/Samantha/
If it's not too much trouble, I'd appreciate it if you could just wait outside while the physicians examine him. Someone will come talk to you as soon as humanly possible, is that okay with you? She gave me a friendly grin before leading me to a section of chairs made of plastic located off to the side.
I gave a feeble nod and sat down, making an effort to maintain control of both my breathing and my pulse rate as best I could. Everything was OK; I only needed to retain control of myself because acting like a terrified and stupid child in this scenario wouldn't help anyone, especially Henry. Everything was fine; I just needed to keep control of myself.
I was unable to remain seated, so I got up and began walking up and down the hallway. As I strolled through the paintings, one at a time, I glanced at each one of them, trying to divert my thoughts from the length of time it was taking for the subjects of the paintings to reveal themselves and communicate with me.
Didn't there used to be a proverb that said "no news is good news?" in this situation? I nodded to myself and nibbled on my lip as I considered how fortunate it was that no one had emerged from the building yet. After what seemed like an eternity, the officer who was stationed at the house finally arrived. He gave me a sympathetic grin as he took the seat that I had just vacated and sat down. He remained silent and just sat there, quietly observing me from a distance.
I shifted my focus to look at him. I replied to him in a commanding tone, "He's OK, they're just being cautious, he's fine." My voice had become so thick and gruff that it didn't even sound like it belonged to me. I gagged at the sound of it.
He managed a feeble smile and a nod, saying, "I'm sure he is, Ma'am,"
I gave a small nod as a sign of agreement and then went from chewing on my lip to chewing on my nails as I continued to pace back and forth in the corridor. Despite the fact that my stomach was turning and that my entire body felt chilly, I forced myself to smile even though my heart was thumping so loudly in my chest that it was almost deafening.
I simply needed to keep an optimistic attitude and believe that everything will work out in the end. If I did this, I knew that Henry and I would be able to go home and have the relaxing weekend that we had been preparing for. The perfect weekend with the perfect guy would be one in which we stayed in bed all day and did nothing but make out and watch television.
After hearing someone sob, I looked up to find Linda and Richard sprinting down the hallway in the direction of where I was standing. I gave Linda a comforting smile but kept my eyes fixed firmly on Richard. Linda had gone fully off the deep end, and I was not going to allow her to bring me down with her.
"What on earth took place? It was said that Henry had been stabbed, right? Richard inquired with a ragged breath as he clutched my shoulders in a manner that was slightly uncomfortable for me.
I swallowed and nodded, "He did. Linda glanced at me with eyes that were red and bloodshot and said, "He's in there with the doctors right now, but he'll be fine." That's what they said? She sniffed as she asked, "Have they been out to speak to you?"
I gave a slight shake of my head and replied, "No, they haven't, but Henry is tough, he'll be OK." You know him, and you know that he is strong; someone like him wouldn't be able to bring him down. When I said it, my tone was remarkably calm and assured, and Linda smiled feebly in response. I was surprised at how my voice sounded.
While the officer was talking to them, I turned around and continued to pace. He was explaining to them how they had received a phone call from the principal of the school informing them about what had occurred, how they had been dispatched to Blake's house but had arrived after Henry and the boys were already fighting, and how they had been informed about what had happened by the principal of the school over the phone.
When he got to the part about Blake snatching the knife, I forced myself to move further up the hallway so I couldn't hear it. I knew that if I heard it, I would start to imagine it, and I wouldn't be able to do that and still be in control.
After ten minutes, the door to the room was finally unlocked, and a man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties emerged to look around. The officer, Linda, and Richard all got up from where they had been sitting at the same time. My feet felt like they were glued to the ground, and I was unable to move when the doctor finally located me. I had no idea how long the doctor had been looking for me. My hands started to shake, he wasn't smiling, his eyes were guarded and controlled, and he didn't appear to be enjoying himself.
Instead of acknowledging Linda and Richard, who were waiting impatiently for him to speak, he came over to talk to me. His eyes moved from my face to my hand, and he gave a small nod as if to corroborate what I was saying.
"I have observed that Henry is currently wearing a wedding ring on his ring finger. When he asked me this, he was staring at me very carefully. "Are you married?" I nodded, but I was still unable to speak. I wasn't even able to breathe normally, and it felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest, which caused me to feel a little lightheaded. "Alright, so it looks like you're his next of kin. I need to have a conversation with you regarding his health,"
I had the impression that this was taking place to someone else; hence, I was emotionally distant and numb within. I had no idea what he was going to say, but I was certain that Henry had not passed away. If he had passed away, I would have known it because I would have felt it, right? They do say that, don't they? that you are never in the dark about what is going on with the person you care about the most. Wouldn't it make sense that if Henry had passed away, so would I have followed in his footsteps? Do you really think that God would be so heartless as to abandon me here without him?
The physician put his hand on my arm, and I allowed him take me to the chairs that were located on the side of the corridor, despite the fact that my feet felt like they were carrying ten tonne weights. Following close behind were Linda and Richard, with Linda bawling her eyes out on Richard's shoulder as they went, and I couldn't help but feel lonely as a result. I required Henry to be present for me in the same manner that his father was for his mother.
I sat down and stared at the doctor expectantly, unsure of what in the world he was going to say, but the fact that he had a sorrowful look on his face indicated to me that this was not good news.
The physician gave a gloomy smile and announced, "We've finally managed to get the bleeding under control. His lung was punctured by the knife, but we were able to place a chest tube, which is assisting him in breathing now. According to him, his lung should be alright; however, we will need to keep the tube in for a couple of weeks until it can be repaired.
What, this is it? Should I have a chest tube for the next few weeks? As the feelings of joy started to well up inside of me, I noticed that my stomach began to relax and let go of its tension. He was fortunate, we were fortunate, and from this day forward, I will not take even one minute of his time for granted. I would make it a point to treasure every moment I had with him from this day forward since I now know that each and every one of those moments was priceless and that I had no idea how priceless they were until today.
I gave a friendly grin and nodded before asking, "Can I go in there and see him?" Is he awake?" I inquired while giggling hysterically from ear to ear.
He shook his head and said, "At the moment, he is unconscious. He has lost a significant amount of blood, and we are working to restore it as quickly as we can." There's something else I need to talk to you about, and I hope you don't mind."
The smile that had been plastered on my face disappeared as I grimaced and murmured, "Ok."
He said, "The knife that went into Henry's lower back has destroyed his spine."
My stomach began to turn at the thought, because that was not possible. How did you sever his spine? Does that imply that he is unable to move at all in some way? That is not possible at all, Henry would never allow something like that to take place, and he would never let something like take place to himself.
I was aware of this fact about him due to the nature of the person he was; he was the kind of person who would choose death over being unable to walk. Because he detested being dependent on other people or becoming a burden on them, he vowed that he would never be disabled.
"Are you sure you can make it right?" As Linda began to sob, I murmured something to her.
The physician gave me an embarrassed expression as he spoke to me. "There is something that we can attempt, and here at our facility we have a very talented surgeon who specialises in performing experimental treatments. "His name is Doctor Shaw and he'd want to take a look at Henry and see if there's anything he can do to help," he added, his eyes penetrating mine. "He'd like to have a look at Henry and see if there's something he can do to help."