A Rescued Heart (Rescued Heart Romance) (22 page)

Ava woke up confused and disoriented, trying to determine whether she had dreamed what happened or if it was reality. She looked over to see Derek watching her with a puckered brow.

She grimaced. It was reality.

Derek leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
The tight quarters of the ambulance didn’t give him much room to maneuver his tall frame. “Hey, are you trying to get me in trouble with Matt? He will never forgive me for letting you pass out on my watch.”

“How about we make this our little secret?”

“I like the way you think.”

“How is he?” she asked, her voice thick with concern. “Be honest,” she added while lifting her eyebrows so he understood the seriousness of her comment.

Derek didn’t look too upset, but his job description revolved around hiding emotion. “I don’t know much. He was shot in the shoulder area. He is on his way to the hospital now and will go straight into surgery.” He touched her arm to show support.

Ava forced herself not to cry. It would make her headache worse. “Is he in a lot of pain?”

“Probably not. I’m sure he’s gotten a huge dose of pain medication by now.”

Derek looked out the front window. “Okay, we’re here. Let’s get you checked out and then I’ll take you to the surgery waiting room. I’m sure you’ll want to be there when the doctor comes out of surgery. Oh, and I called your parents. They’ll meet you here with some new clothes. I thought you’d like to change into something different.”

Not once had he made her out to be a burden. His thoughtfulness didn’t go unnoticed and she appreciated the fact that she didn’t even need to ask for anything.

The bright light shining in Ava’s eyes made her headache more intense. It clicked off and she blinked a few times, trying to erase the white spots that danced across her vision.

The doctor stepped back and started typing in his computer. He looked up over the top of his glasses, “Well, Miss Williams, you have a mild concussion and a small hematoma, um, goose egg, on the back of your head. The examination just showed bumps and bruises, but nothing is broken.” The doctor went on to talk about the treatment for the concussion and said that he would send her home with medication for the pain. The headache would probably linger for a few days and could last up to a week. She also needed ice to help decrease the size of the goose egg.

He wrote out a prescription. “Do you have any questions?”

“No.”

“Okay, then you
are free to go. I’m very sorry this happened to you. If you need someone to talk with, we have a wonderful counselor on staff and our chapel is always open.”

“Thank you.”

He turned and walked out the door, leaving her alone. Ava sat in her gown, not sure what to do but replay the day in her head. A knock on the door rescued her from the thoughts. A nurse peeked her head in. “You have a couple visitors. Can I send them in?”

“Yes, please.”

Her mom bolted into the room once she got the green light and her dad followed behind her. “Mom, Dad.” Ava stretched out her arms as her mom wrapped her in a hug while her dad enveloped both of them into his arms. Ava rested in their comfort, finally able to release the emotions she’d held in all day.

Unaware of how long they stayed huddled together, Ava pulled away tired and emotionally exhausted. As much as she needed to be with her parents, she became antsy and longed for an update on Matt. “Thanks for coming.”

“Oh Ava, we are so thankful you’re okay. What did the doctor say?”

“He said I have a mild concussion and a nice goose egg on the back of my head.” She touched the area and jumped from the tenderness. “I have a bad headache, but he gave me some pain medication and said it should improve soon.”

“Well, after the day you’ve had, we should be grateful that it wasn’t more serious.” Her dad put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head gently. “I’m so sorry you had to experience that, you must have been so scared.”

“It was horrible. The worst part was watching Matt get shot.” A few tears spilled onto her cheeks and she swiped them away.

“Derek explained everything to us while we waited to see you. Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be okay. Just remember it will take some time to get the image out of your head. We will all be here if you need to talk about it.” Her dad always knew what to say to make her feel better.

Ava’s mom picked up the bag by the door. “We stopped at your apartment and got you some clothes, your hairbrush, and makeup. Why don’t you freshen up, it will help you feel better,” she said while handing her the bag.

Her mom had chosen the duffle bag she had used since high school basketball. A small rip on one of the side pockets showed its use, but otherwise it stayed in good condition. For Christmas last year Jake had given her a new bag, but it just wasn’t the same.

“Okay, but then I want to get up to the waiting area. I don’t want to miss Matt’s doctor.” She slipped off the table and looked in the bag to see what clothes they brought. She pulled out sweat pants, a T-shirt, flip-flops and her Chicago Bears pullover sweat shirt.

“Perfect,” she smiled over at her mom.

