Worshipped (Worshipped Series Book 1) (28 page)

I run my hands through my hair, trying not to scream. All this is Dominic’s fault. If he would’ve just left us alone, we would have Karen back, and neither one of my boys would be going to the fucking hospital.

I look at Dominic’s lifeless body. Detective James put a bullet in his head. I am so grateful for that. I didn’t want him alive, or have any chance to recover from any other wound. He deserved to die. I hope he is burning in hell for all the shit he did.

I jump when I feel a hand on my shoulder. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to see if you wanted me to take you to the hospital? I can come back here later, to finish with all the questions.”

I nod at Detective James thinking it is very kind of him to offer me a ride. It is that or call a taxi and I just can’t think straight to remember the number. Or to worry about finding a cell phone.

We ride in silence as he takes me to the hospital. I try to stop the tears from falling again, but I am too exhausted to even try anymore. I just give in, knowing that the harder I try to fight them, the worse off I will be. The detective hands me a few tissues. I apologize, certain I am making him uncomfortable. He doesn’t say he minds, but what man wants to watch a woman cry?

I can’t even start to begin to process all that has happened within such a small amount of time. I never dreamed I would have to worry about losing Isaac or Conner. It’s unreal to me. I put a hand over my belly, thinking about what I would do without having them both to help me take care of my little beans. Will Isaac’s baby ever know him? I try to think positive thoughts. But I would be an idiot to say I wasn’t scared for Isaac’s life.

I’m not even sure who shot him. So much happened so fast. I try to think about the details, but nothing comes to mind. I give up one nightmare only to start another.

We pull up at the hospital. We walk inside to the front desk and I ask if Conner has a room first. The lady looks at me in horror. I look down at myself noticing for the first time what I look like.

No wonder I’m getting shocked looks. I’m covered in dried blood with a bruised and battered face. My shirt is ripped in several difference places. No doubt my hair is a hot mess too. The lady seems to shake herself and tells me Conner is in surgery and it will be awhile before he will get a room. She tells me a nurse will be out shortly to check on my injuries and to let the nurse know to keep me updated.

I quickly ask about Isaac, knowing he will have to be in surgery as well. She confirms my thoughts. Detective James leaves when the nurse comes out to get me. I thank him again for the ride and for staying with me.

My nurse is a young girl. I bet she just got out of nursing school. She is very tiny too. She makes me feel old just looking at her. She does all the necessary things nurses do before a doctor comes to see you. I really hope I don’t have to wait all night for a doctor to come in and tell me what I already knew. I want to know how Isaac and Conner are doing. It kills me that I don’t know anything. Hell, I’m not even sure if Isaac is alive. I ask my nurse if she can go check on them for me. She smiles and tells me she will be right back.

I decide I like her. Anyone willing to help me is good in my book. I pick at my shirt, trying to get some of the dirt and blood off. My hands are still covered in blood so I go over to the small sink in my exam room to try and wash it off as well. It seems no matter how much I scrubbed or how much soap I use, I cannot get Isaac’s blood off me. I’m pretty sure I’m having some sort of mental breakdown. There is only so much one person can handle within a certain amount of time. The door to my exam room startles me so much that I let out a yelp.

My doctor shuts the door and asks the same questions my nurse did. I’m getting annoyed. Did he not read the file? My doctor touches my face where I have the most bruises. He tells me nothing is broken, but says I will have more swelling by tomorrow. Yes, I know that already.

This isn’t my first rodeo. I keep my smart ass comments to myself, thinking he will leave faster. I’m right about that too. As he is leaving, my tiny nurse comes back in.

She doesn’t have any news on Isaac or Conner. She does tell me where I can go to wait until they are out of surgery. I thank my tiny nurse and I make my way up to the third floor. I find the nurse’s desk and let them know who I’m waiting for. They promise to let me know as soon as they know something. I sit down on the cold metal chair in the waiting room. I wrap my arms around myself, feeling the chill of the room go straight to my bones. I’m thankful I’m not hurt any more than I am and that my little beans are doing just fine. I don’t dare think about the other outcome that could’ve happened to my little beans.

