Nothing Like the First Time (11 page)

She told the ambulance driver that we could go and I heard the sirens of the other ambulance. I didn’t think of that was a good sign, I’ve only ever thought of people dying needing the sirens. I know that’s not true, but I panicked nonetheless.

As we arrived at the hospital, I was taken into a bay and told that a nurse would be with me shortly. As soon as the nurse
arrived, I asked her if she knew anything about Grey. She didn’t, but promised to find out what she could—she stitched my head wound and I barely felt a thing. I felt numb to everything that was going on.

A doctor came by to assess my other injuries and determined that I most likely had cracked ribs and that was what was causing my shortness of breath
—though I hadn’t really noticed because I was too worried about Grey. The doctor told me I would need an x-ray to see if he was right about my ribs but I refused to go anywhere until I knew more about Grey’s condition.

**
*

“It looks like your partner has suffered a blow to the head, caused by the airbag not deploying fully, so we are keeping him under a light sedation,” the doctor explained a short while later. “He also looks to have two or more cracked ribs, he’s struggling to breathe. Then there’s the fact that he looks to have broken his left leg, so he has been taken to x-ray and will be back soon.”

“Thank you,
Doctor. Can I see him when he gets out of x-ray?”

“I’ll let you know as soon as you can see him, Miss Summers,” the doctor said before leaving my bay to speak to another doctor.

“Hello, Miss Summers, I’m Dr. Bennett,” a female doctor introduced herself.

“Do you have news about Grey?”

“Yes, I was asked to come and see you—he has you down as his next of kin.”

“I’m not his next of kin, his mother is… Oh my God, Katrina… I need to call her, Katrina needs to be here.”

“Well, it says you’re his next of kin in the wallet we found on him,” she said kindly.

“What’s happening? How is he?” I asked while I found Katrina’s number in my phone.

“He’s suffered a nasty cut on his head. He has a three cracked ribs and a broken left leg,” she said as she sat down beside me—she put her arm gently on mine as she spoke. “He’s being kept sedated as he may have a concussion due to the blow he suffered to his head.”

“Oh my goodness,” I said and threw up into the bowl the nurse had left me with.

“It’s okay, Carly. Sometimes, when we hit our heads hard enough, this happens. It isn’t necessarily something to get worked up about—we’ll know more soon and may be able to bring him out of sedation.”

“Where is he? Can I see him?” I asked, my phone all but forgotten.

“I’ll take you to him,” she said and helped me from the bed into a wheelchair.

“I can walk,” I said.

“Not right now you can’t, you may have a slight concussion yourself,” she said as she wheeled me out of my bay.

She wheeled me to a door, and before opening it, she cleared her throat.

“Carly, I must warn you now, he’s got tubes and wires everywhere but it looks worse than it is.”

“Oh,” was all I could say.

“Are you ready to go in?” she asked.

“Yes, please.”

She opened the door and wheeled me inside.

I knew I’d see the tubes and stuff but it still came as a shock to see him looking so vulnerable. I stood and walked as close as I could to his bedside—I took his hand in mine and sat in the chair next to the bed.

“Hi, Grey, it’s Carls. I don’t know if you can hear me,” I said softly as I stroked the back of his hand.

“I’ll leave you alone for a little while, Carly,”
Dr. Bennett said as she walked out of the room.

I sat talking to Grey for a few minutes before realizing I still hadn’t called Katrina.

“I’ll be back, Grey, I’m just going to make a phone call,” I said as I prepared to leave. My head felt a little dizzy so I chose to wheel myself out in the chair—good thing the doctor had brought me in in one.

I struggled to open the door from my chair so I stood and opened the door.

“Here, let me get that for you,” a young nurse said.

“Thank you,” I said and got back into my chair.

The nurse held the door until I was out of the room and then gently closed it behind me.

I pulled my phone out and dialed Katrina’s number.

She answered on the fourth ring. “Hello, Carly darling.”

“Katrina…” I said and tried to swallow the lump in my throat. I tried again and as I spoke, tears began to fall. “Katrina, I have something to tell you. Grey and I were in a car accident on our way home.”

“Oh my… are you both all right?” She sounded as shaken as I felt.