“I figured you wouldn’t be going anywhere soon and needed to be comfortable.”

Ava went to the bathroom to change. The new clothes warmed her chilled skin. She brushed through her tangled hair, careful not to put pressure on the massive bump protruding from her scalp, and pulled it back in a low ponytail. After washing off the last few traces of blood on her arms she washed her face and applied foundation, eye shadow, and lip gloss. There was no need to impress anyone. She just didn’t want to look like death warmed over.

Walking back into the room she was surprised to see that Derek had joined her parents. They were deep in discussion until she entered. “Hey, you look better. How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Okay.” She walked toward the group, desperate for an update. “Do you have any news on Matt?”

“No. He’ll be in surgery for a while longer. I do need you to come with me. The detective on the case needs to ask you a few questions. It won’t take long and then I’ll personally deliver you to the waiting area to sit around and be bored with the rest of us.” He looked over at her parents.

Ava’s dad stepped forward, “Your mother and I will go down to the cafeteria and get you some dinner while you’re being questioned. Lucy called and said she and the boys are on their way. We’ll come and meet you in the waiting room,” he paused and looked over at Derek, “if that is okay?”

“Absolutely, there is plenty of room.” He opened the door for everyone. “We’ll see you there.”

Ava followed Derek to the office they had set up for questioning. Detective Trevor Hudson met them in the room and shook her hand when she entered. He seemed younger than Ava expected a detective would be. His handsome appearance had her beginning to wonder if that was a prerequisite for being on the force.

After she answered his questions he praised her for how she handled the situation. “Seeing how you and Sergeant Thompson are in a relationship, you did a great job not to let Mr. Connors know. It could have made the situation much more complicated.”

“Did you catch Ray?” Ava asked, trying to keep her anger at bay toward him … and herself. Ray pulled the trigger, but it was her fault for putting Matt in that position. Why didn’t she listen to him and just stay home. The “what ifs” were choking her.

“Yes. He only made it about a mile away from the school before he reached one of our roadblocks.”

Derek turned in his seat and grabbed his water bottle. “Detective Hudson, if you’re done now, I believe Ava would like to get to the waiting room. Matt’s surgery should be over soon.”

The kind detective stood and Ava followed suit. He shook her hand again, “Thank you, Miss
Williams, I’ll be in contact if there are any further questions.”

The packed waiting room held people who cared about Matt. Matt’s parents were there, along with her family, Matt’s pastor, and several guys from the department. Ava hugged Matt’s parents and talked with them before sitting down with her family. They informed her that his siblings were coming in from Chicago as early as tomorrow to see him. Derek brought her some ice for her head and she leaned against Josh for support.

She had just fallen asleep on Josh’s shoulder when he nudged her. “Ava, the doctor is here,” he whispered.

Ava straightened and rubbed her eyes. Her headache was not as intense but still a nuisance. The doctor walked over to Matt’s parents and his mom waved her over to join them.

Dr. Ross sat down in front of them and Ava immediately became nervous. “Matt’s surgery went well. He was shot in his left shoulder.” He lifted his arm to show them where the bullet entered. “The reason for his emergency surgery was because of his excess bleeding. We were afraid the bullet nicked his brachial artery.” He used his hand to show which regions of the shoulder, back, chest and arm this entailed.

“I know this may sound overwhelming, but Sergeant Thompson was very fortunate.” He smiled to prove the words he spoke were true. “It was a clean, through-and-through wound. The bullet not only missed this artery but also his heart by a couple mere inches. It also dodged the median nerve. Injuring this nerve would have created complications for recovery and I’m sure his job. He will have a slow, but complete, recovery.”

Questions abounded until everyone felt confident in Matt’s prognosis. “When will we be able to see him?” Matt’s mom asked, upset and in need of seeing her son.

“He’s in the recovery room now, but in the next hour we should be able to transfer him to his room. I’ll have the nurse come and get you when that happens.” He shook Matt’s dad’s hand and then stood. “If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to page me.”

Ava walked back to her family as if a hundred pounds had been lifted off her chest. Matt was going to be okay. Hearing the good news, her family decided to head home and come back tomorrow to see Matt. They offered her a ride home.

“No thanks, I’m going to stay here for the night. But could one of you go get my car at the school and bring it here?” She didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon, but she would need her car whenever that happened.

“We’ll go get it.” Jake looked over at Josh for confirmation.

Lucy came up and wrapped her arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I would do without you.”