Clearing my throat again, I spoke quietly so the waiting room wouldn’t hear. “My wife was brought in not long ago. She was in a car accident. Can you tell me what room she’s in?”
“Name?” she asked in a monotone voice, her eyes still on her computer screen.
“Abbi Jenner.”
“And you are?”
Leaning closer, I answered. “Her husband, Reeves Jenner.”
“She’s in room six.”
“Great. Can you tell me how to find room six?” If the ER was anything like the rest of the hospital, I’d be lucky to find it on my own.
“Just through that door,” she pointed to one on her left. “I have to hit a button for you to be able to enter. Then you’ll go straight until you pass the nurses’ station where you’ll then take a right. Her room will be on the left side of the hall.”
“Thank you.” I could do that. It seemed simple. I stood waiting for the door to open, but nothing happened. My patience was hanging by a loose thread as I waited. “Can I go back and see her now?”
She typed something else before she nodded, and the door opened for me. Taking off in a jog, I followed her directions until I reached the room that read six.
Swinging open the door, I found three other people in the room surrounding a barely recognizable Abbi. Her face was black and blue, both her eyes were swollen almost completely shut, and she had a nasty scratch on her cheek. Her neck, chest, and arms were red and irritated, but even with all that was wrong with her, she was still beautiful to me. I was so happy she was alive.
Rushing toward her, I was stopped by a short and stalky woman. “Are you related to the patient?”
“Yes, I’m her husband. Is she okay?” I asked as I tried to get by the woman, but she continued to block me.
“Jenner?” Abbi moaned as she tried to open one of her eyes.
“I’m here, baby. Right here. Are you okay?” I wanted to push the nurse out of the way so I could get to my wife, but I held back.
“They say I need surgery on my leg, and they think I have internal bleeding.” A tear slipped down her bruised cheek down to the corner of her mouth.
“Can I please go to my wife?” I begged. Couldn’t they at least let me hold her hand?
“Only for a moment. We’re getting her ready to take her upstairs into surgery.”
She moved out of the way, and I darted to Abbi’s side.
“How long will she be in surgery?” I asked, picking up Abbi’s hand. Bringing it up to my mouth, I placed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand.
“At least a few hours. We’ve called in an orthopedic surgeon for her leg. We did an ultrasound, and it looks like her spleen has ruptured. We’ll try to go in laparoscopically, but we may have to do a more invasive surgery. You can wait in the surgical waiting room, and we’ll send out a nurse to keep you updated.”
All I could do was nod. This was serious. If I ever found out who ran her off the road, I would murder them.
“After she wakes up from surgery, the police will want to ask her questions,” the woman said before she started to type something on a computer that was set off to the side of the room.
I brushed Abbi’s hair away from her face. Leaning down, I kissed the top of her head. She didn’t smell like apples and cinnamon anymore. All I could smell was the antiseptic they used to clean the room.
“Did you see who ran you off the road?”
Her tiny hand in mine convulsed as she shook her head, her features tightening.
“That’s okay. All I care about is you getting better. Do you want me to call your brother to let him know you’re going into surgery?”
“Yeah,” she answered quietly. “If he doesn’t answer, leave him a message. Sometimes he’s out on a mission and can’t answer, but he’ll check his messages when he can.”
“It’s time to take you up to surgery now, Mrs. Jenner. If you’d like, one of the nurses can show you to the waiting room, Mr. Jenner.”
Leaning down, I pressed my lips to Abbi’s, hoping she could feel everything that I felt for her in that moment. “I’ll be here waiting to see you when you get out. I’m not leaving your side until you’re released.”
“You don’t have to do that. Who knows how long I’ll be here,” she replied as they started to wheel her out.
“But I want to. I want to be here for you.” I stopped myself from saying, don’t die on me. Afraid that if those words came out of my mouth, she’d start to think she might not make it.
“Okay, I’ll see you when this is all over.” She looked up at me with scared brown eyes as they wheeled her past me.
I followed dutifully along behind until we reached an elevator. The nurse who’d talked to me earlier closed her eyes, and I could hear her take in a deep breath. “Sir, you can’t come in this elevator. If you’d like, I can have someone show you to a waiting room.”
All I could do was nod.
A different nurse took me up a separate elevator and then to a waiting room where she assured me they’d keep me updated on Abbi’s progress.
I needed to call Paul and let him know what had happened. Opening my contacts, I realized I didn’t have his phone number. When Abbi and Catherine had spoken, they made it seem like Catherine knew Paul. Maybe she had his phone number. I needed to call her anyway to let her know what had happened.
Hitting her name, I waited until she answered the phone.
“Hello?” she answered, her voice somewhat annoyed.
“Hey, Catherine. Do you, by any chance, have Paul’s number? I need to call him. Abbi was in a car accident on her way home. Someone ran her off the road, and she wanted me to call Paul and let him know.”
“What? Jackson has it. Give me a moment, and I’ll have him send it to you. Is Abbi okay? What hospital is she at?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. She’s at Cedars Sinai. They just took her into surgery, and I’m here waiting. She broke her leg, and it needs surgery, but she also ruptured her spleen. They’re going to try and take it out, laparoscopically,” I answered robotically. It was the only way for me not to lose my shit.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“I’m fine, just worried. I’m not sure when she’ll be able to come back to work, or when she’s getting out, or anything really.”
“I hate to say this, but it’s nice to see you two getting along. I know it’s more than that, but we don’t need to get into the semantics of your relationship. I’m just happy that you’re happy.”
“I’m not feeling so happy right now,” I grumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger.
“Of course, you’re not, but have faith. Jackson is getting ready to text you the number. If either of you needs anything, you can call me day or night.”
“Thanks, Catherine. It means a lot. Your friendship means a lot to both of us.”
“Keep me updated, will you?”
“Of course. I should probably call her brother. Do you know if he’s on a mission or anything like that? Abbi said to leave a message if he doesn’t answer.”