A New Life: Sequel to Amber

Chapter 25

Rhett's POV

I stared down at the screen for a few seconds as the phone rang. I took a deep breath and answered the call from the hospital. I brought the phone up to my ear.

"Hello." My voice was quiet and scared sounding. I quietly cleared my throat, trying not to sound so frightened of what was about to be said to me. Maybe it was good news, but maybe it wasn't. The latter seemed more likely. They said they'd call tomorrow to tell us how how he was doing, not today.

"Hello. This is Marymount hospital. Is this Rhett McLaughlin?" a woman's voice asked on the other end.

"Yes, this is he."

"Mr. McLaughlin, we have some news on Charles Neal. They couldn't remove his appendix in time. It burst. I'm very sorry, sir." I choked back a sob and paused for a moment to try collecting myself before replying to the woman.

"Thank you for telling me. Have a good day."

"You're welcome. And you too, sir." There was no way I was going to have a good day. I hung up and threw my phone down to the floor of the car. Amber jumped at the sight but she slowly reached out and put her hand on my shoulder. She gently squeezed it in a comforting manner. I lifted my left arm and placed it over her hand as a way of saying thank you.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled quietly through my tears. She bit her bottom lip and furrowed her brow. Her eyes were etched with worry and confusion. I placed my head in my hands and leaned over the steering wheel. The only sounds that could be heard were my sobs and the unending pitter patter of rain on the car. Lightning struck almost directly in front of our car and Amber screamed. The crack of thunder was deafening. My ears started to ring and I couldn't hear anything other than that. I looked over at Amber. She was crying and hugging her knees to her chest tightly. I couldn't hear yet, but I knew she was terribly frightened. I moved closer to her and hugged her tightly. "Shh, Amber, everything's alright. It was just lightning. We're fine." About halfway through that, my hearing came back.

"I think I'm having a panic attack! It's been months since this has happened! Rhett, I'm so scared! It's not only the lightning, though it's that too, it's Dad! Will he be alright?! What did the hospital say that made you react that way?! What's going on?! Why is this happening?! Why can't I stop crying?! Why can't I relax?! Why am I so, so frightened?!" She started sobbing harder and shaking uncontrollably. I firmly grasped her shoulders and hugged her tightly.

"Amber, you are having a panic attack. Take deep, slow breaths. Everything will be alright in the end. I promise. Deep breaths. Slow and easy. Just calm down. He's going to be alright in the end. We don't know how long that will take, but we'll get there eventually. Please, try to calm down. Just take a deep breath."

"M-my inhaler. I need my inhaler!" Amber had gotten an inhaler from her doctor last time she went. She had asthma and it would get worse with panic attacks. I quickly grabbed her backpack that she brought with her everywhere and snatched the inhaler from the side pocket. She shoved it in her mouth and pushed down. She took a deep breath and took it out. She sighed and her crying wasn't as hard. She had stopped shaking. "Rhett, what did they tell you?" She sounded much less panicked, but very serious. I swallowed and took a deep breath.

"It burst." She cried a little harder, but was not about to have another panic attack, thankfully. She buried her face in the crook of my neck as she cried. I gently rubbed her back and tried not to cry. My phone started to ring again. I sighed and let go of Amber. I picked it up off the floor and answered.

"Hello."

"Mr. McLaughlin, hi, this is Doctor Tomas. I spoke to you at the hospital about Charles. I know you heard about his appendix bursting. We  treated it so it is slightly less likely for him to get an infection, but the risk is still much higher that he will. You may come and see him today. There's nothing else we can really do for now. I am very sorry."

"Thank you, Doctor Tomas. We'll be there very shortly." I hung up and looked at Amber. "We can see him." Her head shot up and she smiled a little. I drove off through the downpour of rain. I drove as quickly as I could while still being safe. We arrived at the hospital in fifteen minutes. I pulled in front of the building and let Amber out so she wouldn't get as wet. I parked and ran through the rain and into the building. Amber was sitting  and got up when she saw me. I grabbed her hand and we walked to the front desk. "Amber Neal and Rhett McLaughlin to see Charles Neal."

The woman looked up and smiled. "He's in ICU room 574." She smiled comfortingly at us and I thanked her before going into the elevator. We went up to the third floor and followed the signs to Link's room. I gave Amber's hand a squeeze and slowly opened the door. Link lie in the bed. His skin was as pale and delicate as a flower petal. His eyes were squinted shut in pain. About a dozen different monitors and IVs were attached to his body. Amber gasped at the sight and turned around and cried into my shirt. I rubbed her back again and saw Link's eyes open. I could tell he was in awful, terrible pain, yet he still managed to smile weakly when he saw us.

"Amber, he's awake. Let's go see him," I spoke softly and grabbed her hand. We both walked over and pulled chairs next to Link's bedside. "Hey brother, how are you feeling?" 

He smiled slightly again. "Horrible, but better now that you guys are here. I love you both, so, so much. You two are my world. I could never describe the love I have for you two. Please, don't leave me here," he weak, quiet, and raspy voice pleaded. I reached forward and grabbed his cold, frail hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. I looked deeply into his icy blue eyes.

"We won't, brother. We will never leave your side, especially when you need us most. We will always be right there beside you, helping you get through whatever hardships life has to offer. We love you so much more than you could ever know. We're never going to leave you."