“So what does that mean?” asked Spencer. “Like his skull cracked open or something?”
Olivia fielded the question. “Josh said they were worried it might be subarachnoid hemorrhage. Right, Grace? I had to look it up. But if I understand correctly, the danger is blood can build up pressure and damage the brain.”
“But he’s going to be okay, right?” Emily asked Grace.
Only the reassurance of her sisters’ hands squeezing hers kept Grace from crying at the question.
Ben answered for her, “He’s going to be fine. He’s way too stubborn to die.”
No one refuted his claim. Grace prayed the humorless jest would prove true.
And then they waited. And waited. No one seemed to feel like talking.
“Hasn’t it been an hour?” asked Grace.
Every minute felt like an eternity. As the words left her mouth, the door opened and Josh came out. He was surrounded before he made it three feet. Grace tried to read his expression. He didn’t seem too upset, but then again, he didn’t look happy either. Her stomach was in knots.
He pulled off a scrub cap and rubbed his head. “So we didn’t find anything.”
Ben frowned, “That’s good news, isn’t it?”
“Well, it’s good we didn’t find an aneurism or a big bleed, but we still don’t know the source of the blood in the tap.”
“But he’s going to be okay, right?” said Spencer.
“We can’t know until we do another spinal tap at the twelve hour mark. That’s the only way we can be absolutely positive whether the blood came from trauma from the lumbar puncture or another source. I don’t want to be too optimistic because we can’t explain his symptoms apart from a slow bleed somewhere. If we get another positive tap, we’ll probably do an MRI.”
“Can I talk to him?” Grace asked.
“I don’t know. We have to keep him from getting too excited.” Josh winked at her.
She felt her face flushing. “Josh, don’t tease me. I need to talk to him—he still doesn’t know.”
“He knows he didn’t sleep with Kara,” said Ben. “That conversation happened before his head started hurting.”
Grace saw Emily’s eyes bugging out at Ben’s words. “It’s a long story, Emily. We’ll tell you later.”
As Josh turned to go back into the surgical area, she put a hand on his arm. “Wait, Josh. He doesn’t know I love him yet. Everyone else knows, but I haven’t told him.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners and he chuckled. “Yes, you did. Well, it took some interpretation, but I’m pretty sure he figured it out, anyway.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Check your messages.” He grinned before he disappeared again.
She frowned as she pulled out her cell phone and opened the messages. Olivia and Emily peered over her shoulder.
“Open the messages to Brad,” Olivia ordered.
She complied and was astonished to see the nonsensical message she had sent to Brad, evidently while under the influence of her premedication.
“Ohmygosh!” cried Emily. “At the end of that message you told him you loved him.”
“No she didn’t,” chuckled Olivia. “She said she lived him.”
Grace wished the floor would swallow her whole.
*****