Forbidden Forever (12 page)

The nurse walks in and
looks at the kids, Sierra, and then to me. We all stand at once and
walk toward him.

"She has come out
of surgery and everything went well. She is in recovery now and we
have given her something to sleep, so it will be a while before she
will wake up. I suggest you all go down to the cafeteria and get
something to eat because you will need your rest. I have orders that
you all can stay in our private room this evening so you will be
close if she wakes up," he informs us.

It is one of the many
perks of being the Director of the Heart Center
I
think to myself. "Thank you and yes we will go to the cafeteria.
Will you come get us once the room is ready?"

"Yes, sir. Try and
relax now. She is out and doing well." He turns and walks away,
but glances back at Sierra before disappearing around the corner.

I look at the kids and
Sierra and we all start walking to the cafeteria without speaking a
word. We get our trays and get in line, one by one telling the lady
what we want. I put everything on my lunch account and we sit at a
table toward the back where it is basically empty. The girls look so
exhausted from the stress and worry, they barely touch their plates.
Kaleb looks like he has just lost his puppy, but trying to act like
it doesn't bother him that much because he is trying to be stronger
than anyone else. The nurse has perfect timing. As soon as I clean up
the table, he walks in. We follow him to a room that has two beds, a
cot, and a chair that lays back for sleeping. There is a big window
that overlooks the parking lot. The room is supplied with a small
fridge and I bet it is stocked for us, thanks to the wonderful staff
here.

I decide that I will
take the chair so the girls can have the beds and Kaleb can have the
cot. These things can be brutal on someone's back, and right now,
they are all going through enough. The nurse informs us that we
should rest and they will let us know if something changes, but
Callie's face is so full of fear I think maybe I should go see Laney
for myself and give her some peace of mind.

After explaining that I
will go check on things and come back to inform them, they all lay
down and I head to Laney's room. The room is dark except for a small
light on behind her bed. As I get closer, I can see the bruises on
her face, swollen eye, and cut on her forehead. Her arms are black
and blue and there are several gashes that have been sutured. A huge
lump forms in my throat as I see her lying there so still and
lifeless. How can someone do this to someone they once cared for or
the mother of their children? I will never understand the minds of
people so cruel and full of hate. I grab a chair and pull it close to
the top of the bed. Her hand looks so fragile that I am afraid to
touch it, but I can't resist feeling her skin against mine. I place
it gently in mine. My eyes wander to her chest and I catch myself
watching her breathe. I know she is breathing on her own and that is
a good sign and gives me great comfort in knowing she will be coming
home to us soon.

"Laney, baby, I
need you to wake up. We haven't even been able to have a full love
story yet. There are so many amazing things I want to experience with
you." I talk to her, unsure if she can hear me or not, but if
she can, I want her to know I am here waiting, waiting for the moment
I can see her beautiful eyes again.

"Baby, Callie and
Kaleb need their mom to comfort them both, they are so scared. I'm
not sure if it will help seeing you like this. Please, baby, just
open your beautiful eyes," I beg.

I place her hand to my
cheek and start praying. "Please God, heal her and bring her
back to us. She has given me more hope, more love, more happiness
than I have felt my whole life. Please let her be okay." Tears
pour down my face as I close my eyes and feel her skin on mine.

Silence fills this small
room and I know I need to go comfort the girls and young man down the
hall and let them know she is going to be okay. Looking at her lying
in this bed, it is hard to get that conclusion because she is so
swollen and bruised, but I have counted her breaths and checked her
pulse and they are strong; she is strong and she will pull through
this. The thought of leaving her alone for a second is heartbreaking,
but I know she needs the rest and I have to go let them all know her
progress. Every moment I don't check in with them they will worry and
it has been hours. Laney would never want that. I walk down the hall
and enter the private room. All three girls are in one bed snuggled
together, but when they feel my presence I have six eyes staring at
me. They all sit up, waiting for me to talk. Kaleb is sitting on the
windowsill and his head turns toward me.

"Laney's vital are
very good. She is bruised and swollen, with several cuts, but she is
healing and hopefully her body will get the rest it needs to wake up
soon," I assure them.

Callie stands and walks
over to me. "You care for my mom very deeply, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," I
confirm.

"Can I please go
see her for just a minute?" she asks hopefully.

"Yes, but you need
to understand that what you see on the outside is worse than what is
going on in the inside. She was hurt pretty badly and the surgery
went well, but she is still healing," I warned so she could
prepare herself for the first time seeing her mom in that bed, so
damaged.

"Okay, I
understand. Will you go with me?" she croaks out, her voice
cracking.

"No place would I
rather be." I wrap my arms around her and walk her to her mom's
room. We both take a deep breath and walk in.

Callie pauses the moment
she sees her mom, then she turns and buries her head in my chest. I
wrap my arms around her and let her have that moment of release. She
is a tough young lady; she gets herself together and shakes it off,
walks over to the bed, and sits in the chair. The minutes pass and it
seems like hours as she sits and stares at her mom, lifeless on the
bed. I stay in the corner to let her have her time alone. She is at a
loss for what to do because she is only a teenager and has never seen
her mother in this condition before. I whisper softly so she can hear
me but not enough to startle her.

"You can talk to
her. Let her know you are here. She will hear you even though you
don't think she will." I lie because it is the only way to bring
some peace to that little girl's mind.

I don't know if she can
hear us, I just hope she can. I sit in the chair off to the corner as
she reaches for Laney's hand; she rubs her thumb across it back and
forth.

