Alarm spiked through me. “Are the doctors doing something? Why is he still asleep? What did they say?”
He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Calm down, babe. They’re saying he’s sedated and still stable. And they’ve run his bloods a few times to check his levels. I’m sure if there was something to worry about, they would have told us.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay.” Looking around the waiting room, I asked, “Where’s Yvette?”
“She’s with their father, but will be back here later.” His gaze shifted to look past me. Jerking his chin, he said, “Scott.”
I turned to find Scott Cole approaching. I’d met him a few times over the years and he’d always struck me as a moody guy, but Nash was pretty close to him so I figured he couldn’t be too bad.
“Nash,” he returned the greeting before eyeing me. “Hi, Carla. How’s Havoc?”
“He’s stable.”
But not awake.
“Good.” He turned his attention to Nash. “You got a minute, brother?”
“You okay here?” Nash asked me and I nodded.
“Thanks,” Scott said. “J will be by later to check on him.”
As they walked out into the corridor, I sat. Thankful the waiting room was empty, I allowed my tears to fall. I wasn’t the kind of woman to cry often. Usually when shit wasn’t going my way I fought back. But this situation didn’t give me that opportunity.
I couldn’t fix this.
Instead, I’d have to dig deep and get myself together.
Havoc needed me to be strong for him when he couldn’t be strong for himself.
* * *
Havoc drifted in and out of consciousness that night and the next day. The doctors kept drawing blood to check his levels and they kept telling us he was stable.
Stable.
I fucking hated that word by the end of the second day.
Why couldn’t they give us something more?
All I wanted to hear was that he was going to be okay, but whenever I asked that question, they gave me their standard answer.
Stable.
Fucking stable.
I refused to go home again. I’d hated leaving him that first day. I wasn’t doing it again. I put work on hold and took up residence at the hospital. This meant Nash and I bickered constantly. He came and went a few times, and whenever he visited, he tried to boss me into leaving. In the end, Mum got sick of it and told him to leave if he was going to keep arguing with me.
So by the end of the second day, he and I sat next to each other, arms folded over our chests, both of us with a scowl on our faces.
“Fuck, hospitals suck,” I declared, blowing out a harsh breath.
“Won’t argue with you there, babe,” Nash agreed.
It was nearing 9 p.m. and we were alone after Mum and Velvet had gone home for the night, and Yvette had left us to grab some dinner.
“Do you believe in heaven?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“And hell?”
“Yep.”
“So you believe in God and the Devil and all that?” We’d never had this conversation and besides killing time, I was interested to know his beliefs.
“Yes. I have to.”
I turned to him. “Because of Aaron?” His son who had died.
“I believe Aaron is in heaven and I believe it’s a better place than Earth. It’s the only thing that got me through some bad days.” I heard the raw emotion in his voice.
I placed my hand over his. “He’s definitely in a better place, Nash. And you’re going to see him again one day.”
His jaw clenched and I knew this had turned into a hard conversation for him. I loved him all the more for continuing it. “Yeah.”
The doors to the ICU opened at that moment and a nurse walked our way. “Carla?” she asked.
“Is he awake?”
She nodded and I almost sagged in relief. “Yes, you can come through and see him.”
Nash gripped my hand and pulled me up. We followed her in and a couple of minutes later, I was looking at the man who had taken up a lot of space in my heart.
“Darlin’.”
It was one word, but it meant the world to me.
He looked better and sounded better.
And I felt it in my bones.
He’s going to make it.
28
Havoc
“So they’re letting you out today?” Scott said as he settled himself on the end of my hospital bed. He, J and Nash had arrived five minutes earlier and they’d all made themselves at home in the tiny room I’d called home for far too many days.
“Yeah, thank fuck,” I muttered. If I’d had to spend one more night in the hospital I would have gone crazy. Being cooped up in one place for any length of time tended to do that to me.
“I’m gonna drop in on your Dad this afternoon,” J said. “Make sure he’s doing okay.”
I had to give them credit, Storm had really come through for me and my family since I’d been in hospital. They’d checked up on not only me each day, but also Dad, and they’d gotten him home yesterday. Yvette had been called out of town for work so J had helped out.
“Thanks, brother,” I replied.