The Eyes of a Fighter: A Serial Novel

Chapter 7

They had been waiting for hours. After the chaos of the emergency room, this private room felt like a church. They had sat for what felt like forever in the loud and uncomfortable waiting room while Carson slowly inched his way through surgery. 

Scorpion had gone to the hospital cafeteria to get them a small dinner and some cups of coffee, but it wasn't nearly enough. It was thin and needed extra cream and sugar to even pass for something like coffee. They couldn't even think about eating at this point. 

Carson was alive, but it was his spine that hung in the balance. It was in the hands of the surgeons for most of the evening. The truck that had struck him wasn't going too fast, but Carson had been turned away from it and struck the pavement awkwardly. His left leg had been broken with the force. The damage to his spine had been small, but costly.

They were all tired. Home seemed like a distant memory. A comfortable couch and bed were fantasies at this point. The room was tense and it felt like all of their tears and emotion had been spent.

"Remember you said you had good news?" Carlos said. He didn't turn to face the doctor. He was in Carson's hospital room. He looked out the window as the rain started to fall. The room was on the 10th floor of the huge hospital. Carlos could look out over several blocks.

He had watched as traffic backed up along the streets. A group of three police cars had flown up the street in one direction, their sirens wailing. Closer to the hospital, Carlos saw an ambulance come to a screeching halt outside the emergency room. Now night had fallen and traffic was slow. He watched the headlights and red taillights in the distance. Flashing sirens caught his eye, then moved away.

Carson lay quietly in the hospital bed. A curtain was pulled halfway along the rail. A small television was attached to the wall. 

His aunt and his friend Scorpion stood in silence beside Carson's bed. The doctor held his chart and stood between them. 

"Carson is alive. That is good news. His surgery went well. EMTs were able to arrive quickly and Carson seems to be responding well and recovering," the doctor said. "These injuries will take some time to heal, that much is true. But he's going to make it out of this."

Carlos spun from the window. "He's going to be messed up for life. Look at his legs," he said, pointing to Carson's bed. "He's not going to walk right. That is not good news."

The doctor backed up and tried to diffuse the anger and frustration in the room. "He's in very good hands now. We have a great team here. He could recover very well. We have to give him time and lots of support."

Carlos stomped over to her. "This isn't right! He was a tough kid and he had a lot of potential! Now all that is gone. Who was the driver? Have they been arrested? You can't just hit a kid and get away with it."

"Carlos please," Tia tried to console him. She put her hand on his arm. He ripped it away. 

"No! We can't be calm now. This is a tragedy. We have to get him." Carlos paced the room. He punched his left hand with his right. 

Scorpionleft the bedside and confronted the doctor. "Who did this? We have to know. People can't just go around running over kids. They have to get punished!"

The doctor was the picture of calm. This was not the first situation like this. It was common to be emotional in such a stressful time. "We don't have anything to do with the person that was driving. We responded to the medical emergency and responded quite well if I do say so myself. Any questions you have about the driver would have to be taken up with the police that responded."

The doctor turned to Tia. "Please know that we're doing everything we can to help your son. He is in great hands. He will need time to recover though. And he will need physical therapy. Probably extensive physical therapy to get back to something close to normal."

Tia brought her hands to her face and allowed herself several quiet sobs. Carlos came over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. 

"I'm going to find who did this to Carson. Trust me on that." He turned to Scorpion. "I think I know who to talk to."