita, I'm the one who called you," she keyed in his name and scrolled through her database. "He's in room 309B."

"Thank you," I turned on my heels and pulled my phone out to text Elijah letting him know where to find me. I walked ahead to the elevator and stepped on once it reached the lobby. I pressed the button for the third floor and slid my phone intomy back pocket. The elevator doors closed and geared up while I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes, silent tears falling while I silently prayed for Damon.

The elevator came to a stop and I stepped off, wiping the tears from my face while searching the walls for the rooms directory. I followed the arrows for rooms 300A through 310B and approached Damon's room where an older black, male doctor was standing outside of his door. His salt and pepper hair spoke to his age and and the single small wrinkle indented in the dark skin at the corner of each eye attested. "Hello," my voice pulled his attention away from his clip board, "my name is Nyla. I'm family of Damon Fowler. What happened? Is he okay?"

He gave a sympathetic smile and extended his hand, "doctor Walters," we shook hands. "The ambulance rushed him here just after seven. I don't know many details but I do know that the police officers said they had received several calls about yelling and shouting coming from an apartment. Officers responded to the call and found Mr. Fowler lying on the kitchen floor unconscious. He suffered from blunt force trauma which caused swelling and bleeding on the brain. We performed surgery to stop the bleeding but due to the amount of swelling that has occurred, he's currently in a coma that he must naturally come out of."

I let my hand loosely cover my mouth and squinted my eyes as they burned with the stinging sensation of onset tears. Doctor Walters placed his pen in the pocket of his white coat and reached out with his now free hand. He rubbed my upper arm up and down before giving it a squeeze and bringing his hand back to his side, "I won't tell you what you want to hear just to get you through this but I will tell you what you need to hear. I am a man of God and before each and every surgery I pray that God guides my hands while I operate. I let him," he pointed up to the ceiling, "use me and I leave it all up to him. Damon is not out of the woods and his condition is critical but I am confident that I have given Damon the best of me and what happens from this point is God's will. Do you want to pray before you see him? God said for where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

I sniffled while running my tongue over the tears that had landed on my lips while hearing doctor Walters speak. I nodded and we interlocked hands before doctor Walters led us in prayer. I felt a hard chest press up against me and a large open palm rest against my stomach. Elijah brung his mouth down to my ear and spoke lowly and softly, "for you, I'll be number three." Having him with me relaxes me. I tried to snuggle my back impossibly closer to Elijah because I need him just as much as I need this prayer.