Unbearable (the TORQUED trilogy Book 2) (35 page)

When Red was shot, we waited for days for him to come around. I couldn’t help but relate all of those instances together into one.

Waiting on the unknown.

IT’S LATE, THE sky dark outside and every time the door opens to the waiting room, I’m chilled to the bone. It’s hours after we arrived, but it seems like days. In fact, it’s been six hours and thirty-seven minutes since I stepped foot inside this room. On minute thirty-eight, a doctor in navy-colored scrubs and black hair comes around the corner holding his scrub cap in his hands.

He scans the crowd. “Who’s the family of Tyler Hemming?”

Red clears his throat, sitting up straighter in the chair giving the doctor a nod and then to Tyler’s parents. “We’re it.”

The doctor looks at the five of us and then sits down in an empty chair across from his mother. Leaning forward his voice is low, maintaining privacy. “Mrs. Hemming, does Tyler have epilepsy or some other condition that would cause him to have seizures?”

His mom has tears in her eyes and nods. “He has epilepsy.”

“It explains a lot. As you know, Tyler was in a car accident this morning and brought in unconscious. He had some lacerations to his face, neck and ear. He came out of it for a moment but then went straight into another seizure. A CT scan confirmed he had a brain hemorrhage so we went in and opened a small section of his skull to release the pressure and control the bleeding. We did run into a few complications with his blood pressure and bleeding, but he’s stable now. Amazingly enough he didn’t break any bones, just the head injury.”

His father speaks up right away. “I don’t understand. He takes medication to control his epilepsy. What do you think could’ve caused him to have one?”

That’s why he seemed so off. I should have known.

“First of all, it’s not completely unheard of for an individual to have a seizure even when on their medication. It’s rare but unfortunately, it does happen. Second, we had a toxicology report run and it will be in later because when Tyler was brought in the officers noticed the smell of alcohol on him. It’s absolutely possible that a seizure caused him to lose consciousness and run off the road though. It’s going to take some time for his head injury to heal, but he should be just fine.” He nods to the police officers still sitting in the waiting room. “When his toxicology comes back, we have to report it.” Before he leaves, the doctor looks at Nora, Tyler’s mom. “He’s going to be out of it for a day or two but in the morning, you should be able to see him.”

Shaking his head when the doctor leaves, Red stares at the ground, his hands clasped together as he leans forward. “I can’t believe he was that stupid.”

I don’t have the strength to tell Red it’s me who was stupid. I let Tyler leave for my own selfish reasons, because I didn’t want him to stay, and I should have made him stay. I just hope he wakes up and I can fix this and tell him how much I need him.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been asleep but it feels like days. It’s the best sleep I’ve had in my entire life too. The kind where you dream of nothing. It’s just sleep. Which tells me it was probably aided by drugs and not just me being tired.

When I do finally open my eyes, the reality of everything takes a while. It’s obvious that I’m in a hospital yet I don’t know how I got here. I do have an idea that I had a seizure. The few times I’ve landed myself in the hospital have been from seizures.

Every inch of me hurts, the dull kind of pain like you’re slowly being torn apart from the inside out.

I lie here for a while before a nurse comes in. She smiles at me, tapping her finger to the board. “Nice to see you’re awake, Mr. Hemming. I’m Cindy, your nurse. I’m just going to check your vitals and then I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake.”

I don’t say anything to her as she goes about her job. I just keep staring out the window and the snow falling wondering how badly I’ve gotten myself into trouble. I was drinking. But I wasn’t drunk. I remember that much. Like a film reel, bits and pieces of the night come back to me and the last thing I remember distinctively is Raven and our argument in her dorm room. The look on her face haunts me.

The door opens again. A tall man in a white coat approaches the chair next to my bed and sits down. “Mr. Hemming, glad to see you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

Like shit.

I nod, but it hurts. My body is sore, like I’ve been hit by a ton of bricks, each one thrown separately. “Sore.”

“Any headaches or blurred vision?”

I blink several times. My head’s buzzing, a lingering headache around my ears. “A little bit.”

“That’s expected. You were in a car accident and we had to go in and control a bleed in your brain. A blood test confirmed your blood alcohol content was not above the legal limit.”

Oh, thank God.

“Taking that into consideration and factoring in your epilepsy, we are going with the assumption the accident was caused by a seizure. Do you have any memory of the accident or the moments leading up to it?”

I had plenty of memories but I’m not about to share them with this guy I’ve never met until now. “I didn’t take my meds,” I admit, remembering my decision to say screw it for just one day. A pang of guilt hits my chest making it hard to swallow. I knew better. I knew better yet I still fucking did it.

The doctor’s eyes narrow. “I guess I don’t need to tell you how irresponsible that was. You got behind the wheel of a vehicle knowing you were at a higher risk for a seizure. You’re lucky you didn’t kill yourself or someone else.”

Clearing my throat, I ask, “What happened?”

Please tell me I didn’t hit anyone.