Time seems to stop while I wait. And wait. And wait some more. I pace, I drink the most God awful coffee, and I’m currently tapping my foot. I try to be patient. Really, I do. But by hour five of not hearing anything, I march my unhappy ass up to that nurse’s desk. I am as nice as I can be, but I think after the night I had, it is understandable for me to be a bit bitchy. The nurse, thank God, does understand why I’m being a bitch. She tells me she will find out what is going on. I walk back to my new hell to sit down in my chair and wait some more.

True to her word, the nurse comes back shortly after and tells me Conner was just moved into a room. Isaac, however, is still in surgery. That means he is still alive. I let out a sigh of relief and the nurse tells me where to find Conner’s room.

I make my way to another nurse’s desk and finally after what seems like years later, I walk into Conner’s room.

I see Conner lying on the bed. He’s hooked up to all kinds of monitors. I’m so happy he’s alive. He’s resting, but he opens his eyes when I touch his hand. He gives a lopsided grin because his lips are busted and I crash right into his arms. I cry softly in his arms. He strokes my hair and my back trying to soothe me. I am so happy he is okay.

Conner moves over in his bed so I can get in with him. He winces when I accidently hit his hurt leg. I snake my arm around his waist, holding on tightly. Once tonight I almost had him taken away; I am never letting him go again. We don’t say anything for a while. I think he knows I need a moment to get my thoughts in order. Plus, he falls back into a drug induced sleep.

Although I felt a little lighter and better now that I have seen Conner, I still worry for Isaac. It has been almost ten hours since I got to the hospital. The sun is now coming up, starting a new day. Hopefully, a better one. I slowly get out of the bed with Conner, hoping I won’t get into any trouble staying in his bed. I go find a nurse. I’m hoping they at least are done with Isaac’s surgery by now.

I find a nurse, and she tells me the best news I could hope for. The doctor had just finished his surgery, and they will be moving him shortly. I ask if there was any way to have him in the same room as Conner. She gives me a puzzled look but tells me they will arrange it for me. I think it will be good for Conner to see Isaac and it would help me from going from room to room. I walk back into Conner’s room, hoping he is awake now.

He’s sitting up in the bed now, and he already looks ten times better. I smile at him as I walk over to his bed. I sit down beside him and grab his hand. I give him a quick kiss.

“How do you feel?” I ask him.

“Better now. How are you doing with all this? What about Isaac?”

“The nurse just told me he will be moved to this room shortly. The doctor just finished his surgery. I didn’t know if he was alive or dead up until this point. No one would tell me anything.” I take a few deep breaths and answer his other question. “I’m not sure how to deal with everything that’s happened yet. I’d rather not think about it right now. I just want you better. We can dwell on the bad stuff after you and Isaac are home.”

“That is a great idea. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Conner touches my face where the bruises are. His eyes darken, as he says, “I wish Dominic was alive just so I can kill him again.”

“Conner, don’t think that way. We should be glad we are all okay.” I put his hand on my belly as I say, “And that our little beans are perfect.”

He smiles, losing that look of revenge and says, “Little beans, huh? I like the sound of that”.

“Good because I wasn’t changing it,” I tell him teasingly.

A nurse came in to check Conner’s vitals and to give him more pain medicine. He declines the medicine for now saying he wants to stay awake until Isaac arrives. The nurse leaves and I pull up a chair next to Conner’s bed. We don’t say much as we wait for Isaac to be moved into the room.

It takes longer than I hoped for us to see Isaac. Conner fell asleep again and all I could do was wait. I was really getting tired of waiting. At least the nurses were kind enough to lend me a pair of scrubs. They also let me use their showers in their locker room. I didn’t know how good it was to bathe until I was so clean, I felt like a different person.

After my amazing shower, I make my way back to Conner’s room. I open the door only to have my heart drop.

Isaac is lying in his bed close by Conner’s. Isaac is asleep, and my breath catches when I see the tube coming out of his throat. He has a black eye forming, and his hands have cuts and bruises on them as well. The nurses are checking his bandages and checking the monitors. The doctor comes in and introduces himself.

