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Not sure if I'm breaking the story up in the chapters I want but here's some more! |
Liz grabbed her purse, in shock, and walked out the door with the Denny family. They rode to the hospital in silence. Everyone was in shock, no one said a word. The only noise that could be heard was the hum of the van, the traffic outside, and the occasional sniff from Robin in the passenger seat. Terry sat in the third row of seats. He always claimed that part of the van. Liz sat in the middle of the middle row of seats. There was no one else sitting in her row but she was used to being squished in the middle since she was so short so she chose that seat out of habit. She felt like they were on a long, silent road trip. The hospital was only about fifteen minutes away, less if you made all the lights. But it felt like days had passed by the time they pulled up to the emergency room parking lot. Val finally seemed to spring to life as he led the way into the hospital and started asking for information. Terry and Liz stood in the background, still trying to grasp all that had just happened in the last few minutes. Liz couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t thought yet about the baby and the whole purpose for Tyler being on the road that night. She only thought about Tyler and how he was doing and if he was going to be all right. She waited to hear news but Val only turned around and said they had to wait. Liz turned to Terry and saw he was crying. She put her arms around him but didn’t say anything. She was surprised at how calm she was. She lead Terry to a small couch in the hallway and rubbed his back while he held his head in his hands and cried. Val paced the hall and Robin stayed at the nurse’s desk in case information came in. Finally a doctor came out and looked at the family. He had seen this before. The frightened parents, the confused children. He hated this part of the job. “Mr and Mrs Denny? Your son was in a very severe car accident. He hit a delivery truck head on and he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt. The vehicle he was driving crumpled and he was ejected.” Robin collapsed into Val’s arms and Terry wailed. Val and Liz seemed to be the only two keeping it together. The doctor continued talking to Val about Tyler’s condition but Liz was unable to hear over Terry’s sobs. Liz tried to calm Terry down, for his sake, and for the sake of keeping him quiet enough so she could hear the doctor. Terry finally calmed down a little as the doctor was leaving and went outside to get some air. Robin followed him and Liz stood up and walked over to Val. “What did the doctor say? Is he going to be ok? Can we see him?” “He’s alive, that’s basically all we know for now. They’re going to run some tests and see how he does tonight. No one can see him right now.” She felt the tears well up now. She put her hands up to her mouth to smother the sobs. Val put his arms around her and they cried together, right there in the hospital hall. When Robin and Terry came back inside they found Val and Liz in the same spot holding each other. They enveloped into a group hug and cried together for a long time. When they finally pulled away, Van suggested Liz call her parents to come pick her up. She refused and said she was staying at the hospital until she could see Tyler. Terry went to call Casey and had her pick him up. He said he couldn’t bear to be at that place anymore. Val, Robin, and Liz settled into the waiting area. Liz had a feeling she would know this hospital like the back of her hand at the end of all this. At midnight she called her parents and told them what happened. Though they didn’t like the idea of her spending the night in a hospital waiting room they knew there was no arguing with their daughter about it. When she was determined to do something she did it. She slept off and on that night, dreaming of her and Tyler and their times down by the lake. Each dream ended like a nightmare though. She kept seeing the accident. She could see the jeep crashing into the truck, crumpled like a tossed piece of paper. She could see the glass and the blood. It was like she was there, watching from the sidelines, unable to do anything. She couldn’t believe that she had been at the scene of the accident and had driven right past. How could she not have sensed that it was Tyler being whisked away in the ambulance? They were connected, one person. How could she have not known? She was so mad at him, so frustrated at him for being late. While he was being thrown from a car, gasping for air and bleeding in the street she was at home cursing him for making her wait. How could she ever live with herself for having those thoughts now that Tyler was lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life? She woke around 6am and already the waiting room was filled with sick people waiting to be seen. Some people she recognized from the night before. Val walked into the room holding two coffees. Robin sat up then and willingly took the hot drink. She sipped and closed her eyes, tears streaming from the outside corners. “Any more news?” Liz asked. “Nothing honey, just that he got through the night. They’re going to put him in a room upstairs later today and there’s a smaller, more private waiting area up there,” Robin said. “Well when do we get to see him?” Liz asked. “Probably not for a while. Why don’t you go home for awhile? You can take the van if you want, we won’t need it.” “No, I want to stay here in case Tyler wakes up. Have you talked to Terry?” “Yes, he stayed next door at Jason’s last night. I called over there this morning. Jason’s mom is bringing him here”. The day dragged on with little news about Tyler. The doctor