“I’ll be okay, it’s Grey that has the worst of the injuries. We’re at the hospital, can you come straight away?”

“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

“Okay, see you then,” I said as I hung up.

***

Katrina arrived and found me sitting holding Grey’s hand.

“Oh my…” was all she could say before she started to cry.

“Come and take a seat,” I said as I vacated the chair closest to his bed.

Katrina sat down and I handed her a tissue. I went to walk away but she pulled me into a gentle hug. It hurt my ribs but she needed the comfort and so did I.

“It’s okay, Katrina,” I said, not knowing if I spoke the truth. I rubbed my hand up and down her back, hoping to soothe her—it was all I could do for her.

“What happened?”

“Could we talk about that outside of the room, Katrina?” I asked, not wanting to talk about the crash in front of Grey. I stumbled a little as I tried to walk to the door and Katrina came up behind me with the wheelchair.

Once we were outside the room, I told Katrina what I remembered of the crash and what the doctors had said about Grey’s condition.

“I can’t get my head around it. I mean, this is what airbags are for,” Katrina said as she broke down in tears. I held her hand gently and let her cry. I didn’t realize I was crying myself until she handed me a tissue. We sat in the corridor for a few more minutes until Katrina’s sobs had subsided.

As we went into Grey’s room, Katrina pushed my wheelchair so I could take one of Grey’s hands while she took a seat and held the other.

We sat there talking to him until the doctor came in. “Hello, I’m Dr. Danning. I just took over the shift from Dr. Bennett and thought I’d come and check in on Greyston.”

“It’s Grey. I’m Carly, his girlfriend, and this is his mother, Katrina.”

“Nice to meet you ladies, sorry it isn’t under better circumstances,” Dr. Danning said as he shook hands with us.

“Do you think he’ll be okay, Dr. Danning?” Katrina asked.

“I certainly hope so,” he said as he looked over Grey’s chart. “No doubt Carly has told you about Grey’s concussion, he’s under a light sedation right now but hopefully, in a couple of days we’ll be able to bring him out of it.”

“What’s the extent of his other injuries?” she asked quietly.

“Well, he has a couple of broken ribs and some bruising from the seatbelt. It looks like the airbag was faulty, thus the injuries to his torso. As you can see, he took a blow to the head and this is our cause for concern about the concussion. He also broke his left leg, as you can see, that has been set in a cast now.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Katrina said as she stood and walked over by the window. She turned to look at Grey and began to cry softly.

I pushed my wheelchair over to her and then stood to embrace her. Her soft cries turned into harder sobs and she shook as I held her.

We stayed by Grey’s side all night. His condition didn’t change. We were both determined not to
leave, though we knew he couldn’t wake up fully until the doctors brought him round. At some point in the night we both fell asleep, though sleep wasn’t what my mind wanted, my body needed it. Someone must have been in and seen us asleep because we were covered in blankets in the morning.

***

That morning, Lizzie came to the ward. Katrina had called her the night before and filled her in. She looked tired and drawn, she obviously hadn’t slept much, either.

“Good morning, girls,” she said as she handed us both cups of coffee.

“Good morning, Lizzie,” Katrina said as she got up to find her a chair.

Lizzie bent down and kissed my cheek. She put her hand on my shoulder and I took her hand in mine.

“How is my nephew this morning?” she asked as she took the seat Katrina gave her.

“No change, Lizzie. I wish I had more to report,” I replied.

“Well, I’m sure he’s going to be just fine.”

“He’s a fighter, our Greyston. He’ll be just fine, sister, you’ll see,” Katrina responded.

We sat and made small talk, none of us wanting to mention Grey’s condition or the accident.

Nurses came and went, checking Grey’s vitals every couple of hours.

Nothing changed in his condition and my heart felt like it was made of lead. It was like it refused to beat without Grey.

I had been discharged and allowed to go home because my injuries were minor, so I stuck by Grey’s bed like glue. My injuries didn’t bother me as much as it hurt to see the man I loved in such a fragile state. Not a minute went by that my heart didn’t ache, but I plastered a smile on my face for the sake of Katrina and Lizzie.

My eyes felt heavy and dry, I was tired beyond belief, I but refused to go to sleep.

