"Two souls are sometimes created together and in love before they're even born." -F. Scott Fitzgerald
When eight year old Beau Ruby met twelve year old Colton Caine, she had no idea she was meeting the love of her life. She had no idea she'd grow...
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Dr. Addington looked from Jack to me to Jamie, as if he didn't quite know who to address. "Erm," he started, "Perhaps we should save this discussion for family only, Mr. Caine."
Jack ran his hand through his hair, the same nervous mannerism that Colton used when he was faced with a tough situation.
Jamie broke the silence, "Well, doctor, I'm his fiancée," she said, a tone of concern in her voice.
Did Colton really call off the engagement?
Jack turned to look at her, opened his mouth to speak, then shook his head. I couldn't find words. I was so confused. So hurt. So lost. So scared.
Did he lie to me? Was he alive somewhere in a room? Was he still engaged?
Jack patted my knee before looking at the doctor. "She's family," he said, squeezing my knee for support as I looked at the floor and felt a few tears slip from my eyes.
The doctor seemed hesitant to start talking, but he began anyway. "Your brother sustained a lot of trauma," he started. Jack found my hand and wrapped his own around it. "Is he okay?" Jack asked desperately.
The doctor didn't answer. Instead, he continued. "He suffered a severe concussion. His hard hat helped tremendously, but it didn't prevent damage completely," he said.
I brought my hands to my face, the same choking sound escaping my lips. Jack squeezed my hand again, but it wasn't helping. I wanted to melt into the floor tile. I wanted to be left alone to scream and cry and throw things. I couldn't face a world without him.
"He broke his left ankle and right femur," the doctor continued, "And the break in his ankle requires surgery. The position of the bone shifted, and we need to set it with pins."
He was talking about surgery to fix Colton's ankle. Colton was alive. He was broken, and he was hurt. But... he was alive.
Jack interjected then, asking about the recovery process for his ankle. The doctor didn't answer. Instead, he told they would discuss recovery later.
The doctor continued, adding, "He broke two ribs. One came dangerously close to puncturing his lung, but we are in the clear for that so far. He does have some internal bleeding near his liver and spleen, however, that we'll need to repair surgically."
Every injury he listed off made me hurt more and more. My Colt. My 45. He laid in a bed somewhere, in immense amounts of pain. I replayed the scene of him falling from the bucket over and over again.
"He broke a bone in his back," the doctor continued, "miraculously, only one. He also broke his left hand and wrist and right thumb. There's some swelling on his brain, but that's typical with the severe concussion he suffered."
He paused, then, as if allowing us to process the information. I glanced to my right to see Jamie silently crying. Tears rimmed Jack's eyes, too, and he took three shaky breaths before he spoke.
