Chapter Thirty-five
Dex
Wade and I, along with Simon and Bernie, decided to stay a couple extra days in New Orleans to do some sightseeing. We stayed out way too late last night, and now we find ourselves in a little café for breakfast. Well, maybe it’s brunch. It’s definitely closer to lunch at this point. Wade and I share one side of the booth, and Bernie and Simon are on the other. Yesterday, things were a little stressed between Wade and me, but after spending the day with our parents, things are back to normal. He’s not being an asshole, and I’m trying not to be a dramatic shit.
Link had to head back to Chicago yesterday since he had some freelance work deadline to make. So, it’s really quiet while we nurse our unfortunate hangovers.
We enjoy easy conversation about our plans for the day. We are split on whether or not to spend the day in the French Quarter or go to the National WWII Museum. Simon and I vote French Quarter, but Wade is a history buff, and for some reason, Bernie is siding with him.
We finally agree on spending the day in the French Quarter, and make our way out of the cafe. My phone vibrates in my pocket but forget about it when Simon and Wade pull my attention to something through the store window next to us.
We’ve just started walking down the street when I hear Bernie behind me say, "Dex. Dex, stop." Her voice is soft but full of panic. I slowly turn around and face her as she looks up from her phone. Panic fills her eyes when she says, "Ruby just texted me a 911 text. It’s Morgan.”
And my heart stops.
I choke out, “Is she ok?” I search Bernie’s face for more details. All I find is panic in her eyes.
Simon and Wade move in closer to us, and Bernie answers, “I don’t know. The text didn’t say, I’m waiting for a reply.”
Suddenly, I remember getting a text when I yank my phone out of my pocket. It wasn’t a text, it was a call from Gia, but there was no voicemail. I call her back. The phone rings twice before it’s answered.
"Hello?" Her voice is panicked and sounds thick.
I clear my throat, "It’s Dex. Tell me what's going on."
She starts to cry, and talks too fast, and I can't understand her. "Gia. Calm down,” I say, “I can't understand what you are saying. “But she doesn't seem to hear me. I look up at Bernie and say, "She won't stop crying, and I can't understand her."
Simon grabs the phone and holds it up to his ear, "Calm down, Gia. I need you to calm down." His voice is forceful but gentle at the same time. Like he knows just how to handle her when she’s like this. It seems to work because she says something and he replies, "I know, but we need to know what's going on, and we can't do that if we can't understand what you’re saying." After a beat, he hands the phone back to me.
"Gia, it's me again," I say
In a much calmer tone, but still trying to catch her breath, she says, "Morgan walked to work this morning. But somehow she ended up in a cab in the opposite direction of work, and there was an accident. Dex, the cab was hit by a train.”
Black fuzzy spots start to take over my vision. It feels like I’ve been sucker-punched in the gut and have to crouch down to keep from falling over.
“How bad is it?” I croak.
On a shaky breath, “It’s bad. Really bad.”
Oh God. I dip my head, close my eyes, and struggle for breath. Wade is kneeling in front of me, his hands on both my shoulders.
“We are going to the hospital now. Me and Ruby. Link is with us. Where are you, Dex?” Gia sobs.
"I'm coming back, I'll call you as soon as we land, please keep me updated." She sniffs and says, “Ok.” And we hang up.
"I have to get on the first plane home, right now," I say.
"Yes, of course. You’re not going by yourself," Bernie says as we start to walk back the way we came.
“Looks like there are two seats open on the next flight to Chicago. I just bought them. But it leaves in less than an hour, so we need to go,” Simon says still engrossed in his phone.
I just nod.
“There are still plenty of seats on the next flight out of here. Do you guys want me to get them for you?” Simon asks Wade and Bernie.
“Naw, man, I’ll take care of them. Dex, give me your hotel key, I’ll get your stuff from the hotel,” Wade states grimly.
I mutter my thanks as I hail a cab. I pull out my hotel key card and hand it to Bernie.
“Simon, key card,” says Bernie. “Go. We will be on the one after.” Right as I open the cab door, Wade grabs my shoulder pulling me back to him, and hugs me.
"Everything is going to be ok, Dex," he says in a gruff voice. He lets go of me, and then he and Bernie head back in the direction to the hotel as Simon and I get in the cab and head to the airport.
~~~
Link is sitting with Ruby and Gia when we arrive in the ER waiting room hours later. Morgan's dad is already there too, but only just beat us. There is no time for awkwardness when I introduce myself to Mr. Lawson. I’m too consumed with worry about Morgan to notice the skeptical look in his eyes that a father gives the boy who shows too much interest in his daughter.
“Any news yet?” I ask Gia and Mr. Lawson.
“No, nothing yet. They have her in surgery. That’s all we know. The nurse at the desk said a doctor will come and update when they can.,” he answers.
“What happened?” Simon asks. I haven't talked much. I’m too far in my head thinking about all the possible outcomes. I’ve tried really hard not to think about the worse-case scenario, but it’s haunting me.
Shakily, Gia says, “The cab she was in tried to beat the train at a crossing, but the train ended up nailing the back end of the cab.” She takes a deep breath, seemingly preparing for what’s left to say. But she starts to cry again, and Ruby, with tear stains down her face, wraps her arm around her and hugs her close.