"Mom, I am here. We
are all here waiting for you to wake up. I know you are hurting and
need to rest but, Mom, I need you to wake up and tell me things are
going to be okay. I hate seeing you like this. Please, Mom. Open your
eyes." The tears pour down her face and she puts her head down
on the bed and starts sobbing. "Mommy, I love you more."

I sit and let her have
her moment, but the sadness is unbearable. I stand and walk over to
her and put my hand on her shoulder, trying to give her some comfort
in any way I can. Laney's hand twitches, but only I see it because
Callie's head is still down. Slowly, her hand is moving, trying to
reach Callie.

"Callie!" I
say with more force than needed, but the excitement in my throat
can't control the volume. Callie's head jerks up and, when she looks
at me, I nod toward Laney.

She grabs her mother's
hand. "Mom, I am here. That's right, Mom. Come back to me."

Laney's fingers move to
touch her daughter's hand and the love in this moment is unbreakable.
These two truly do live for one another and no one can keep them away
from each other. Laney tries to open her eyes but they are still so
weak, it takes her a few blinks before she finally breaks them open.
Tears fill up and slide down her face. We both stare at her, not
wanting to frighten her, but relieved that we have seen those eyes
open.

"Laney, are you in
any pain? I can have them bring you some medicine if you are?"
The thought gives me chills as I say it. She shakes her head no but
cringes as she moves. Callie is crying but happy tears, and I can see
the relief on her face as she looks at her mom.

"I am going to get
the nurse and then let Kaleb, Sierra, and Brooke know that she is
awake." I walk out of the room and make my way to the nurse's
station, finding the male nurse who helped us out before.

I see on his ID badge
that his name is John. "Excuse me, John, Mrs. Collins is awake
and I think she might be in some pain but not letting on because her
daughter is in the room," I let him know.

"Yes, sir, I will
be in there in a moment to take care of that and work her up,"
he assures me.

I head to the room where
Kaleb, Sierra, and Brooke are. They all three jump up when they see
me, probably from my face they know something is up. I tell them that
she has opened her eyes and they can go see her if they would like. I
warn them about the bruises and her being in a lot of pain, and they
understand. We walk to Laney's room and John is already in there
administrating the pain medication. He is in his thirties and seems
to be a caring person; we need more people like him in the medical
field. So many health employees forget that this career is about the
people we work with every day and not the paycheck we cash. Sierra
and Brooke walk over to the bed and Laney smiles the biggest smile
she can manage. Kaleb stands in the back of the room, afraid to get
too close.

I think that seeing his
mom in this condition is worse than what he pictured in his head.
Once the pain meds kicked in, Laney starts talking since the movement
isn't so painful. She looks at Kaleb and reaches her hand out for
him. He walks near the bed and takes her hand in his. "I'm sorry
I worried all of you. I am fine, really. I must have been so tired
from the..." She trails off, watching Callie and Kaleb.

"I just must have
been tired. How long have I been asleep?"

"Nearly 16 hours,"
I reply.

"Wow, no wonder you
are teary eyed and looking at me like I awoke from the dead. I
basically did." She let out a small chuckle, but stopped once
she felt the pain shoot in her abdomen.

We all stopped breathing
until she looked relaxed again. "Man, you all are so serious.
What the hell happened? Am I dying?" she says questionably.

Laney's
POV

All the people I care
about are staring at me like I am about to kick the bucket. I have
news for them; I will be around a long time just so I can drive them
crazy.

"Baby, you were
injured pretty bad and had to have surgery. Your spleen ruptured and
they had to repair it, so you will in the hospital for a few days,"
Chance explains to me as calmly and doctorly as he can.

I close my eyes and try
to remember the details of the night. Michael! He hit me; I reach my
hand up and feel my head. Ouch! There is huge knot on the back of my
head. I slowly glide my hand down my face and it is swollen and sore
to touch. I feel stitches and some gooey ointment on my forehead. On
my abdomen, I feel the bandage across where they must have cut me
open. I lift my arms and they are sore like the rest of me, but the
meds are working now so they aren't as painful as when I first woke
up. My arms are purple and look like I have at least three cuts.

"Michael," I
say out loud this time as I remember what happened. The flood gates
come crashing open; tears sting my eyes and down my swollen face.

I stutter through my
words and shiver at the pain from the sobbing. "I made it to the
store fine. I don't understand, I thought I was okay. Sore, yes, but
I am okay. Never knew it was this bad."

Sierra says, "Honey,
you were going on adrenaline and once your body knew you were in good
hands, finally gave out. The ambulance brought you here and we were
notified."

I am so overwhelmed by
what Michael did to me. Why?

"Where is Michael?"
I bark.

"Michael is in jail
as we speak. The cops went and got him as soon as you were driven
away by the ambulance. You told them the address and his name."
She smiles with approval.

"Good for me. It's
nice to know that asshole didn't get away with it," I murmur.

Three long days I have
been in this hospital room waiting for them to release me to go home.
What home? I have no home. I can't go back to that house after what
happened there. Where will we go? Sierra's is so small and I know she
will insist, but there is no way we can get all of our stuff in
there. I guess I will need to get a storage unit. That will be
helpful. I mean, really, we just need Kaleb, Callie, and my clothes.
We can make do without the rest. My poor kids and what they must be
going through. They are being so strong, but I know they are worried
about what is going to happen and what is happening with their dad. I
haven't pressed charges because I am not sure if I will. He is in
jail and that is enough for now. My heart aches for my children and I
don't want to send their dad away even though I know he deserves it.
Callie and Kaleb deserve to have their dad around and he has never
harmed them. I believe, without a doubt, he never would.