Lizzie wanted to take me out to get some fresh air but I refused. I sat holding Grey’s hand, talking to him about nothing in particular.

I must have fallen asleep at some point because I woke up sweating and calling for Grey. Lizzie stroked my hair and soothed me until I realized where I was. When I looked up and saw all the tubes and monitors, a fresh wave of pain hit me.

“Sweetheart, it’s okay. Katrina and I are with you. You’re safe now,” Lizzie said as she stroked my back to calm me.

At some point, the doctor came in and checked on Grey but I was too tired and emotionally spent to take in much of what he said, I just heard that it would be at least another day and that we should all get some rest.

That night, Katrina managed to convince me to go downstairs with her to the restaurant to eat—Grey wasn’t going to wake but Lizzie stayed with him so that she could call us if anything happened. I ate very little but took a sandwich and a couple of bottles of water upstairs with me for later—I would
need my strength for the coming days.

Katrina wheeled me back up to the ward and I took Grey’s hand in mine. I stayed glued to his side for the rest of the night.

Lizzie left us for the night and Katrina and I sat there, each holding a hand.

***

The next day, Jodie came to visit.

“Sorry I haven’t been able to get until now. It turned out after our date that Matt wanted to take me away for a couple of days. Of course I didn’t know about the accident until I got a call from Jim, asking me to help cover your shifts.”

“That’s okay, honey, you’re here now,” I said as I embraced her. It felt good to have her here with me.

I reali
zed that through all that had happened, I hadn’t even text my best friend to let her know.

We talked about what had happened and Jodie passed me tissues as the inevitable tears fell. She was there with hugs and soothing words until my tears dried. She stayed with us until she had to go to work but said that she would check in with me later.

I tried and failed to start reading one of the books Jodie had brought with her. She’d also brought magazines and chocolates but I didn’t want those, either.

There was nothing I could do except sit and wait for Grey to come back to me.

Chapter Nine

The next morning, Dr. Danning came by Grey’s room.

“Good morning, ladies,” he said.

“Good morning, Doctor. Is there any change?” Katrina replied.

“That’s what I’m here to determine, Mrs. Sterling,” he replied kindly as he looked Grey over and checked his chart.

“I’ll just go and get us some coffee, darling,” Katrina said to me as she went through her purse. I could see she was wanting to question the doctor but at the same time not wanting to bother him while he checked Grey’s vitals.

Katrina left the room and I sat quietly observing the doctor.

The machines still made a cacophony of noises. Grey still looked like he was asleep. I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I stood and stretched my legs. My ribs still hurt but that was to be expected, they’d probably hurt for a while yet.

“I’m going to bring him out from the sedation now Carly. He won’t come round right away, it’s a gradual thing as the anaesthesia leaves his system,” Dr. Danning said.

“Oh doctor, you don’t know how much I’ve wanted you to say those words.”

“When he comes round, we’ll have to see how he feels. He may need a scan to assess his condition.”

“I’ll let Katrina know. Thank you, Doctor,” I replied as he walked toward the door.

***

Katrina paced the room and I sat in my wheelchair by the window, wondering how the sun could still rise and set when Grey was going through so much.

I sat by Grey’s bed, holding his hand. He still looked peacefully asleep but I knew he could wake at any moment.

Katrina went to get us some coffee from the Costa coffee shop in the lobby of the hospital. She had wanted to sit with Grey too but was feeling restless, so I had suggested a walk to clear her mind.

The door opened and a nurse came in carrying a bag. She smiled at me and held the bag out to me.

“It’s Mr. Sterling’s belongings, Miss,” she said sweetly.

“Oh. Thank you!”

“No problem. Sorry they haven’t been returned sooner, they were in the car and the police just dropped them off.”

“Thank you, nurse.” I took the clear plastic bag from her and placed it at the end of Grey’s bed.

I wanted to know if they had managed to find his wallet and phone, as they were not in his jacket or trouser pockets. I opened the bag to look through what there was. I saw his iPhone, wallet, car keys, and a small purple box. It couldn’t be what I thought it was—my mind must be playing tricks on me. I couldn’t help but tremble as I held the box in my hands.

