Chapter 1 – Jesse
The last thing I was thinking was about how mad I was at Scott. I was much more worried about him being okay. I knew that he’d dumped me and told me that he didn’t want to be with me anymore, but I couldn’t stand the idea of him in a hospital all by himself. I did give his father a call, but I kind of doubted that he would come to see his own son. I didn’t know all of the details between the two of them, but I knew that there was tension. It was something that was impossible to deny.
So Melissa came with me and we went down to the hospital. Since the lady on the phone wouldn’t give me any information, I was just going to have to get what I could when I got there. I was worried for Scott, worried that something was going to happen to him or already had. They wouldn’t have called if it was nothing, right? Then I realized that he had to have been unconscious or they would have just asked him for his information.
The closer I got to the hospital, the more my mind wandered over what could have happened. It made me realize once again how much I loved the man, because the very thought of something happening to him was more than I could handle just then. I was driving faster than I should have, but it still didn’t seem to be fast enough.
“You have to slow down Jesse. I don’t know why you’re even going. You’ve done your part and called his family. No one else would expect any more from you than that, especially not the way it ended. Besides, it was weeks ago.”
I knew she was right, but even after hearing out loud what had already echoed in my head, something told me that I was supposed to be there. It was a feeling that I couldn’t shake; when I tried to it was impossible. So I mashed down on the gas a little more and ignored the way that Melissa kept grabbing the sidebar on the door. I slowed down a little when I saw the turnoff for the hospital. I was almost there, but I still seemed so far away.
When I got to the emergency entrance Melissa offered to park the car. She knew that I was worried and she knew that I wasn’t going to feel any better until I could see Scott for myself with my own eyes. There was nothing else that was going to relieve the tension in me.
When I got to the information desk, I asked where Scott was and the lady asked me how I was related to him. I wanted to get in there and I wanted information, so instead of telling the truth as I had before with the nurse on the phone, this time I lied and said I was his wife. It was innocent enough, and I knew that he wouldn’t ever find out. I was hoping he wouldn’t, anyways. It wasn’t any harm to anyone. I just wanted to make sure that he was fine, and then I was going to leave. No one had to know that I was there.
“Well, dear, just go up to the third floor. He’s in room 230.”
I thanked her, and she handed me a small map to help me find my way. The hospital was large enough that a person could get lost in it, and I was glad for the map when I almost got lost myself trying to find the floor Scott was on. When I saw him through the glass door, he didn’t look too bad, but there was a bandage on his head that was stained with a little blood that had seeped in from underneath. My heart lurched in my chest, and I moved forward before I could do anything else. All I could think was that I couldn’t lose him like I’d lost my father. I hadn’t known Scott nearly as long, but I knew that there would be the same pain.
A beeping sound was the only distraction in the room. They may not have known who he was, but they hadn’t spared any expense for him. Scott was in a huge room, nothing like the one that my father had shared with several other people when he was dying. The differences were stark, and I figured that Scott must have a gold card for his insurance as well.
Moving to his side, I looked down at his sleeping face. He didn’t look like anything was wrong. There was only one mark on his head that I could see, and his vital signs looked good as well. Having seen that he was basically okay, I was just about to leave when a doctor came in.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that someone was in here. How are you today, Miss?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“Who are you to the patient?”
He was eying me like I wasn’t supposed to be there, and since I knew that was true, I felt guilty. “Um, well, I’m his wife.”
“His wife?”
I nodded my head and squared my shoulders to convince him that I was telling the truth. I was lying, of course, but there was no room for me to back down now.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. We were worried that we weren’t going to be able to get any family down here at all.”
I nodded my head again, really not sure what I was supposed to do. I was just there to check on him. That was what I was supposed to be doing, anyways, but now I was face to face with his doctor. I should act concerned and ask some questions like any other wife would.
“So is he going to be okay, doctor? I don’t even know what happened.”
“From what we’ve been told, he was in a car accident with another vehicle. He came in here unconscious and has yet to come to. Well, there were a few moments when he became conscious, but he wasn’t lucid and we weren’t able to get much information past what the EMT told us. He’s lucky to be alive. The car was pretty mangled up, from what I hear. He was going so fast…”
The man paused, and I wasn’t sure why. I finally asked if he was going to be okay when he woke up.
“Everything tells me that he’s going to make a full recovery. He just needs some time to rest, and then he’ll be able to go home.”
I thanked him and waited for him to leave before I took one last look at Scott and followed him out. I wouldn’t be there to take him home and he wasn’t going home with me, but I’d done what I was there to do.
Melissa was waiting for me in the lobby. When I told her that he was okay, she seemed as relieved as I was. There was no telling her that I didn’t love him now. It was obvious after the way I acted, and I wished that I’d done a better job of holding that all in.