“You crashed near Brownsville from what the police tell me. Hit a barn and took out some fencing. Didn’t do much damage but you rolled the truck. The owner found you and called it in.”

There’s a knock on the door and Red steps in, giving a nod to the doctor. He then stands at the end of the bed near the window. He doesn’t say anything and looks at both of us.

The doctor stands. “Also, your license will be suspended. Any time someone has a seizure, they lose their license for a period of at least three months, sometimes longer.”

Fuck. I knew that was coming.

Red clears his throat, taking the doctors attention. “How long will he be here?”

The doctor turns to look back at me. “We’re going keep you here for about three more days and then you should be able to go home to your family.”

Family? What family?
The memories of the argument I had with my parents and the harsh words I said to Raven come crashing back. Though everything’s fuzzy, I know I probably destroyed any remaining love she had for me.

Red doesn’t miss the look that flashes on my face when he says family. He waits for the doctor to leave before his gaze returns to mine.

I’m the first to speak and say, “Sorry.” I know it’s probably not enough, but it’s the only thing I can think to say.

He shrugs, shaking his head. He’s struggling with what to say to me.

It’s five minutes at least before he tips his head, a contemplative expression guarding his real feelings. “Look, Tyler, I don’t know what’s going on with you… but I do know that you’re going through some shit and I’m sorry about that. I know I wasn’t easy on you with the whole Raven thing, but you fucked up big this time.”

I try to draw in a deep breath but it hurts. “I know.”

Red walks over and takes the seat the doctor vacated next to my bed. He leans forward resting his elbows on his knees, turning his head so he’s looking me in the eyes. “They pulled your license and you’re fucking lucky as hell that your blood tests came back below the legal limit or they would be charging you with DWI as well.”

Damn
. I had it revoked when I was eighteen for a seizure and I knew getting it back was a bitch. You had to go three to six months without a seizure and then go through a shitload of tests just to get it back.

He clears his throat. “I don’t think I have to tell you but your job requires you to have a valid driver’s license.”

I nod, because I know this. You don’t think about the consequences when it’s happening but the aftermath can be brutal.

His stare remains on mine. “You covered for me when I needed you and I’m gonna do the same for you. You’re not losing your job. We’ll figure something out.”

I nod again, relief washing over me. Drawing in another shaky breath, I say, “I’m sorry, man. I know I’ve fucked up big time but I’ll be damned if I know how I let it get this bad.” Tears sting my eyes and it fucking pisses me off that I can’t control my emotions.

“We’ll get through this.” He chuckles, leaning back in the chair beside the bed. “At least you weren’t shot, man.”

I try to laugh but it hurts my head. “Yeah, there’s that.”

“Seriously though, Tyler, what’s been going on with you? You’ve been in a downward spiral for months and honestly, you’ve got us worried.”

Ever since Red was shot, he’s tried to be more open and accessible. Talking about feelings was never our thing but I guess something changes in you when you’ve looked death in the face.

“I don’t know, man. It’s just been one thing after another. After Berkley lost the baby and left me, I went to my parents’ house to tell them about everything that was going on.” I take a deep breath. Telling Red is the right thing. He deserves to know why I’ve been acting the way I have but once I say it, once it’s out there, there’s no taking it back. “So a month later, I told my mom about Berkley and losing the baby and how upset I was because I was excited about starting a family.”

Turning away from him, I gaze at my hands, not wanting to see his expression when I share this next part.

“I expected her to be upset too. I figured being a grandma was something she would be excited about and to lose the chance before she even knew she had it would be hard. But, man, was I wrong. Instead of disappointment in losing the baby, she told me that Berkley couldn’t have been pregnant with my baby because my epilepsy medication would more than likely make me sterile. So basically my mom casually informed me that not only would I most likely never be a father, but that my girlfriend of six years cheated on me and got pregnant by some other douchebag then proceeded to tell me it was mine.”

Taking a deep breath, I return my stare to Red’s and when I do, I’m surprised to see no pity or sadness, but anger.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Why the hell didn’t your parents tell you this before?” I know that tone. It’s Red’s protective growl and even though it may make me sound like a pussy, it makes me happy to know someone is on my side. “Yeah, well I asked that same question and apparently they didn’t think it was important enough of a detail to tell me when I was younger and then over time, the right moment for them to tell their son he is most likely sterile never presented itself.”

Red sits for a minute, I assume taking in everything I’ve said, before he leans forward. “Wait, you said that the medication would more than likely make you infertile, but how can you be sure? Maybe you’re the exception.”

Shaking my head, I return my gaze to my hands. “No. I went and got tested after my mom dropped the bomb and the doctors were right. I’m shooting blanks. Would have been nice to know when I was in high school and spent a shit ton of money on condoms.” I try to smile, making light of a difficult conversation, but I don’t have it in me.

He sighs, his arms crossed over his chest. “So who the fuck’s baby was Berkley carrying?”