How It's Supposed to Be

Chapter Twenty: Jimi's Point of View

I was making the crust for the pizza. When I finished, I covered it and set it aside to rise. I walked into the living room and grabbed my phone. Karen has been gone for a while. Maybe she ran into someone she knows at the store or traffic is really bad since it is raining really heavy. I sat down on the couch and watched some T.V and waited for her to come home.

It has now been two hours since Karen has left and I'm starting to get a little worried. I'm sure she's fine, but I can't help but worry about her. I mean this woman is the love of my life and I would be lost without her. I'll just give her a call to get some peace of mind. I pick up my phone and called her. All I heard was ringing and it went to voice mail. She always answers her phone. Maybe she just didn't hear her phone go off. I'll try again. I redialed and it rang, and rang, and rang, and went to voicemail. Now I'm starting to worry a lot. I hope nothing bad has happened to her. I don't know what I would do if something happened to her.

She's been gone for two and a half hours now. There is no way that it takes that long to get vegetables and cheese from the store that is a mile down the road. I'll try calling her again. The phone rang, and rang, then I looked out the window at the driveway and I saw a police car pull up. Oh God. I hang up the phone and go over to the door and open it to find two officers standing there.

"Is this the residence of Karen Fairchild?" the first officer said.

"Yes, this is" I said in a shaky voice.

"What is your name and how do you know Ms. Fairchild?" The second officer asked.

"Jimi Westbrook and she's my Fiancé" I said in the same shaky voice.

"There has been an accident and we need you to come to the hospital" the second officer said.

My heart dropped. I just stood there and my mind went blank. I couldn't move.

"Mr. Westbrook, we need you to come down to the hospital right away" I heard again and was snapped out of my trance.

I nodded my head and grabbed my shoes and keys and went out to my truck. The officers pulled out of the driveway and I followed them to the hospital. Please God, let her be o.k. I can't lose her, I just can't. Please let her be o.k.

I pulled into the parking lot near the emergency sign. I found a parking spot and turned off the truck. I jogged to the doors and walked in. I went up to the desk to talk to the lady at the desk.

"I'm here for Karen Fairchild. She was in an accident" I said quickly. The lady nodded her head and looked at her computer.

"It says she in CT right now" she said.

"Is she ok?" I asked nervously.

"I don't know the answer to that, but I can call down one of her nurses or doctors for you" she said.

"Ok" I said. Please God let her be ok.

"Someone will be down here in a few minutes to update you on her condition" she said.

I went over to the waiting area and sat down. I kept fidgeting and tapping my legs. I couldn't just sit there. So I stood up and started pacing the waiting room until someone came down. A police officer approached me. He started telling me about the accident. The car behind her was speeding and hydroplaned and lost control of the vehicle. He rear ended Karen at a red light and pushed her in the middle of an intersection going about 45 mph. in a 35 mph zone. Then a car going through the intersection t-boned her from the passenger side and rolled the car into a ditch. When the paramedics arrived, she was upside down in the car with a weak pulse and was having trouble breathing.

I was livid and scared all at the same time. I was livid at the man who was careless enough to speed in a rain storm like this. I'm scared to death that I could lose her. I started pacing even more. Finally a doctor came and found me.

"Are you here for Karen Fairchild?" she asked.

"Yes I am, she's my fiancé" I said.

"I'm Dr. Smith" she said and shook my hand.

"Is she ok? Please tell me she's ok." I said quickly.

"She is stable. She suffered a pretty serious concussion and is currently unconscious. She has a head laceration that required stitches. She has a lot of bruises and a few scrapes that will need some attention, but we are a little concerned about the concussion. She appears to have normal brain function, but she could still have some brain damage. Things appear to be normal, but we won't know for sure until she wakes up. She was very lucky. Most people who were in a car accident like that, suffer a lot more than a concussion and stitches" the doctor said.

"So she's going to wake up right?" I asked nervously.

"It is very likely" she said.

"Thank God" I mumbled. I rubbed my hands over my face and let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much Dr. Smith. When can I see her?" I asked.

"She is on her way back from CT and headed to the ICU. I can take you up to her room right now" she said and I nodded my head. I followed her to the elevator and we went up to see Karen. We arrived at her room and she was in there. She was still unconscious. She had a bandage on her forehead from the cut and an oxygen tube in her nose. She had heart monitors on her fingers. She had a bandage around her arm and she was covered in bruises of all different sizes. I can see her chest moving up and down and I hear the beeping of the monitors. She looks lifeless.

I walked over to the side of her bed and pulled up a chair. I gently grabbed her hand and held it both hands and kissed it. I started rubbing my thumb over the top of her hand. I started to tear up thinking that I could have lost her tonight. Then I brushed the loose strands of hair out of her eyes and away from her bandage on her forehead. I sat there just watching her. Watching her chest move up and down with each breath and waiting for her to wake up. I sat with her for a few hours and kept a gentle hold of her hand and held it close to my face. I would kiss it every once and a while.

"Baby, please wake up. I need you to wake up" I whispered to her in a tearful voice and brushed a few more strands of hair out of her face. "I need you baby. I don't know what I would do without you." I whispered again with more tears forming in my eyes, while still holding her hand close. "I love you so much and I need you to wake up. You have to wake up." I added and kissed her hand again. I closed my eyes to try to hide the tears. "Baby, please wake up. I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too."