Time Ahead

chapter fifty-four

Leigh's POV:

My hands were trembling as I quickly tapped onto my contacts. I scrolled until I saw the first name. I tapped it and held my breath as the phone rang. After the third ring, I was about to hang up and try someone else until I heard a voice on the other end.

"Hello?" Jade answered groggily. "Hey, i-it's me. I'm s-sorry it's late, I can call someone else," I say, feeling guilty knowing that I woke her. "No, it's okay. What's going on? Are you okay?" she asks in more of an alert tone. "I-I just got a call from the h-hospital. It's Andre," I say, my voice still shaking. "Is he alright?" she asks concerned. "I-I don't know, but can you come over and w-watch the kids for the day?" I ask in a desperate tone. "Yeah, of course. I'll be right over," she says and I hear movement through the phone.

"Leigh," she says after a second. "Yeah?" I ask. "He'll be okay," she says sympathetically. A slight hum is all I manage. I could feel my eyes welling with tears. I ended the phone call and got out of bed. I rushed over to my closet and threw on an oversized t-shirt and some leggings. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and tip-toed down the hallway to the kids' rooms.

I peaked my head into Jacob's room. He was cuddled into a teddy bear Andre has gotten for him at one of his games in Ireland. The sight was adorable, but I could only feel my heart breaking at it. I closed his door softly and went across the hall to Rhea's room. She was sound asleep, her mouth slightly open and in her hands was her favorite stuffed unicorn Jade had gotten her for her birthday.

I walked down the steps quietly to grab a few things to bring with me. A granola bar, bottle or water, and a book just in case I had to wait a while. As I was placing the stuff into a small bag there was a knock at my door. Knowing it was Jade, I sprinted over to unlock it. I opened the door and she pulled me into a much needed hug. I finally let the tears consume me and I sobbed quietly into her arms. "Shh," she soothed rubbing my back.

After a minutes I had calmed down a bit and we broke away. Jade wiped a few tears away and I smiled. "Everything's going to be alright love," she said in a calm tone. I simply nodded and she squeezed my hand. "The kids are asleep. There's food in the fridge, help yourself to whatever. Thank you," I say taking a deep breath. "Of course babe," she said with a comforting smile.

I left the house quickly and got into my car. Feeling as it was rather chilly outside, I turned the heat on and waited a second for it to warm up. While I waited I went to turn my music on. I skipped through a few songs before giving up. I wasn't in the mood to listen to music. I just wanted Andre.

I began to drive to the hospital. The streets were empty and my car was quiet for the first time in years. It was creepy, almost eerie. As if everyone knew something was wrong. I tried to shake that thought and just focus on the road.

I pulled into the parking lot for the emergency room. I got out locked my car before hurrying inside. Surprisingly, the waiting room was quiet too, not more than maybe ten people there. I walk quickly over to the front desk and wait in line. As my turn approached, I could feel myself getting more nervous. When it was my turn, I walked up to the desk and began to speak to the lady. 

"Hi, my name is Leigh-Anne Gray. I got a call earlier saying my husband Andre Gray is here," I said trying to sound as calm as possible. It failed though when I saw my shaky hands by my side. "Yes, just give me one moment," the lady said with a warm smile. She typed a few things into her computer before pressing a few buttons on the tablet next to her. "Take a seat, I just alerted the doctor you're here and he'll be out in a few minutes," she said.

I nodded and walked over to an empty seat in the back. I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes for a second. I jumped slightly when my phone began buzzing. I saw a few messages from Jesy and Perrie.

"Hey, Jade just told us what happened. He'll be alright. If you need anything let us know and we'll be there in an instant x," -Jesy

"I'm heading over to your house. Jesy's going to come over soon. If you hear anything please let us know. Love you," Perrie

I smiled at their messages and began to text back. "Leigh-Anne Gray?" I heard a voice say. I looked up and saw a doctor with a clipboard looking in my direction. I stood up and walked over to him. I could feel my legs getting weak and my breath short.

"Are you the wife of Andre Gray?" he asked, reading off his clipboard. "Yes," I chocked out. "I'm sorry but he was in a bad accident last night," he said. I could feel my heart breaking. "He has a head injury, a collapsed lung, and a broken ankle," he continued. I nodded and clutched my necklace that Andre had given me on our last anniversary. We've done surgery on his lung and ankle and both are fine but his head injury is quite severe. We've put him into a medically induced coma hoping to give his body time to heal," he explained.

"He'll wake up though, right?" I ask nervously. "We believe so, it's just a matter of when," he said. I relaxed a bit at those words. "Can I see him?" I asked. "Yes, follow me," the doctor said. He led me down a few hallways until we reached the ICU. We stopped in front of a door and he opened it slowly, allowing me to enter first.

I gasped when I saw Andre. He had lots of different wires and machines hooked up to him. His foot was wrapped up and he had scapes and bruising slightly on his face. "Don't be alarmed by all the machines, he's stable," the doctor reassured me. He exited the door, allowing me to be alone with him. I walked over to him slowly and pulled a chair over. I gently reached out and grabbed his hand. Unable to stop the tears falling, I allowed them and bent over onto the bed and cried into his hand. I gently kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand.

"I love you," I said.