“All we know is that the car ended up smashing back into the train, and they had to use the Jaws of Life to pull her out of the cab,” Mr. Lawson adds somberly.
My vision becomes spotty again, and the room starts to spin. I’m being pulled over to the nearest seat. My head is being shoved down through my knees. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
I stay here for several minutes before being able to get myself under control. My head whips up when I hear my parents. My dad is talking to Mr. Lawson, and my mom is heading straight for me.
I’m not surprised that they showed up, Wade must have called them. My mom loves Morgan, even though we aren’t together anymore. When I had that awkward conversation about how the girl I brought home broke up with me, she wasn't convinced it would stick. She said, “She knew it in her heart that Morgan was the one for me.” She has always been a romantic.
I’m so out of focus, I didn’t realize I was sitting next to Gia when I hear Simon bring her a cup of water. She takes a deep breath before saying, “Dex, I think I know where she was going this morning. Why she was in that cab."
"Yeah?" I gulp.
"To you," she whispers.
She was coming to me. I repeat this over again in my head. And focus on breathing.
~~~
Finally, after more than an hour of waiting, the first doctor comes looking for Morgan's dad. He tells us that Morgan is in critical condition due to internal bleeding, and that they just brought her out of an emergency surgery. In addition to a severe head laceration, she has a broken leg and cracked ribs. He then tells us that no one can see her yet, that they are still trying to assess the damage and hope there isn’t any more bleeding.
I want to scream. I want to punch something. I needed to see her, to be by her side, but not being able to is almost too much to bear. The panic and fear that I am going to lose her haven't gone away. I don’t know when Bernie and Wade show up, but they arrived with coffee. I can’t drink it, though.
What seems like hours later, I spot a female doctor I haven’t seen yet come through the same doors the last doctor exited through. She walks to the nurse’s station; a nurse jerks her head toward our group. A pained expression falls quickly across her face, but it’s gone in a blink of an eye. I jump out of my seat, my heart racing with fear. As she walks to our group of ten, she asks for Mr. Lawson. As he stands, I join him to talk with the doctor.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Davis. I'm the doctor working with your daughter. Morgan has lost a lot of blood in addition to her other injuries. She ended up having more internal bleeding than we initially thought, and after we had rushed her back into surgery, her body went into shock.” She pauses to give us time to process what she just said. “When a body loses more than 20% of its blood, it goes into hypovolemic shock, which makes it hard for the heart to pump enough blood to the rest of the body. We have to monitor her extremely carefully right now because going into shock like this can cause a heart attack, damage to several different organs, even brain damage. Right now, we are prepping her for a blood transfusion."
Numbness climbs through my body. I think I'm going to be sick this time, but I manage to keep down the bile and try to focus on the doctor who is still talking.
"When can I see her?" her dad asks.
"Unfortunately, she is unconsciousness right now, and since the transfusion will start soon, it won't be possible until sometime after that process is complete. I will come back out and update you when that is finished. Or," she pauses, "if there are any new developments in her condition." She gives us a tight but sympathetic smile and walks away.
I just stand there and stare at her retreating back, but the trance is broken when Link is by my side and says, "Come on, Dex. You need to sit down. You look like you're going to pass out."
I think I am going to pass out, but I say nothing and let him steer me to the seat next to my mom. She hugs me, and I lose control over my emotions and start to cry. I think the last time I cried I was ten. My mom had been right by my side then, too.
Time seems to stop in the waiting room after that. I hear quiet murmurs around me, but I sit staring at the door, waiting for the doctor to return.
Finally, she does, and to my relief, she looks less distraught, tired as hell, but less distraught for sure.
This time, she addresses the group instead of waiting for someone to come to her.
"Morgan is conscious, and her body took well to the transfusion. We’ve removed her from critical condition. We need to monitor her closely, and run more tests, but if those results come back and look how I suspect them to, we are going to move her out of ICU and into a private room, hopefully by morning. I can take one person back right now, but that's it, as visiting hours are almost over. Once she is in a private room, more can go back at a time.”
I'm relieved, and I want nothing more than to run to her room, but I know it's her dad who will go see her now. For the first time since I found out about the accident, I'm able to breathe.
~~~
Eventually, Simon, Link, and Ruby leave to go get food, but ultimately, we all pretty much camp out in the waiting room all night. While most of the group manage some sleep, I’m awake the whole night.
It's 9:00 a.m. the next morning when she is moved into a private room. Her dad, Gia, and I go back to see her. I'm the last in the room, but I come up short before I even get four steps in the room due to the sight before me. She is bruised and battered. She looks so small in that hospital bed, but I can see my Morgan through all the tubes, wires, bandages, and bruises.
I continue to the side of her bed. I want to hold her hand, but I don't want to hurt her. I stare at her hand, and it has an IV coming from it. There are tubes everywhere. The nurse I didn't see standing by several machines softly says, "You can hold her hand, sweetie. It won't hurt her."
I look up to see an older woman with a short, brown hair wearing dark blue scrubs. I look back at Morgan's hand and gently pick it up. It's warm in mine, and I start to mentally plea with her to wake up.
The doctor told us that she is just sleeping right now, that she may wake up, but might not stay awake for long. She will be groggy and might not be able to talk. She also said that it could even be days before she wakes up and is coherent.
One thing's for sure, though. I'm not leaving her side, if I get my way, ever again.