Addie glances around, her eyes flicking from left to right before coming right back to mine. She nods and Rebecca smiles. “You’ve been in a coma, but everything is looking good here. I’m going to call for the doctor and give you a chance to catch up.”
With that, Rebecca glances toward me with an encouraging smile. “Take your time,” she says, her voice low. “She’s bound to have questions and she’ll be confused. It’s like waking from a really long sleep. She’ll be groggy and tired, so offer her small sips of water and just hold her hand like you’re doing. She had a very traumatic experience, and there’s a good chance she remembers it, so be prepared for that.”
Rebecca excuses herself and I look back toward my sister, every piece of me breaking. It’s one thing holding out hope for her to come out of this, and don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been so happy, but now she has a completely different battle to face. One that’s going to tear her apart.
Addie glances toward Hudson, and before anyone can say a damn word, he backs up. “I, umm … I’m gonna give you guys some space,” he says, his gaze shifting over my sister again. “I’ll give your mom a call and let her know the good news so you can focus on helping her.”
“Alright, thanks, man,” I say, watching as he takes off like a fucking bullet.
I look back to Addie, unsure what to do. “Can you talk?” I ask nervously, creeping even closer toward her, not wanting to make any sudden movements as though it could fuck everything up and send her back into a lifeless coma, though I doubt that’s even possible.
Addie swallows hard and cringes before lifting her hand to her throat. “It’s sore,” she says, her tone raspy and quiet, but fuck it’s good to hear it. I’ll take raspy and quiet over nothing any day.
“Yeah, you’ve had a breathing tube down there for the past few weeks. It’ll be sore for a while. A few days, maybe a week. I’m not really sure.” I glance over her bed, trying to figure out how to make her comfortable. “Do you need anything? I can adjust your bed so you’re sitting up.”
She nods and I quickly make the adjustments before filling a cup of water and topping it off with a straw. I hold it to her lips and hate how she cringes as she takes small sips. My heart breaks for her, and the hollowness deep in my gut has me desperate to make things right.
“You said weeks,” she whispers, not able to use her full voice just yet.
I nod, and the more I look at her, the more I’m reminded of that night, of her terrified scream on the other end of the phone, the pain, how she begged me to help, begged me to get to her faster. “Yeah,” I say, trying to hold myself together as I reach for her hand again. “Seven to be exact.”
“Seven?”
I nod and watch as a heaviness creeps into her stare, and just when I thought this moment couldn’t get any harder, her eyes slowly begin to fill with unshed tears. Anger bursts through my chest, and I clutch onto her hand just a little bit tighter. “You remember.”
Her face scrunches with her silent pain and she nods. “All of it.”
Her tears begin to fall, and I lean into her, wishing there was some way I could take away her grief, some way to take the darkness out of her soul and give her the light and happiness she deserves. “Addie, I—”
“No,” she says, her voice so broken and defeated. “Don’t, Tanner. I … I can’t. Don’t make me.”
“Okay,” I rush out, reaching up and brushing her hair back off her face. “I won’t. We don’t have to talk about it, but I’m here, Addie. Right fucking here. I’m not going anywhere.”
We sit for ten minutes as I just hold her hand, listening to her broken cries and watching the way her tears fall, every last one of them breaking me further. But she needs me to be strong, needs me to be her rock, and until she’s ready to face the world on her own, I’m going to continue to be that for her.
The doctor comes in and quickly checks over her, and while he doesn’t specifically ask what she remembers, it’s clear from the tear-stained gown, her blotchy cheeks, and her red-rimmed eyes. With Addie stable, he puts off his tests until Mom can be here and promises to return in an hour. Until then, we just sit, waiting and hoping that one day, it’ll all get easier.
Chapter 14
BRIELLE
Darkness falls across my bedroom as I flip the bathroom light off and head back to bed. It’s just after one in the morning, and despite my tireless efforts, sleep simply isn’t in the cards for me tonight.