A Healing Heart (17 page)

“
Hello? Is anyone home? I’m looking for a little boy. His name is Riley.”

I could hear giggling on the other side of the door, but no response.

“
Uh-oh, I guess he’s not home.”

The door flew open to reveal Riley’s little face, so excited, grinning from ear to ear. Eileen stood just behind him. “I’m right here, Baiwey!”

“
Ah...so you are. I need a big hug from my little man!” I stepped into the house and scooped him up in my arms, his body squirming.

“
Good morning,” Eileen greeted me as she shut the door behind us.

“
Morning. I see Riley is full of energy today.”

“
When is he
not
full of energy?” she laughed.

“
Yeah, you’re right. Hey, there’s an accident down on Main Street, and they have the whole thing blocked off. You might want to go around on your way to work this morning.”

“
I hope it wasn’t anything serious. This weather sure is weird. Usually it’s blazing hot and we’re running the air conditioner.”

“
I know, but I have to say I’m not complaining. I prefer the cooler weather.”

“
Very true. We’ll have hot weather soon enough.”

Eileen finished getting ready and left for work. Riley and I settled into our normal routine; we colored, and played with his cars and trucks. After a while we cuddled on the couch watching one of his favorite movies. It was almost over when the doorbell rang. Shifting Riley off my lap, I went to the front door. I was a little shocked when I found that it was my aunt standing on the other side. Opening the door, I let her in.

“
Hey, what brings you over here?” My throat got tight as I could see the tension radiating from her face.

“
Bailey, sweetheart, I think you need to sit down.”

“
Why? What’s wrong?”

I stumbled to the nearby couch. Riley had run in and jumped up in my lap, his head nestled against my shoulder.

“
Honey, it’s Collin.”

I became very still as I felt the room begin spinning out of control around me. Riley’s arms around my neck were the only thing grounding me. I stuttered to get the words out of my mouth. “What about Collin? What happened?”

“
There was an accident this morning on his way to work.”

My mind quickly shot back to the image I had seen with my own eyes just a few hours ago: the flashing lights, the wrecked car—but only one car. I hadn’t seen Collin’s car.

“
No, there must be a mistake. The car was green; I saw it. It wasn’t Collin’s.”

“
Bailey, Collin’s in the hospital. His dad called the house a few minutes ago looking for you.”

“
No, no. It’s not possible.” The words were barely audible as they slipped from my lips. My head swam with images of my family, but this time it was Collin I saw lying there lifeless. The grayness was quickly engulfing me. I tried to push it back. I needed to know he was okay.

“
Bailey, it looks like he’s going to be alright. But he’s suffered a concussion, and he’s unconscious. As of right now, his left leg is broken and a couple of ribs are cracked. The only thing that saved his life was the airbag. His car hit a light pole on the driver’s side. They had to extract him out using the Jaws of Life.”

Trying to focus on the words and their meanings, I held on to the first thing she had said. “But he’s going to be okay?”

“
Everything looks okay right now. He’s young; he should heal. I already called Eileen and told her. I’ll take both you and Riley to the hospital, and I’ll watch Riley until Eileen is off.”

I sat there still in disbelief. This could not be happening—I couldn’t go through this again. Collin had to be okay; there just was no other option. Going through the motions, I grabbed my backpack and keys. With my aunt’s help, I got Riley’s bag put together and we left the house.

The ride to the hospital seemed like it took forever. I stared numbly out the window, not really seeing anything. By the time we arrived, I could barely focus, and everything seemed tinged with a gray haze. A little voice in the back of my head kept telling me I had to pull myself together.

I held Riley’s small hand in mine as we walked silently into the hospital with my aunt. At the front desk we were directed to the Intensive Care Unit waiting room. Turning the corner, I caught a glimpse of Lacey, tears streaking her cheeks; the sight stabbed at my heart. I knew firsthand what she was going through. She looked up, as we entered the room. She jumped down from her dad’s lap and fell into in my open arms. I scooped her up and held her tight.

“
Bailey, I’m so scared.”

I tried to get the words to come out of my mouth. I had to be strong for her. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. Collin is strong, he’s going to be just fine.” I was surprised at how steady the words sounded because my legs felt like they had turned to Jell-O and dizziness overwhelmed me.

Lacey’s tears soaked through my sweatshirt where her head lay. My aunt had made her way across the room to Jared, and they seemed to be introducing themselves. It looked like Jared was giving her an update. I watched the emotions flicker across my aunt’s face as she took in what was being said. I set Lacey back on her feet, and Riley immediately grabbed Lacey’s hand and hugged her. He didn’t understand what was going on, but he knew that his friend was sad and he was trying to comfort her. It simply brought more tears to my eyes.

I walked over to where my aunt and Jared stood. I had only met Collin’s dad a couple of times. He had always been polite and cordial, but somehow distant. Today I could see the anguish and raw emotion on his face and knew that however distant he might seem, the love for his children was strong.

“
Hi, Bailey. The doctor says he’s going to be okay; he’s a little bruised up and has a few broken bones. They’re not sure how long he’ll be unconscious, though. He seems to have hit his head pretty hard on the side of the car when it impacted.”

“
What happened? I saw part of the accident aftermath, but didn’t see Collin’s car, just a green one.”

“
The other driver was conscious and was the one to call in the accident. He told the police that he’d lost control of his car and was headed toward the oncoming traffic. Collin had tried to veer out of the way but didn’t quite clear the car. The back end got clipped, causing it to spin out of control. It was just pure bad luck that the light pole was right at that spot.”

I closed my eyes, trying not to picture Collin’s car wrapped around the light pole, but the image was already burned into my brain. My aunt’s arm had found its way across my shoulder; she pulled me tightly against her. I could feel the light kiss on the top of my head. Her words were almost a whisper.