spoke with Val and Robin in the afternoon but had little to report. Just that Tyler was still unconscious and it was too early to tell what kind of damage had been done. He made it clear though that if he does wake up, it will be a long recovery. The doctor’s words stuck in Liz’s head like a bad song. She kept repeating the word “if” to herself. “If” he woke up? “If”? He had to wake up. She had never imagined a life without him and she still couldn’t imagine it now, even after what had happened. She refused to believe that he wouldn’t wake up, or even worse, that he would die. That was not an option. She knew if she could just get in the room with him and remind him of their dreams and their plans and the fact that their life had already started and was going to be real in a few months, he would wake up. He’d give her that crooked grin and he’d call her sweetheart and hold her hand. That’s what was going to happen. She knew it. By 7:00 it was dark again. She knew her parents were probably worried. They didn’t allow cell phones in the hospital so she knew she probably had ten messages from them. Terry had left with Casey a few hours earlier. Liz was glad he had someone to lean on. Since Liz had started dating Tyler she had spent all her time outside of work and school with him. She didn’t see her friends much and they were all busy with college anyway. They didn’t have a plan like she and Tyler did. They didn’t understand how deep their love was. No one knew about the accident anyway. She hadn’t spoken to anyone except her parents and Tyler’s parents since the accident. Everything had happened so fast. Robin wasn’t ready to call her family yet and all of Val’s family was back in Utah. His family never cared about Tyler anyway. They all but banished Val from their lives when he married Robin. They were greatly opposed to their oldest son marrying a young woman who already had a child and who wasn’t married when the child was born. After a few years when Terry was born they slowly let the family back into their lives, but never treated Robin with any respect and barely acknowledged Tyler’s existence. Since they lived in Utah they rarely saw them so at least Robin didn’t have to put up with that on a daily basis. She knew when Val told them about the accident they would say they were sorry for the circumstances but surely wouldn’t offer their support. “You look really tired honey, you should go home and get some rest. I promise to call you if there’s any change. Do you want to take the van?” “No, I’ll call my parents to get me. They’re probably wondering what’s going on anyway.” Liz went home and showered and changed. She wanted to go back to the hospital but she knew her parents would insist that she stay home. She had to admit, she was exhausted. Sleeping in her own bed might be nice. She made some warm milk and slipped into her bed around midnight. She hoped she could get a few hours of dream-free sleep so she would feel rested and able to go back to the hospital first thing in the morning. Much to her surprise she slept straight through until 6:30 the next morning. She rarely woke before 9 on a weekend unless she had to but she was anxious to see Tyler. She knew today was the day that he would wake up and ask to see her. She wore his favorite outfit, just to prove to herself that she was right. Her mom made her an English muffin and some juice but Liz only took a bite and then asked her mom to take her to Tyler’s house to get her car so she could go back to the hospital. “You know honey, the Denny’s will call you if anything changes. You can’t even see him. What’s the point of waiting in a waiting room? There are so many sick people down there, you could catch something and you don’t want to be sick for finals in a few weeks.” Liz just stared at her mother. How could she even think about school and finals or anything other than the father of her unborn child lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life? She knew there was no point in explaining her reasoning to her mother. They screamed and yelled at each other countless times since she and Tyler had gotten together and it never solved anything. And she was too tired to get in a fight with her mom. She didn’t want to have to worry about that along with everything else she was already worried about. “Mom just take me to my car. I want to be at the hospital with the Denny’s. And if Tyler wakes up I want to be sure I’m there in case they let me see him.” “I doubt they’re going to let you see him, Liz. You’re not family.” She knew that to the Denny’s she was a part of their family. Liz’s parents didn’t understand that. They loved Tyler and he was always welcome in their home, but they never opened up their hearts to him. “Mom why do you always have to be so negative? You’re such a pessimist!” “No, I’m a” “You’re a realist, I know. Whatever. Will you please just take me to my car?” “All right, but I want you home for dinner. You look like hell and you need to eat something and get some sleep. You’re not staying in the emergency room waiting room all night every night.” “It was one night! And my boyfriend was just in a severe accident!” “I’m just saying. You need to eat something and sleep in your own bed so you are strong and can be there for Tyler when he wakes up.” Liz knew she was trying to be at least somewhat supportive, even if she didn’t believe her own words. She knew her mom thought Tyler was never going to wake up. She always thought the worst of everything. She probably hoped he wouldn’t wake up so Liz could move on and marry a nice, educated boy from a good, stable family. But Liz chose to pretend her mom was sincere and would take that for now. She didn’t have the energy to deal with her mother anymore today. |