Broken Road (5 page)

“We have to help them through this,” he told Janet in a hoarse voice laced with sorrow. “They’re going to need their friends more than ever and that’s where we come in.” Jim closed his eyes and two thoughts immediately came to his mind. He remembered the last time he had seen and spoken to Dante just a few days ago. He had walked into the house as if he owned it, jumping over the back of the couch and landing into a comfortable cross-legged sitting position while smiling at Jim the whole time. “What’s up, Papa Jim?” he had asked, still smiling but adding a nodding motion to his head reminiscent of a bobble head doll.

“Get your shoes off the couch,” responded Jim while continuing to read the sports section of the paper, causing an even wider smile to appear on Dante’s face.

He also remembered the first time he had met Dante. Jarrod was in the fifth grade, and Jim had gone to pick him up at school that day because Janet was tied up showing a house to a potential buyer. Jarrod ran up to him with Dante at his side and introduced him to his father by saying, “This is my new best friend, Dante.” Jim smiled and shook the young boy’s hand and thought to himself how funny kids were. It seemed as though every week they had a new best friend. This one would probably last that long, if not less. But Jarrod had proven him wrong. Those two had been stuck to each other like glue from the moment they had met, experiencing jointly all the trials and tribulations that adolescent life offered.

And now Dante was gone. Gone forever. How would Jarrod handle the loss of his best friend? His confidante? His second brother in spirit?

Officer Hernandez walked away quietly, allowing Jim and Janet the privacy they needed. Stopping to join the other officer, he turned to look at the Wentworths once again. Lowering his head in sadness, he watched as they stood there looking into each other’s eyes as if they were hoping to find a fragment of calmness or inner peace in the other rather than the fear and desperation that was indubitably reflected back.

Twenty minutes later the nurse returned. “I’m sorry for taking so long. The doctors were busy, and I had to wait for an update. I didn’t want to come back without some information for you.”

“Thank you,” Jim said. “What can you tell us?”

“Well, it seems that your youngest son—”

“Alec,” stated Janet. She gently placed her hand on the nurse’s arm and said, “Please tell me he’s alright.”

The nurse quickly covered Janet’s hand with her own.

“It seems Alec was fortunate enough to only suffer some minor injuries. He was sitting in the backseat, between the other two boys, so he had some…how can I put this?…well, he had some cushioning from the blow. It appears as though he only suffered a broken arm and two broken ribs. I know that sounds bad, but really it isn’t. He will need to spend the night for observation, but I wouldn’t worry too much about him. The doctors believe he’ll be fine.”

“Thank God,” they both uttered simultaneously. Janet briefly hugged the nurse and then said, “What about our other son, Jarrod?”

The nurse lowered her eyes for just a brief moment, took a deep breath and obviously hating this part of her job, softly said, “I’m so sorry to say it’s more serious with Jarrod. He was sitting on the side of the car that took the full brunt of the impact; therefore, the blow was tremendous to his body. There’s been significant trauma to the right side of his body; he also has a collapsed lung. He hasn’t awoken yet. He’ll be taken down for a CT scan once he is stabilized and will be scheduled for further tests—”

“When you say he hasn’t awoken yet, do you mean he’s in a coma?” asked Jim as he desperately tried to hold back his tears. If he broke down now, Janet would never be able to make it through this.

The nurse paused for a moment. She looked him straight in the eye and said slowly and clearly “At this point, we’re not certain. As of now he isn’t responding to stimuli. The doctors are performing complete physical and neurological evaluations to determine whether he is or is not in a coma. I’m so very, very sorry. I wish I had better news for you. Hopefully the doctors will know more by the time they are able to speak with you. If you need anything at all, please feel free to let me know. My name is Kayla.”

“Thank you, Kayla,” said Jim. Kayla walked toward the nurse’s station and sat down behind it. In her eighteen years as an ER nurse, she had seen many injuries such as the ones their eldest son had sustained, and not once did any of those patients survive. She was desperately hoping he would be the first. As she had done countless times before, she said a silent prayer for the young man whose ravaged body doctors were painstakingly trying to save at this very moment—a body deprived of strength, power, and capacity, which lay torpid only a few feet away behind closed doors.

Janet and Jim stood alone in the long, empty hallway of the hospital. The distressing circumstances, combined with the nauseating odor brought on by the blend of medication and disinfectants, caused them both to suffer a sickening sensation. Janet leaned her back against the wall and slowly lowered her body into a sitting position on the floor. Somewhere in the background, people could be heard, but nothing made any sense to her. Some were moaning from pain, others were complaining about insignificant matters such as the lengthy wait, and a few fortuitous souls were just content to finally be leaving. It felt as if she and Jim were alone in a dark, dismal tunnel that existed only to siphon their spirits of all happiness and joy. All they could feel now was misery, hopelessness, anguish, and despair.

“
We’re losing him
.”

