The Sinful Scream

36 - consultation

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Renee POV

   Not even the full cup of coffee nor the damn uncomfortable chair in the waiting room could keep me awake for much longer. I only became drowsier as I tried with determination to keep my eyes open, before telling myself that I would simply rest them for a bit.

Clearly, that didn't work as planned.

   As I dozed off, the soft white noise of the hospital lulled me to sleep. Quiet chatter and the shuffling of feet as people made their way in and out of the many rooms filled my ears as sleep overcame me. I was engulfed in darkness, one that was calming and still, in contrast to the thoughts that sped through my mind at an alarming rate just moments before.

I've always felt that sleeping is the perfect mental escape from reality. Although a quick nap doesn't solve your all your problems, they allow you to forget about their existence for some time.

It felt as though mere seconds had passed by in silence before I felt myself being shaken awake.

"Renee," Jay called. Each of his hands were placed firmly on my shoulders as he continued to attempt to shake me into consciousness.

I squeezed my eyes shut, inwardly cringing at how loud he seemed to sound in my groggy state.

"Wake up, Ren." I heard a familiar female voice speak, causing me to become confused.

I sighed as I ran my hands over my face as Jay, who had decided that I was indeed awake and didn't need to be shaken anymore, stepped away from me. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes before slowly opening them, the bright fluorescent lights above me almost blinding me.

As I scanned my surroundings, my eyes landed on Savannah, who sat next to Jay in the chair next to mine.

"Savannah..." I whispered, leaning over to give her a hug.

She soothingly rubbed circles on my back with her hand, hugging me tightly. We had no idea what to say at this point, so we simply said nothing at all. We sat like this for a moment in comfortable silence.

I pulled away, furrowing my brows in confusion as I came to a realization.

Shouldn't she be at home, sleeping right now?

"How long was I asleep?" I averted my gaze from Savannah to Jay, looking at him questioningly.

"Around three hours. I didn't wanna' wake you up, you needed the rest." Jay responded.

"I called Savannah and she got here a few minutes ago, it's a little past 6 in the morning right now." He seemed hesitant to continue. I nodded, willing him to keep speaking.

"Maddox just got out of surgery, Renee. The doctor will call us in soon to tell us what's going on," His anxious tone snapped me back to reality.

I inhaled deeply, mentally praying that Maddox would be okay, that he would be able to recover. I don't know what I'd do if he isn't.

Before I was even able to process what was happening, a nurse walked up to us, smiling warmly.

"Doctor Monte will see you now." She informed us.

We all rose from our seats, following her as she led us down the hall, stopping at a dark brown wooden door before turning to us.

"Here you are," She exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of her feet before waving at us and walking back down the hallway.

This nurse had way too much energy for someone who was awake at 6 o'clock in the morning.

   Jay pulled the door open and we were met with the sight of Doctor Monte sitting at his desk. The doctor had dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes, looking to be around the age of thirty. As he had just gotten out of performing Maddox's surgery, he was in navy blue scrubs. He quickly stood up and shook each of our hands, introducing himself.

"Good morning, I'm Doctor Monte. Please, take a seat." He smiled, showing off his pearly white teeth.

   The three of us sat down as the doctor gathered Maddox's files and information from the file cabinet behind him. Savannah made eye contact with me and grabbed my hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

Doctor Monte sat down, taking a breath to compose himself before speaking.

"As you may know, Maddox was shot once on his side, and once in the chest."

We each looked at one another and back to the doctor, unanimously nodding.

"The bullets had to be removed, and the one in his chest had been extremely close to hitting a major artery. Luckily, it did not." Doctor Monte studied our expressions and hesitated before continuing.

"Due to the critical and overwhelming circumstances, we had to operate on him immediately in order to remove said bullets before he lost any more blood than he already had." Doctor Monte explained. 

"Afterwards, when I was able to fully examine him, I discovered that he sustained a considerable injury to his head."

My heart practically clenched in my chest. It seemed as though the list of injuries Maddox had sustained was growing longer by the second.

"We came to the conclusion that Maddox's head injuries will have to heal on their own, as there is not much else we can do to aid in their healing."

   Jay bounced his leg up and down nervously.. I watched in silence as the doctor remained quiet for a few seconds, his once calm facial expression shifting into one of worry. It had become blatantly obvious that Jay was frustrated by the doctor's hesitance to give the full news in a timely manner.

   Jay suddenly stood from his seat, bringing his fists down onto the wooden desk with fervor. The ground felt as if it shook from the impact, the sound of a loud thud reverberating through the small office. I flinched out of surprise as Jay spoke, raising his voice significantly.

"Cut the bullshit. Is he going to be okay, or not?" Jay boomed.

   I was shocked by Jay's outburst; he was usually very good at keeping his calm. The doctor shrunk back into his chair as Savannah released her hand from mine, lightly grabbing Jay's hand that was closest to her. Snapping out of his anger filled daze, he allowed her to pull him back down into his seat.

   She whispered something in his ear that I was unable to decipher, holding both of his hands in hers. Savannah rested her head on his shoulder, making eye contact with Doctor Monte.

"I apologize, sir. As you can see, we're all on edge here. Can you please tell us Maddox's current condition?" She said, her tone polite, voice steady.

Doctor Monte gulped. "I understand, the pain of what you all are going through right now is unimaginable."

"Is he going to be okay?" I reiterated, my voice small yet clear.

I said a silent prayer, closing my eyes as I listened for his response.

"The stress and trauma that his body endured caused it to shut down, sending him into a coma..." He trailed off.

"...One I'm unsure that he will awake from."