My heart hammered in my chest. I should put the box back unopened, but something inside begged me to take a peek. It couldn’t hurt to look, could it?

My need to know nagged at me until finally I opened the box. Nestled in it was the most beautiful ring—it took my breath away and the sting of tears in my eyes was more than I could handle, the tears flowed as I looked from the ring to Grey and back.

I heard the door open behind me. I hurried to close the box and put it back in the bag.

Katrina handed me a coffee and I was grateful for the caffeine—staying awake until early morning every day waiting for Grey to get better had taken its toll on me.

“A nurse just returned Grey’s belongings,” I said as I took a sip of my pumpkin spice latte.

“That’s good. Has there been any change?” she asked as she took a seat opposite me on the other side of Grey’s bed.

“None so far.”

We drank our coffees in relative silence and waited for a change in Grey’s condition.

***

“Good afternoon, ladies,” Dr. Danning greeted as he came into the room.

“Good afternoon, Doctor,” we responded in unison.

Dr. Danning checked Grey’s chart and then looked him over.

“It shouldn’t be too much longer until he wakes, ladies, his vital signs are good!”

“That’s great, Doctor,” I said as I looked at my boyfriend.

“Perhaps you should go home and shower, darling,” Katrina said to me.

“Oh no, I couldn’t go anywhere right now. What if he wakes while I’m gone?”

“Then I’ll tell him where you are. Seriously, darling, you’re exhausted and you must be in need of a shower—you haven’t had one in days,” she said as she finished her coffee and came to sit next to me.

She took my hand and looked into my face. I could see the compassion in her eyes. I didn’t want to be anywhere else when Grey woke up, but she was right about me needing a shower.

I compromised by going to have a shower in the private bathroom of Grey’s side ward. Once out, I felt refreshed. I stood in front of the mirror using Katrina’s comb to detangle my hair. I looked at my reflection, I looked sallow—my cheeks looked sunken and my eyes had bags from the lack of sleep. My eyes trailed down to my hand where I imagined that ring of Grey’s sitting on my ring finger—suddenly I had a vision of Grey looking handsome in a black tuxedo, with a purple cravat and cummerbund. It was a vision that was both beautiful and painful at the same time. I wanted so much to see it come true but knew that it wouldn’t happen unless Grey got better—I knew what the doctor had said about him coming round soon, but I imagined that he might take a while to fully recover.

I left the bathroom and was greeted by a smiling Katrina.

“His fingers moved, it was only slight, but they moved—you know what that means, don’t you, darling? He’s on his way back to us,” Katrina gushed.

I threw my arms around her, her excitement was contagious.

“Is nobody going to hug me like that?” came a husky voice. I looked toward the bed and saw Grey’s smile. I ran and threw my arms around him, Katrina only moments behind me, throwing her arms around both of us.

“Now that’s more like it!” Grey said as he kissed both his mother and I on the cheek.

I reached for the jug of water on his bedside cabinet and poured him a glass, passing him a straw to sip it slowly.

“I’m so glad you’ve come back to us, darling,” Katrina said as she fluffed Grey’s pillows. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I do, Mother, I skidded on what must have been black ice. I couldn’t regain the steering and crashed into a cement median barrier. I’m so sorry, Carls.”

“Sorry? It wasn’t your fault, Grey. I’m just glad you’re finally awake,” I said as I took hold of his
hand and stroked the back of it gently.

“How long has it been since the crash?”

“A couple of days, it’s not important—just focus on getting better,” Katrina said as she fussed around him.

“You were hurt, Grey, you’ve been sedated in case of a concussion from where you hurt your head.” I didn’t see any point in sugar-coating the truth. Katrina made a hushing motion but I refused to comply.

“Dr. Danning will come to explain it all to you. Oh my goodness, Dr. Danning, no one has alerted him that you’re awake,” Katrina said as she stood and walked to the door.

Katrina left the ward and Grey smiled over at me.

“Come and kiss me, Carls, it’s been too long since I tasted your lips,” Grey said as he pulled on my hand to draw me closer.

“I can’t do that, Grey, we’re in a hospital.” I laughed.

“I don’t care.”

“Well, I do!” I squealed as he tried to tickle me into submission, only stopping when I winced in pain. “My ribs, they got broken,” I said by way of an explanation.