Voices. Some were yelling, others were whispering. So much commotion. Doctors giving orders and nurses anxiously following them. Why did that one doctor say, “We’re losing him?” Who were they talking about? This was clearly a hospital. What the hell was he doing in a hospital? Was someone hurt? Where was Alec? Where were the guys?

Jarrod’s thoughts were meshing all together, causing so much uncertainty. His head was spinning, but yet it didn’t hurt. He felt fine. No, he was better than fine. There was no pain, no pressure, and no worries. His body felt weightless and buoyant, as if he were a boat drifting aimlessly on the water.

The doctors were hovering over a body, but whose body was it? He wished that one nurse would just move an inch or two to her left, and then he would be able to see who it was.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed an illuminating beam of light. He turned to look at it, but it was so bright, it forced him to squint. Where was that light coming from, and why did he feel such an urgent need to reach out to it?

“
Clear!
”

The voice distracted Jarrod momentarily and he turned toward it. The nurse had moved, and he had a clear view of the body on the gurney. It was
him
. No. That was impossible. He looked again. It
was
him. How could that be? How was it possible that his body was lying there, covered in blood and appearing lifeless, when he was just fine standing there watching them? Something was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. Perhaps someone had slipped a mickey into his food or drink at the restaurant where he had dined earlier with his family and it was now causing him to hallucinate. That had to be it. That was the only rational explanation. Either that or he was dreaming.
Wake up! Wake up already
, he thought to himself.

The light. It was even brighter and stronger now. So inviting and warm. He felt an immense pull; it beckoned him and drew him closer as he found himself walking, no floating, toward it.

“
We have a pulse
.”

And suddenly, just like that, the light was gone.

Chapter Five

T
wo long hours after arriving at the hospital, Janet and Jim were finally allowed to see Alec. He was lying on a gurney in one of the trauma rooms, his arm in a cast, his eyes closed. He had a few scratches and bruises on his face and neck area, but aside from that, he looked well enough. Janet leaned over and kissed him gently on the forehead. Alec opened his eyes slowly. He looked at her for a long moment, and then a lone teardrop gradually escaped from his eye and rolled down his cheek. “Jarrod?” he asked in a gravelly voice.

Janet wiped away his tear, while Jim placed his hand soothingly on his shoulder. He couldn’t really get past the tightness in his chest, so he was only able to grunt out “He’ll be okay.”

“The guys?” Alec asked as he timorously looked from one parent to another.

“Brendon and Joey were hurt, but they’ll be fine.” Janet cast a quick, meaningful glance to Jim and decided that it would be best for Alec not to hear about Dante’s passing until later, when he would be stronger and more lucid. She told him the doctor had insisted on them staying only a few minutes so as to not tire him out, therefore they only had time to check on him, and they would talk about everything after he rested.

Alec was so tired and woozy from the medication that he had been given; he did not have the strength to argue. All he was able to get out before falling asleep was, “Call…Wyatt. Jarrod can’t…appointment.”

Jim and Janet looked at one another wide-eyed. They hadn’t even thought of that. A few short hours ago, Mr. Wyatt and tomorrow’s meeting was the most important thing in the world to them. Now it was at the lowest point on their totem pole of priorities. “I’ll call him later,” said Jim.

A few hours later, Drs. Matthew Anderson and Nicholas Arcao escorted the Wentworths to a small conference room located near the emergency room. When they had all made themselves comfortable, the doctors explained that Alec would be released the following morning if there were no complications throughout the night. X-rays were taken to evaluate the extent of damage to his left arm, and it was determined that he had suffered a closed fracture of the humerus, which is the largest bone in the arm. He would need to wear a hanging arm cast that would be suspended by a sling looped around his neck for possibly three weeks and would require additional X-rays to make sure the bones stayed aligned. In addition, Alec had suffered trauma to the chest area, causing two of his ribs to break. Usually broken ribs healed completely in about two months. They recommended rest, ice, and over-the-counter medications to relieve any discomfort. He was to avoid any activities that would aggravate the injuries. No long-term damage was expected.

Both Janet and Jim drew deep breaths of relief. But that sensation would be short-lived. They noted how both doctors seem to stiffen a bit and look at each other before speaking. Dr. Arcao looked down at the file before him, cleared his throat twice, and then looked up at Jim. There was such sadness emanating from his eyes. “I wish we had good news with regard to your eldest son, Jarrod. But unfortunately, we don’t.” He cleared his throat once again, took a sip of water from a glass he had poured just a few minutes earlier, and then finally spoke.

“Due to where Jarrod was seated in the vehicle, he absorbed the most impact from the collision. The result is that he is suffering from what is called traumatic pneumothorax or in layman’s terms, a collapsed lung. He also has an acromioclavicular separation, which is an injury to the area between the collarbone and the shoulder. He has a broken arm and leg, as well as…” The doctor took a deep breath and then continued, “bleeding in the area between the brain and the thin tissues that cover the brain. This is called a subarachnoid hemorrhage.” Jim abruptly stood up, not able to listen any further, and cut the doctor off by asking, “Is my son going to die?”