“
Bailey, it’s going to be okay. You have to believe that.”

“
They are only letting family in right now, but I’ll get you in somehow, okay?” With that, Jared turned and walked toward the nurses’ station.

I found my way back to Lacey and Riley as they sat quietly next to each other, their little hands entwined. The tears seemed to have stopped momentarily for Lacey, but her blue eyes were streaked with red. Sitting down next to her, I felt her lean up against me.

“
I’m so glad you’re here, Bailey.”

“
Me too.”

We sat there in silence; I had no words for her. The panic that I’d been trying to push away was rapidly overwhelming me. I knew if I succumbed to it, I would be no help to anyone. Lacey and especially Collin needed me right now. A shadow fell across my legs, and I realized that Jared had come back and was standing with his hand outstretched in front of me.

“
If you want to sit with him awhile, I’ll take you in.”

I nodded in silence.

“
They’re keeping the visiting down to short intervals for now.”

“
Okay.”

I followed him through the double doors and down a corridor. We stopped at a room, and he stepped aside while I fought the anxiety inside me. Taking those final steps into the room where Collin was laying was one of the most difficult things I’d ever done.

“
The nurse will come get you when it’s time to leave and bring you back to the waiting room.”

“
Okay. Thanks, Mr. McKenna.”

“
Call me Jared, please, you don’t need to be so formal.”

Jared turned and walked back in the direction we had come from. I nodded and took a few more steps into the room. Memories of Brooke flashed through my mind, and I remembered hoping that I would never see another ICU again. Light flooded in from the window. The curtain around the bed was only partially shut. I took a deep breath; the smell of antiseptic assailed my nostrils. The beeping from the monitors was constant, the fluorescent lights were dimmed. An IV drip was set up at the head of the bed with its tube connected to Collin’s arm. I finally gathered enough courage to look at him lying so still in the bed.

His face was pale, his beautiful blue eyes closed, a bandage wrapped around his head; there were cuts on his cheek. He had a pretty big gash above his left eye where I noticed they had stitched it closed. His left leg was bound in a cast. I could see his chest was wrapped, the rest of his shoulders and arms bare where the sheet didn’t cover. I could feel the tears streaming down my face as I tried to stifle the sobs that threatened to burst from me.

I found my way over to the bedside, standing on his right side. I carefully leaned over and kissed his warm forehead. Sitting down on the chair next to the bed, I linked my fingers through his and sat there silently crying, wishing this was all just one of my horrible nightmares and that I would wake up soon.

“
Collin, you can’t do this to me, I can’t go through this again. Please wake up,” I pleaded with him.

Lifting his hand to my lips, I kissed it gently, then held it against my cheek, silently willing his fingers to move, his eyes to flicker open. I closed my eyes as the tears continued to slip down my cheeks.

“
You’re going to be okay, but you’ve got to open your eyes. Please. I love you.”

I sat there with my head leaned over his hand that I held tightly in mine. The light touch on my shoulder startled me.

“
Miss, he needs his rest. You’ll need to step out for a while.”

“
Okay, sorry.”

I swiped the tears from my eyes and reluctantly let go of Collin’s hand. I stood up and leaned over, kissing him lightly on the lips and whispering to him how much I loved him.

The nurse standing there waiting for me was younger than I had first thought, small and pretty, her hair clipped back from her face. There was compassion in her deep brown eyes. “There’s no reason why he isn’t going to make a full recovery. He just needs to rest. I’ll let you know when you can come back in and sit with him again.”

“
Thank you.” I turned to leave the room, looking back at Collin as I got to the door. The view of him in the white bed made every bone in my body ache. Turning away, I left the room, my footsteps silent on the shiny floor as I walked back to the waiting room.

~
Collin
~

My body felt heavy, everything felt sore, and I couldn’t get my brain to function right. I wasn’t even sure where I was. The last thing I remembered was being on my way to work and thinking about Bailey. My throat felt like it was full of cotton balls; a strange murkiness seemed to engulf me. I could hear people talking, but their words were mumbled and quiet and I couldn’t make any sense of them. I was so confused. I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn’t open. It was like my body wouldn’t listen to my brain.

It was quiet, but I felt an electrical charge race through my body. Something touched my forehead, just slightly, tenderly. I knew instantly it was Bailey. I knew she was here with me, and I needed to tell her I was okay, that I loved her, but the words wouldn’t come out. I could hear her talking, pleading for me to wake up.

My hand was warm as she held it. I tried to squeeze her fingers, but nothing happened. I silently cursed my body for not responding. The effort to make my body move drained what little energy I had. I was so tired, and I slipped back into the darkness.

~
Bailey
~

My aunt was waiting for me when I got back to the waiting room. She immediately got up from her chair and walked over to me, folding me into her warm embrace. I stood there within her comforting arms and quietly cried. I needed to pull myself together. It would not help Lacey if she saw me so completely out of control. When I finally got hold of myself the best I could, I backed away, breaking the embrace, but my aunt did not let go of me. Her arm was still tightly around my shoulders as she guided me to a chair. I noticed that Jared was talking with what must be Collin’s doctor. He was nodding, and I saw him shake hands with the doctor and then return to sit beside Lacey and quietly talk to her.

“
I can’t leave, Aunt Rachelle. I have to stay here for now.”

“
I know; it’s okay. I’ll take Riley to our house until Eileen gets off. I already called Mia and Natasha. They’re both on their way over here to be with you.”

My aunt stood up and walked over to where Riley and Lacey sat. Jared got up from his chair and the two of them talked for a minute. He nodded and then my aunt crouched down in front of Lacey.