“I’m Dr. Wyatt. Isaac is a fighter. He sustained a nasty gunshot wound. The bullet was lodged deep into his abdomen and he also had some internal bleeding. We had to give him three transfusions during his surgery. We had to extract the bullet before we could stop all the internal damage done when he was shot. I have to say, I am surprised he made it out of surgery.”

Dr. Wyatt tells us that Isaac coded twice while he was operating on him. I’m proud of Isaac for fighting so hard to stay with us. We need him as much as he needs us. Dr. Wyatt says the tube is temporary and should be able to be removed as soon as Isaac wakes up.

The doctor leaves and I move to Isaac’s side. Conner is quiet while I talk to Isaac. I tell him I am proud of him, and that he better wake up soon. I don’t know if he hears me or not. I don’t know how long it will take for him to wake up. I take his hand and hold it close to my heart. Of course I cry. Seems like I am always crying these days. I want him to let me know he knows I’m here. It doesn’t happen. The nurse comes in a few hours later to check on him. I end up sleeping in the chair by Isaac’s bed that night.

I stay with Isaac and Conner until Conner is discharged. Isaac still hasn’t woken up and I am beginning to worry he never will. It has only been a few days, but I start to worry that it isn’t normal for Isaac to still be asleep. The doctor tells Conner and me that it’s different for each patient. He also says it is his body’s way of trying to heal. I just have to stay patient with him and I pray he will wake up soon.

The police come a few times during our stay. We give them our statements and they tell us they will be back once Isaac woke. I call a taxi for Conner and I on discharge day and we make our way home.

I’m grateful that Conner has crutches to help him get around. There is no way I could have done it all by myself. I get Conner situated on the couch and I make him lunch. I stay with Conner for a few hours and then I head back to the hospital. Conner tells me I need to stay home and rest at least for one night, but I want to be there with Isaac. I don’t want to miss him waking up.

I split my time up like that for two weeks straight. I spend half the day with Conner, making sure he has everything he needs. Then I go back to the hospital and wait for Isaac to wake up. I don’t know how much longer I can push my body to go so long without sleep. I’m not sleeping well, no matter where I am. If I stay with Conner, I wake up from my vivid nightmares. At least when I am with Isaac, I don’t really sleep to have any.

The nurses and doctors constantly come and go. I kind of envy Isaac. He never moves. He seems to be getting at least a peaceful sleep. Dr. Wyatt takes the tubes out of Isaac and he starts to look a lot better. His bruised face still looks bad, but they are slowly healing.

I sit by his bed, holding his hand. I overhear the doctor telling the nurses that he’s getting worried about Isaac not waking up. He’s healing normally, and it baffles the doctors that he is still not waking up. Hearing that of course makes me worry even more.

I talk to Isaac every time I come to see him. I tell him over and over how much I miss him, and how much I need him to come back to me. Every day that goes by without Isaac waking up leaves me feeling defeated. I start to feel myself giving up on the hope he will wake up.

I go home a few hours later. Conner is getting the hang of using his crutches. I think he feels bad with me having to take care of him. It isn’t like him not to take care of me. He is coming out of the bathroom when I walk into our room.

“Anything?” he asks me. I shake my head and Conner opens his arms for me to come to him. I wrap my arms around him and put my head on his chest. He holds me close and tight to him. I know he wants to help and do whatever he can to make this right, there just isn’t anything anyone can do. It is all on Isaac to pull through.

I’m exhausted, but again I have another nightmare that night. It’s always the same one playing over and over. I know I should go talk to a shrink about the nightmares. I have other things to worry with first. Dominic and that night probably will never leave me. The one thing that’s missing is who shot Isaac. I know my subconscious is trying to give me the final piece to the puzzle, but I always wake up before I figured it out. For whatever reason, I’m blocking myself from seeing it.

Conner wakes up with a start. He reaches for me and pulled me into his arms. I know he is worried. I am getting seriously pissed off that I can’t get one night of rest.

“You want to talk about it?”

“No. It’s always the same nightmare. I think after Isaac wakes up and comes home, I will call the shrink,” I reply, trying to lighten the mood.

Conner does not think it is funny. “This isn’t something to take lightly. These nightmares are affecting you and I want you to talk to someone. I don’t care who it is, as long as you stop waking up screaming I will be happy.”