I gave him a small smile. “I’ll always catch you, Jase. Just like I promised.”
He wrapped his arms around me again, pulling me close to him. The last thing I remember is snuggling against his chest, listening to the gentle sound of his breathing before I fell asleep.
Chapter 13 – More Than Enough
In a few short hours, Jason and I woke up, showered, grabbed some food to go then headed right back to the hospital. Nobody had called us, so as far as we knew, nothing had changed with Drew’s condition.
How wrong we were.
On arriving back in the waiting room, we found everyone, even Ellie, sitting in the uncomfortable blue chairs. Ellie was crying into Michael’s shoulder, and Joey and Mum were staring straight ahead, pale-faced, eyes filled with despondency. As Jason and I strolled into the room hand in hand, only Michael flicked his eyes in our direction.
“What’s happened?” I whispered. I’d started to tremble from the almost tangible sadness in the room and Jason’s hand gripped mine tighter as we waited for someone to fill us in.
“Drew’s awake,” Michael said, giving us a tight-lipped smile. “But… there’s bad news. He’s got… there’s been some damage to his spinal cord. He’s lost the feeling in his legs. The doctors are with him now doing a few tests, but he’s going to need some scans to see exactly what the problem is, and probably surgery.”
I glanced at Jason as his face drained of all colour.
“What… what does that mean?” he asked. “Will he… I mean… He’ll be able to walk again, right?”
Michael gave a small shake of his head. “We can’t tell at the moment.”
“So… he could end up in a wheelchair?”
“Yes. It’s a possibility.”
I let go of Jason’s hand and wrapped my arms around him as he sagged against me and tears rained down my cheeks.
This wasn’t fair. Not any of it. Drew was alive, and that was something to be grateful for, of course, but the idea of him being unable to walk? No. He had to walk down the aisle with my sister. He had to be able to run around with their children, and he had to get back on the road with the band and do what he did best.
“Why didn’t you call?” Jason asked coldly. “You said you’d call if anything happened.”
He directed the question at my mother – she was the one who promised to get in touch – and Drew waking up was a pretty huge deal.
She turned her head towards us. “I’m sorry. I was taking care of my daughter.”
“You have two daughters.”
The insinuation that she hadn’t been taking such good care of me lately practically echoed around the room, causing me to close my eyes against the awkwardness. What could I say? He wasn’t totally wrong. Since I’d got home, Mum hadn’t made much effort to understand what I’d been through, or how I felt about it and if she and Dad had had their way, I’d still be in England. However, she was still my mum, and recent events aside, a damn good one.
Ellie raised her head from Michael’s shoulder and glared at Jason. “Everything’s always about you, isn’t it?”
My eyes flew open. I got that she was upset, but I thought, since she and I had partially made up, she would be okay with Jason too. She had bigger things to worry about, after all. Yet her words and tone said otherwise. It was as if she’d flicked back to the past, dug deep down inside herself, and spat out something that had been lurking inside her. Something that shouldn’t have been there anymore because she’d always sworn she was over everything that happened before. I guess some wounds were more raw than others.
“That’s not fair,” Jason said. “If it was Lucy in Drew’s position, how would you feel if nobody bothered to tell you she woke up after a near fatal accident?”
“That’s not why you’re upset. You’re upset because right now the world isn’t revolving around you. It wasn’t enough that you and Lucy overshadowed our engagement, now this has to be about you too. ”
Jason stiffened, his anger growing and filling the room so much it was almost suffocating. Fury seemed to emanate from him in thick waves, slowly pulling us all under. My own emotions were all over the place. Her mention of Jason and I overshadowing her engagement news was uncalled for and deeply unfair, as was her accusing Jason of being selfish. But I knew my sister. She wasn’t thinking straight, even though she looked as though she knew exactly what she was saying.
“What happened to you?” he asked in a low voice, his eyes fixed on Ellie. “You used to be understanding. You used to be considerate. For the last few months, you’ve been judgemental, bordering on heartless when it comes to your own sister. Now you want to sit there and tell me that I want to make my brother’s condition about me? Well, fuck you. I was beside him in the wreckage. I watched, helpless, as he was dragged out of that bus, not knowing if he’d wake up. I was at his bedside the whole time, Ellie. I sat beside him praying he’d wake up. Praying he’d be okay. I didn’t do that because I had to, or because I expect some kind of thanks for it. He’s my brother. My big brother. And none of you could pick up the phone and let me know he woke up?”
Michael stood up. “Jason, please.”
“No, Dad! I know Dre
w is the main priority right now, but it would have taken a few seconds to call and say the words we’ve all been waiting to hear for the last twenty-four hours!”
Ellie turned her gaze to me. “You haven’t said anything.”