Chapter Ten
Wade
I was about a block away from my house when my phone rang. It had been a long day, and I was exhausted. I considered ignoring it and phoning whoever it was back once I'd got inside and chilled out for a few. But then I looked down to see who was calling and I immediately answered.
“Hi, Eryn!” I said as I picked it up.
A tone of fear and panic laced her voice, and her words rushed through the speaker of my phone at high speed. I knew something was wrong the moment she said my name. When she said there was an emergency, I got the address from her and slammed my BMW into gear and floored it, spinning tires as I took off.
I drove it fast and hard – faster than I probably should have – but the panic in her voice had me worried. I arrived at her mom's place in less than five minutes, jumped out of the car leaving the motor running, and ran straight up into the building she'd told me she was in.
I saw her standing at the top of the stairs, her face twisted with worry, her eyes teary.
“Where is she?” I asked right away.
“Follow me. Thanks so much for coming. I didn’t know who else to call.”
I hurried after her
into the apartment, and she led me straight to her mom's bedroom, where I saw a middle-aged version of Eryn laying motionless on the floor. “All right, let's get her out of here,” I said.
I squatted down, and Eryn helped me get her mom into my arms. I was able to pick her up and carry her down the stairs.
“Open the back door of the car,” I said to Eryn as we approached my car.
She did as I said, and we both eased her mom onto the back seat so that she would be safe, comfortable, and stable enough that her body wouldn't be able to move around. Eryn climbed in next to her mom. I jumped into the driver's seat and drove as fast as I could to the nearest hospital.
I waited in the car at the emergency room entrance while Eryn ran in to get some nurses, who came out with a gurney. They loaded her mom onto it and then took her into the ER.
“You go with your mom,” I said. “I'll find a parking spot, then I'll come in and find you.”
She nodded, tears running down her cheeks. She quickly reached over and squeezed my hand tightly. “Thank you so much, Wade. Thank you...”
I squeezed her hand back. “It's not a problem. I'm just doing what any decent human being would do. Now you go, I'll come and find you.”
I drove the car out to the parking lot and then jogged back to the ER. A man in scrubs was speaking to Eryn, who looked like she was refusing to leave her mother’s side, so I hurried over to them to see what had happened.
“We are going to have to run some tests before the doctor can give you any kind of diagnosis,” he said. “Your mother likely got knocked unconscious when she hit her head on the floor, but there’s always a chance she went unconscious first. There’s just no way to know for sure.”
Eryn simply nodded; it seemed as if she wasn't capable of speaking right now. I decided to step in and take over.
“Excuse me, Doctor, but how long do you think all of this is going to take?”
“Are you her son?”
“No. I'm, uh, I'm a family friend.”
“I see. Well, she'll at least have to stay overnight while we run the tests. And, it's essential that she's under observation since she’s been unconscious as long as she has. As I said to Eryn, we’ll do some preliminary tests before we decide what we might need to do further. Don't worry, though, she's in good hands here.”
“I'm sure she is. Is she going to wake up any time soon?” I asked, Eryn still listening, but not saying a word, just looking down at her mother.
“She should, yes. You can stay around until she does. Once we know a little more, we will try to get her in a room. Then you can see her.”
“I understand, Doc. Thank you.”
“Of course,” the doctor replied. “I'll contact you as soon as I have something more for you.”
With that, the doctor hurried off, and Eryn leaned over and grabbed her mother’s hand. The nurses were tucking her into the hospital bed with a blanket.