HEAR ME TOO!

PART THIRTY-TWO

It was almost 4a.m when the doctors emerged, looking as drained as everyone felt. Ben's family and friends, now joined by Tina, stood abruptly, hoping for good news.

'Good morning doctors," Richard greeted them, trying as much as possible to sound cheery.

"Good morning to you too," the doctor in the middle said with a smile. The other two doctors muttered quick hellos and walked away, probably to get some much needed sleep.

"The surgery went well," she continued, looking at each of them in turn, as if trying to reassure them that everything will be fine.

There was a collective sigh of relief and a few words muttered here and there but Vivian, who had been staring at the doctor's face, spoke for the first time in hours.

"There's something more isn't there?" she asked in a broken voice.

"He had several broken bones and his spleen was shattered so we had to remove it. He also had a cracked skull and some injury to his brain. But, he's stable now and has been moved to the ICU. We just have to wait for him to wake up."

"How long will it take for him to wake up?" Uche asked somewhat impatiently.

"It might take a few days but he'll be constantly monitored and we'll let you know once he's awake."

"Can we see him please? Even if it's just for a few minutes. I just want to see my baby," Viv said, tears rolling down her cheeks again.

The doctor nodded and beckoned on a nurse.

"Please take them to see the patient that was just transferred to the ICU," She said to the nurse and turning to Ben's parents, she continued "I'm sorry but nobody except his family can visit him right now."

"Uche is his best friend so he's family too," said Richard in a firm voice.

"Alright then, you three can go see him."

"Thank you so much doctor, we really appreciate it." Richard said.

"I'm only doing my job," she said with a smile then bade them goodbye.

"You both go ahead," Uche said to the couple, "I'll visit him another time."

"Are you sure?" Richard asked with a frown, wondering what was going on in Uche's mind.

"Yes I'm sure," was Uche's reply, followed by a smile so wide it was almost convincing.

The couple followed the nurse and Uche watched them until they disappeared, then he turned to the rest of the group.

"Now that we know he's out of immediate danger, you can all go home and get some rest. It's been a very long night."

"But..." Isabel started but Uche cut her off before she could get any other word out.

"No buts Isabel. Staying here won't help anyone and you can't even visit him yet. It's best to just go home and rest."

"How about you?" Winnie asked.

"I have to wait for his parents. Neither of them can drive in their current state of mind so I'll take them home first."

"Okay then, call me when you get home okay?"

Uche nodded and smiled tiredly. He was exhausted but he was glad that at least, Ben's surgery went well. He just hoped his friend would wake up soon so they could have their usual banter.

"Can you please let us know if there's any additional news as well?" Tina asked in low tones. It was her first time saying anything that night and she was afraid of being shunned.

"Yes I will," Uche replied. A huge part of him didn't want her here or anywhere near Ben but this wasn't the time for animosity. They were all here for Ben, and he would respect that.

Tina quickly grabbed her purse, brought out a small notebook and scribbled something on it. Then she tore out the page and handed it to Uche.

"Here's my number. Please call me if anything comes up."

"Okay."

She muttered goodbye and hurriedly left the room.

"Our Uber just arrived. I'll call you when we get home," Winnie said, picking up her bag and holding Isabel, who still felt sick and couldn't stand for long without support.

"Please do. Thank you so much for being here," Uche said to her, a part of him wishing that all of this didn't happen and their night ended on a good note.

Winnie smiled reassuringly at him and led Isabel out of the hospital. Uche watched them go and for the first time in years, he felt all alone.
*****

On their way home, Isabel's phone kept ringing but she didn't pick up. She finally answered when they got inside the house, while Winnie was on the phone with Uche, informing him they had arrived safely.

"Hi Isa, how is he doing?"

"He's fine Ken," was her curt reply.

"What did the doctors say?"

"They said he had a brain injury in addition to several others. We just have to wait for him to wake up."

"Did they say when exactly he'll wake up?"

Isabel paused for a second. Where was all this sudden concern for Ben coming from? If she remembered clearly, Ken didn't like him at all so these questions were starting to sound suspicious.

"No they didn't. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I'm just concerned that's all. I mean, you care about him a lot so I was worried too."

"Hmm..."

"Just let me know when he wakes up okay? I will come visit as well."

"Okay," Isabel replied and hung up, still not convinced with his reason.

"Who was that?" Winnie asked, sitting down beside Isabel and typing a text message to Uche.

"It's Ken. He was asking if Ben was alright and what the doctors said."

"Ken? That's a bit strange."

"I know. That's what I said too, but he said he was concerned because he knows I care about Ben."

"Hmm... Well, it doesn't matter what his reason is right now. Let's just focus on helping Ben get better."

"Sure. Let's go get some sleep, we've had a really exhausting night."

"That's an understatement. We've had a hell of a night!" Winnie said.

They stood up and headed for their bedrooms, each one saying a silent prayer for Ben's recovery.

A/N
This chapter took me so long to write and I don't know why. I had to write and delete so many times before I finally came up with this one. I hope everyone gets their happy ending soon because honestly, my heart is exhausted.

Please give this chapter a vote if you enjoyed it and let me know in the comments what you want to happen next😁
Thank you all so much for being patient, I love you!!❤️❤️