Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Not to mention, I’m stressed. More stressed than I’ve ever been. Brenda let me know she’s on her way and made it very clear that I should pay for her travel expenses. She’s probably right. Maybe I should’ve offered, but she’s made zero effort to see her son in all these years, until she needed a place to crash, and she hasn’t called Ben once since we came back to Beaumont. I said she could figure it out herself.
The nurse comes in and tells me she needs to give Ben a sponge bath. I want to tell her to take a hike, but the infection on his leg needs to be cleaned. I thought about asking for a male nurse, but I don’t want to be a pain in the ass. She’s doing her job. It’s not like she’s hitting on him or doing anything inappropriate.
Outside, in the waiting room, my dad sits on one of the love seats. I will say, these seats are somewhat comfortable and made from pleather cushions. They’re much better than the normal hard plastic the hospital subjects visitors to. I sit down across from my dad with a heavy sigh.
“Where is everyone?” I ask. By everyone I mean my sister and mom. They’ve taken turns looking after Oliver so one of them can always be here. My dad hasn’t left though. The Westburys come and go. Liam stops by in the morning and after he closes the studio, and Josie brings us lunch. I’m super grateful because I hate the food here. You’d think after the hours I’ve spent in a hospital I’d be used to it by now.
My phone rings and John’s name appears. I answer immediately. “Hey, John.” Ben and John have such a deep connection. It’s like they were meant to meet.
“How’s our boy?”
“Still asleep,” I tell him. It’s better for me to say Ben’s sleeping, instead of being in a coma. Coma sounds so formal and scary. “He’s getting a sponge bath now.”
John laughs. “You know, I’ve always wanted one, but I’d rather not be hurt enough that I can’t bathe myself.”
“I hear ya.” I let out a sigh. “He’s going to wake up,” I say. I don’t know if I say this for John or for myself.
“Of course, he is.”
“Have you given any more thought about coming out here? I know Ben would love it. My dad’s band has a private jet. The offer still stands. If you want to come to Beaumont, I’ll make all the arrangements.”
“Your offer is very kind, Elle. But I have patients here that need my attention.”
“I understand,” I tell him. “I’ll keep you updated on Ben. The doctor’s hoping he’ll wake up today.”
“Thank you. By the way, do you know how he hurt himself?”
I take a deep breath. It took me a solid day to replay everything we’d done in the past week to get where we are today. “We went to the lake last weekend,” I tell John. “He put his feet in the water and then complained he got bitten by a fish. My brother went out to the dock we sat on and found rusty nails protruding from the posts. We’re assuming Ben scraped his leg against the nail and because his leg was in the water, we never saw the blood.”
“Damn. Freak accident.”
“I should’ve known better, but I was just so happy he felt well enough to go out.”
“It’s not your fault, Elle. Accidents happen. Trust the staff to take the best care of Ben and everything will be okay. As you said, they caught the sepsis early. He can have a nice recovery and live a long, happy and healthy life. Remain positive and call me if you need anything.”
“Thank you, John. I really needed to hear those words. I’ll call you later.”
We hang up and pull my knees up to my chest and hug my legs.
“John seems like a nice guy.”
“He is,” I tell my dad. “He’s been a great advocate for Ben.”
“Sometimes those are the people that get us through the challenging times. We don’t have to impress them, and they have zero expectations of us. They’re there for us, regardless.”
“Ben needed John when all of this started. I’m thankful for him. Grateful he was there when Ben needed someone to stand up for him and guide him through the process. He literally held Ben’s hand when the diagnosis came in. I should’ve been there . . .”
“You’re here now, princess. These are the moments Ben’s going to remember in the long run. He’s not going to talk about the time you weren’t there. Besides, it was his decision. If I had to go out on a limb, I’d say he regrets it now.”
“Regret is such a harsh word, Dad.”
He shrugs. “Maybe, but nonetheless, I’m willing to bet he wishes you were there when the doctor told him.”