Numbness has taken over my body since the phone call earlier. What was supposed to be a fun filled night turned into nothing but tragedy. Aunt Moira and Uncle James trusted sending Austin here to stay with us, and I fucked it up. All because I couldn’t stand that he and Tamilyn liked each other. I should have never stepped in and made things so messy. I should have kept my hands to myself and let whatever they had play out to see if she’d come back to me.
Love is supposed to make things better, right? Well, although Tamilyn and I love each other, all it did was cause hurt. Tamilyn has been by my side from the moment I got the phone call to our arrival in the hospital waiting room. We arrived to find out Austin had been rushed to surgery immediately and should be out soon. We haven’t been told the extent of his injuries, so not knowing what to expect is damn near terrifying.
Aunt Moira and Uncle James should be here any minute. They have a bit of a drive to make, but Mom has been on the phone with her the entire time to keep them posted with any news.
I overhear Tamilyn tell her mom she’s going to get coffee. I offer to walk with her. I know she probably wants to be alone, but I worry about her. This is all affecting us.
She turns to see me trailing closely behind her. “Why are you following me?”
“I’m going to get coffee too. Look, Tam, I know all of this is a lot to process right now, but we need each other and Austin is going to need us.”
“He hates us. Or have you forgotten?” She turns to face me with tears forming again in her eyes. “We could have killed him,” she whispers.
“But he’s not dead, he’s alive. This is a second chance to do things right, don’t you see that?”
“You’re being selfish, Ruston McGregor.” She seethes as she turns back and continues walking.
“I’m not being selfish, Tamilyn. I’m grateful he’s got this second chance. He’s my family just like you are, and I’m going to be there for him whether he likes it or not.”
She turns left into a little room and the aroma of coffee hits me. I’m glad I followed her. I could use a cup right now. She begins fixing her cup and I watch her every move. Her hands are shaking and she needs to be careful. She fills the cup nearly to the brim and goes to pick it up but the tremors in her hand send the hot liquid spilling over the edges.
“Shit!” She hisses as the cup falls from her hand.
“Tam, are you okay?” I rush to her side and pull her hand over to the sink, turning the cool water on. “Keep your hand under here. I’ll clean that up.”
“I’m sorry.” She begins sobbing.
“It’s okay, I’m here.” I grab a fistful of napkins and begin slowly cleaning the mess up. Another fistful, and it’s finally dry. Tamilyn is still standing in front of the sink with her hand under the water when Mom pokes her head into the room.
“Hey, guys, Austin is in recovery right now. We just talked to the doctor. Tamilyn, are you okay?” Her eyes widen when she notices the situatio
n.
“I’m fine. I just spilled a little coffee.” She turns the water off. I grab more napkins and softly pat the area dry.
“What did the doctor say? Can we see him?” I toss the napkins into the trashcan and face my mom.
“He’s going to be in and out of sleep and in an immense amount of pain, but we can see him. You two need to know something, though.” I don’t like the way this conversation is going. I stop breathing for a moment and cross my arms over my chest, bracing myself. I wish we had been in the waiting room when the doctor came.
“What is it? He’s okay, isn’t he?” Tamilyn asks.
“You two may want to sit down when I tell you this.” She glances around before realizing there are no chairs in this room.
“Just say it, Mom.”
She sighs and tears well up in her eyes. I grab hold of Tamilyn’s arm because I have a feeling that whatever we’re about to hear is going to change everything. “Austin’s right arm was severely crushed in the accident. He wasn’t getting any blood flow…and they had to amputate.”
A sob escapes me. Austin lost his arm? “What?”
“I know this is very shocking for everyone. The good news is he can get a prosthetic arm and be almost as good as new, but he will need everyone’s support in this.”
Tamilyn doesn’t speak, she just softly cries beside me. I turn to face her. “He’s going to be okay. It could have been worse.” She wipes her eyes.
“You two should go see him. Let him know you’re here for him. He needs to know that. He doesn’t know he’s lost his arm yet, so it’s going to be very tough when he finds out.”
My eyes widen. Oh, fuck. I’d hate to be in there when he finds out because I know he’s not going to have the best reaction. I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes right now. “Y-yeah, come on, Tam. Let’s go see him.”
I tug on Tamilyn’s arm but she doesn’t budge. She won’t move at all. She closes her eyes and opens them slowly. “I can’t go in there. I can’t see him like that.”