Fix My Feet When They're Stumblin'

Chapter 19

    When Tana opened the door, it took her only a second to realize that Brandon was most definitely not in the mood for a reunion. He was sitting up in bed, drawn and pale, but much more animated than normal, fiercely arguing with a petite, auburn-haired nurse who calmly stood her ground as she stood near his bedside.

    " - me out of here! I w-want to go...I want to...I want to go home! You can't - you can't f-fucking keep me here! You...you've me tied up, this isn't fucking - l-let me go!" He was holding up the arm with the IV line connected to his inner elbow, looking at it in clear horror, as though it were a snake. As he did so, Brandon turned his head in Tana's direction and saw her for the first time. An indescribable expression replaced the fear and indignation on his face and he stared for several seconds, open-mouthed.

    "Tana - you have my wife too? No, let her go! You c-can't - please - no, j-just let her go!" With a sudden wrench and a soft tearing sound, he tore the IV line from his arm and lurched to the side as if trying to get out of his hospital bed. The orphaned IV swung gently from its stand, leaking medicine uselessly onto the white linoleum floor.

    Bright crimson blood ran down Brandon's arm in a steady rivulet, dripping onto the bed and the floor as he moved. The vitals monitor was now beeping so loudly that it was nearly screaming, the numbers on the screen flashing red, and Brandon cringed, flinching away from the noise and bringing his hand up to cover his ear.

     Eyes wild and desperate, Brandon was now more distressed than Tana could remember seeing in years...not since his mother had died. She seemed to have forgotten how to move, how to breathe, her heart racing as she watched the blood stream down her husband's pale skin and fall onto the blanket below as he sat on the edge of the bed.

    The nurse stepped up in front of him firmly, reaching out to push him back into bed. "Mr. Flowers," she began in a soft, soothing, cooing tone at odds with Brandon's abrasive, angry one - crack! - Brandon swung his uninjured right arm wildly in the nurse's direction, making contact with her face - "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME, BITCH!" he bellowed, his voice cracking, now holding his hand to the back of his own head as if in pain.

    Reeling, the nurse bent double for a moment, hand covering her face and blood dripping through her fingers, then straightened and took several steps backwards. "I need some help in here!" she screamed, but the door had already burst open behind Tana, three nurses and a burly security guard rushing in. Her vision blurred by tears, she stumbled backward, blindly fumbling for the door and nearly crashing into the doorframe in her panic. Finally reaching the hall, her knees turned to jelly and she fell hard against the wall outside Brandon's room, a loud ringing in her ears drowning out the continuing commotion within.

    "Darlin', are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?" An older nurse with greying hair knelt down next to her, a soft, papery hand resting gently on her shoulder.

    Tana shook her head vehemently, fighting the growing lump in her throat but unable to hold back her tears any longer. "No, no, never, of course not, he would never - that's...that's not my husband, that's not my husband in there," she pleaded, searching the woman's kindly cerulean blue eyes as if she would find him there instead. "That's not...what's wrong with him?"

    The nurse sighed and patted her shoulder gently. "It happens to everyone with bad head trauma, dear, it's not his fault. He doesn't know what he's doing, he has no idea. They don't all get violent, but it's certainly very common coming out of unconsciousness. I've seen it happen to even the most timid people. They're confused, they're scared, they're in pain, their brains are hurting, and it causes some crazy behavior, some scary outbursts, things they might never do normally, and then they don't remember a thing when they come out of it.

    "It's really quite common for patients to think they've been kidnapped, or that we're keeping them from something very important when they're perfectly healthy, all sorts of things. It's not his fault, dear. I'm sure he would be absolutely appalled if he knew what just happened. It's only a temporary phase, he'll break through it soon enough, just you wait."

    With a sudden, near-hysterical laugh, Tana shook her head. "He's so shy, you know, so gentle normally - you'd never ever believe he could do something like...like that," she murmured, eyes fixed on her knees. The older woman rubbed her shoulder sympathetically, nodding.

    Unbeknownst to Tana, the situation in Brandon's room had been resolved, the nurses and security slipping away unnoticed while she listened to this woman, and only silence filled the room now. She let out a long, shaky sigh, leaning her head against the wall behind her. "I just wanted to talk to him...to hear his voice, you know?"

    "I know, dearie. He'll be better soon enough. Can I get you some water? Is there someone you'd like me to bring from the waiting room?"

    "No, thank you...only Brandon," she said with a tremulous, wry smile. "I think I'll just sit here for a minute, if that's alright."

    "Not a problem at all, dear. Take care." The nurse tottered down the hall back toward the nurse's station. Tana was left alone with her thoughts, brooding and anxious. The glee and excitement of just a few minutes earlier seemed like merely a distant memory. If this was only the very beginning, how much worse might it get?