No More Tomorrows

Chapter 27: Fancy Seeing You Here

"She's going to be fine Bess. The surgery went well and doctors are pleased with her recovery so far. Her vitals are strong and she'll have minimal scarring."

It was hard seeing my tough friend looking so vulnerable. I kept hold of the hand not stroking her daughter's arm and we both watched her as she slept in the hospital bed.

"It all happened so fast. One minute she was sitting across from me eating her cake and I was laughing at her antics, then that fucking car came out of nowhere and she was under the wheels."

I shuddered to think about the visual of little Bethany being hit by a reckless drunk driver. He'd swerved to avoid an accident and due to his inebriated state had mounted the side walk and crashed into the outdoor seating area of the cafe Bess and Bethany were enjoying an afternoon treat. It was the stuff of nightmares and definitely not how I thought my final shift as a ward nurse would go. I couldn't believe it when the orderly wheeled her onto the my ward following her surgery. He was going through her chart with me when I noticed her name. I felt my heart drop to my stomach when I saw her little body looking so battered in that giant rolling bed.

Thinking back I swear my heart actually stopped for a moment. I'd flipped that switch we'd learned during our training and went into nurse mode, got myself up to date with her situation and once I had her settled in her room I sought out the surgeon involved so I could get some direct answers. Lucky for me Dr Lees had been asking me out on a date since he started and he was more than happy to chat. He filled me in with all the information I'd need to set my friend's mind at ease. 

Thankfully she was expected to make a full recovery and apart from some possible scarring from where the exhaust system had burned her neck when she was stuck under the rear of the vehicle, she'd hopefully have no other outward signs of this awful incident. She was a lucky girl. It could have been much, much worse. 

"I can't even imagine how scared you were Bess but she's going to be just fine. There was no major head trauma and her broken bones will heal. Losing her spleen might seem terrible but honestly it's one of those organs we can live full and happy lives without."

She looked away from her daughter for a moment and gave me a trembling smile so I gripped her hand even tighter. 

"I fucked up."

My head tilted at her weird statement.

"What do you mean you fucked up? This is absolutely not your fault." No way was I letting her take any of this on her shoulders.

"Not the accident. I fucked up when I first arrived. I was so panicked that I called her father."

"Okaaaay!"

I'd never even heard Bess mention Bethany's father. Ever. Not once, so I had always assumed he wasn't in their life, either by his choice or hers. Clearly I was missing something."

She was back to looking at Bethany but kept talking.

"I don't know what I was thinking, but when they took her from me to head into surgery I was so scared. I've never been more terrified in my life and I stupidly decided he had a right to know his daughter was going into surgery and might not survive."

"Oh Bess. I'm so sorry I wasn't aware you were downstairs, I would have come and been with you while you were waiting."

She shook her head and let go of my hand to wipe away the tears running down her face.

"It's done now. I'm expecting him or one of his men will arrive some time tonight and all hell will break loose."

She looked both angry and a little scared as she said that and I wasn't sure what to say to support her.