Dr. Danning and Katrina entered the room just as I was about to give in to Grey’s demand for a kiss.

“Well, Mr. Sterling, it’s good to see you awake,” Dr. Danning said with a kind smile. That was one of the nice things about Dr. Danning, he had a kind smile and kind eyes—you felt like you could trust him with anything, and I had done, Grey’s life.

“It’s good to be awake, Doctor…”

“Danning, Dr. Mark Danning,” he said and reached out a hand to shake Grey’s.

“Well, you can call me Greyston, or as my girl here calls me, Grey!” Grey said as he shook hands with the doctor.

“Well, Greyston, it’s nice to see you looking better. I must say, you had your mother, Carly, and Lizzie very worried.”

“I can imagine. So, Doctor, what should I know about what happened?”

Dr. Danning recounted the details for Grey while I slipped out into the corridor. I didn’t want to listen, as I had replayed the night over and over in my mind every time I fell asleep.

I sat on a chair just outside the side ward and Katrina slipped out to sit with me.

“I simply couldn’t listen to any more and Greyston told me to wait outside. Perhaps I should go and get some more coffee?” she said as she sat and took my hand.

“We could go and get some fresh air,” I offered. I had been out of my wheelchair since the previous day and had been missing fresh air but hadn’t wanted to leave Grey’s side. Now neither Katrina nor I could stand to listen to the discussion between Grey and the doctor, so it seemed like a good idea.

“Yes, darling, that sounds like a good idea. We can get coffees on the way back in.”

We went downstairs in the elevator and went straight out of the double doors at the entrance of the hospital. We went and sat in the Peace Garden, where relatives could seek out some peace and quiet from the goings on.

“I’m so very glad Greyston has come back to us,” Katrina said as she put an arm around me.

“It was a scary time for a while there,” I admitted softly.

“It certainly was. I haven’t wanted to ask you about the night of the accident, not really. I didn’t want to put you through the ordeal of remembering, but darling, I’m here if you should want to talk about it. You don’t have to bottle things up—I’m always here for you, Carly.”

I started to cry softly and wiped my face with the sleeve of my top. Katrina sat holding me and let me cry into her shoulder. She smelled like vanilla and sandalwood. I inhaled her soothing scent and dried my tears.

“My darling, it will get better. Greyston is awake now and we have much to be thankful for.”

“I know, Katrina. It’s just… I was so scared I would lose him, and now he’s back… I…”

“I know, sweet girl, I know,” she said as she rubbed my back gently in circular motions.

Katrina was the kindest, most thoughtful person. I could see where Grey got it from.

We got up and walked to the coffee shop. Katrina called Lizzie to tell her the good news while I placed our order.

When we got back to Grey’s ward, he was resting and Dr. Danning was nowhere to be seen. We walked in quietly and sat on opposite sides of the bed, both wanting to be close to him. We drank our coffees in relative silence, sharing the odd smile here and there when we caught each other’s eye. It wasn’t long before Lizzie arrived and sat with us, waiting for Grey to wake up. None of us wanted to disturb him—after all he’d been through, he deserved to rest peacefully.

The three of us sat waiting, but at least we knew this time he would wake up. None of us had been sure what would happen but now we had answers.

A short while later, Grey woke up. He looked at all of us and smiled—it was that heart-warming smile, the one that lit up his whole face.

“Darling, how good it is to see you with a little more color in your cheeks,” Katrina said as she took his hand and held it firmly in hers.

“It’s so good to see you rested,” Lizzie chimed in.

“Thank you, Mother, Aunt Lizzie. It feels good to be awake even if my ribs are hurting and my damn leg is in a cast. The doctor explained everything and let’s just say I’m just glad to be back with the people I love most. It could have been so much worse, so I am thankful for just the minor injuries.”

Grey smiled at me and my heart skipped a beat. We were both very lucky. We had survived and we had the rest of our lives to look forward to. I just couldn’t help but wonder about the ring. Had he been about to propose or was my mind just making connections where there weren’t any?  The ring had looked to be white gold with a diamond set in a sort of Celtic knot. It was beautiful. But I couldn’t ask him about it, I didn’t want him to know I had seen it.