After All (Passion Book 3)

Chapter Eight

"Evan?"

I was shook awake. Opening my eyes, I saw the pale and drawn face of Shannon. She stood over me. I was slumped in an uncomfortable chair in the waiting room.

I had yet to see Eddie.

Standing, I embraced her, and she cried softly into my chest.

"It all happened so fast," she sobbed.

"What happened? Was he drunk?"

She shook her head and pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself. "Hen and Bobby said he only had one beer. He was drinking water the majority of the night. I guess they were in his truck, and it was hit on his side by a distracted driver who had run a red light."

My mouth felt too dry. "How bad is it?"

Fresh tears welled in her eyes. "There's swelling to his brain. His ribs are fractured as well as his arm and leg, and there's hairline fractures along his skull. No internal bleeding, but he's lost a lot of blood..."

"And what's the verdict?" It was the question I didn't want to ask,  but has to. I had to prepare myself if the answer was the worst possible scenario.

"They don't know," she whispered, closing her eyes. Tears began to fall.

My heart nearly stopped beating.

"He's stable now, but that could change on a dime."

I had to sit. My head dropped into my hands, and I was having a hard time breathing.

No. No, no,  no, NO.

He couldn't die. Couldn't go.

I needed him. He gave my life meaning.

Without him, I would be lost again.

Without him, I would be empty. Completely hollow.

I began to cry, my whole body shaking. Shannon sat beside me, rubbing my back.

This was worse than anything I could have imagined.

After a few more hours of us sitting there, a doctor came out. Her hair was grey and she had hard, serious eyes.

"Who's this?" She asked.

"Evan Buckley. My ex husband's partner." Shannon told her, standing.

I stood as well, though my legs felt as though they would give out at any second.

The doctor regulated me shrewdly. "You can see him now. He's stable, though the swelling in his brain hasn't gone down. We had to induce him. He's in a coma. We're hoping that this will help with the swelling."

I felt nothing as I nodded.

Just let me see him.

She led us into his room. I stopped dead when I saw him. There were so many tubes and devices hooked up to him. He has a breathing apparatus, and the monitor was beeping steadily, but did nothing to reassure me.

Eddie looked so fragile beneath the tubes, lying there in that bed. He looked peaceful, though.

"Is he in any pain?" I asked, turning to the doctor.

I saw that she had a name tag, which pronounced her as Dr. Leighton.

"No. We're keeping him as comfortable as we can." Her eyes softened as she looked up at me. "It was a terrible accident, Mr. Buckley. But we will do everything in our power to save him.

"Let the nurses know if you need anything."

And with that, she left the room with one last sympathetic look in my direction.

I collapsed into the chair next to his bed.

Shannon began to rub circles into my back. I doubled over, unable to breathe.

"Where are Hen and Bobby? Are they okay?" I forced the words past the emotion in my throat. It was hard to talk, and my voice was barely auditable.

"They're fine. I sent them home before you got here to get some rest."

"And Christopher?"

"At Eddie's mother's."

"Does he know?"

I didn't need to be looking at her to know that she was nodding. I couldn't imagine what she was going through. What Chris was going through. I was just the boyfriend.

Once I was able to breathe again, I picked up Eddie's hand and held it between mine.

"Come back to me," I whispered. "Please come back to me."

Sorrow swallowed me up, and I did not resurface.