I'll Take a Chance (13 page)

I walk to the bathroom down the hall and put on the scrub top. I turn on the faucet and run water over my hands. The bowl fills with bloody water and
my hands start to shake. Get it together, Kyle, I tell myself. Now is not the time to fall apart. You need to be strong for Amelia and her family.

I finish cleaning up and put on my brave face. I
walk into the waiting room and find Slick and Aiden sitting in chairs. I take a seat next to Aiden. In less than thirty minutes Asher comes back with Willow, Ava, Adrian and their parents. The nine of us wait in the surgical waiting room in agonizing silence.

Amelia

I am having a weird dream. It’s weird because I know it’s a dream. Usually when you dream you aren’t aware that you are dreaming or what you are dreaming about until you wake up. In this drea
m however, I am aware that it is a dream.

I see myself on a beach
, in a lounge chair wearing a knock out, killer, two piece black bikini. I am wearing dark sunglasses and a large brimmed black floppy hat. On the side table I have a sweet smelling cocktail with an umbrella that is speared into a large wedge of pineapple.

The sun is shining and the waves are crashing. There is such a peace in the air
it’s so intoxicating and comfortable, that I never want to leave it. The gulls are talking to each other in the sky and there are children playing in the sand, building a sand castle.

The sun is warm on my skin
, but I don’t feel it. There is a gentle breeze tickling flyaway hairs on my face, but I don’t feel that either. I see myself sitting in that lounger. I feel how content I am just sitting there, but it’s surreal.

I see myself take a drink
, but I don’t taste it. This is all so confusing and feels wrong, but it feels so right at the same time. I have been sitting in that lounger for what seems like hours, you would think the sun would have set by now.

I start to hear
an incessant beeping that I wish would stop. It’s ruining my peaceful lounging. It’s getting louder and louder then the sun starts to disappear upwards in the sky. Its pitch black now and the beeping is still getting louder and louder.

I hear people whispering. I feel someone holding my hand
, but I can’t move or open my eyes to see who it is.

“Why hasn’t she woken up yet? It’s been hours, they said she sh
ould have come out of it by now,” that’s Asher. I’m here, Asher, I say, but there is no sound.

“We can only wait. I
t’s not uncommon for anesthesia to take longer to wear off. We still have no cause to worry, just yet,” someone else says and squeezes my hand. That’s Kyle. Oh, Kyle, I’m here. Why can’t I tell anyone I’m here?

Someone takes my other hand and I can hear them
softly crying. The pain in my chest is intense and it hurts to breath. Please just let me go back to the beach, there was no pain there, just peace. Please, I just want to go back.

“Amelia, you just have to be O
K. Please wake up. Please be OK,” Willow says.

I’m just so tired. The beeping gets softer and I start to hear crashing waves and
gulls and children laughing. I’m back in my lounge chair as peaceful as before. It’s such a nice place here. The sun never sets here and there’s no pain just peace. It’s such an amazing place. I don’t think I ever want to leave. I sit there for what seems like days.

Then the beeping starts again. No
, I don’t want to go back. Please, just let me stay. The sun turns black and the steady beeping replaces the waves and birds. The sharp pain in my chest is back too. Please, let me go back, I can’t take this pain.

I attempt to open my eyes and this time I can
. It’s dark, but not pitch black like before. I feel warm hands in both of mine. There is huge pressure and severe pain in my chest. It’s so unbearable. I glance down to my right. Kyle is holding my hand while he sleeps. His head is turned to the side resting on the mattress next to my hip. I look to my left, and Willow is in the exact same position. My eyes adjust to the dark, and I see Asher sleeping sitting up in an overstuffed chair.

There is a cot next to him with Aiden sleeping soundly. The bed next to me has Chloe in it sleeping. Her head is bandaged and she has oxygen in her
nose. My brother Adrian is sitting slouched in a stiff armless wooden chair, the same chair next to his, my sister Ava is sleeping with her head in Adrian’s lap. Practically my whole family is here.

I start to remember what happened. The man who kidnapped me had me at gun point. Then everyone started to rush at us and then there was a loud bang
then I had a spearing pain in my chest. The man shot me in the chest. Oh my God. I was shot.

The
steady beeping I keep hearing is my heart rate on the monitor by my bed. I start to panic as I realize the severity of what happened. This pain is too much and tears run down the side of my face. The beeping starts to get faster, and the faster, I breathe, in my panic it sends shooting pain in my chest. An alarm starts going off and everyone in the room wakes up. Then all I can see is Kyle as he hovers over my face.

“Calm down
, honey, try to take slow calm breaths. You’re going to be alright. We’re all here. You are safe now.” His voice has a calming effect, and I try to slow my breathing. Tears continue running down my face, I just don’t think I can take this pain any longer.

“I’ll go get the doctor,
” Willow says and squeezes my hand then rushes out of the room.

Ava takes my hand a
nd leans in and kisses my cheek, “Don’t you ever scare me like that again, or I’ll kill you myself. Do you understand me?” she says with a smile.

A bunch of people enter the room and
a doctor tells everyone they need to wait in the hallway. Kyle insists on staying, but they won’t let him. I don’t want him to go. I hold tight to his hand and try to plead with them to let him stay, but I can’t talk. There’s something down my throat.

“Shh
, don’t try to talk, you were intubated. It’s going to be alright. They just want to do a quick exam. If everything checks out they will take the tube out, OK? I’ll just be right outside the door in the hallway. I’ll be right back as soon as they are done. I promise.” He leans in and kisses my forehead then wipes my tears with the back of his hand.

“I promise I will be
just outside in the hallway,” he reassures me again.

I let go of his hand and the room is cleared. I am swarmed by people doing God knows what. Someone pushes a few buttons on an IV pole and almost instantly the pain in my chest lessens. A doctor is talking to me
, telling me what they are doing, but there is just so much going on it’s hard to understand it all.

“Next we are going to extubate you. We are going to remove the tube from your throat. It may be a little uncomfortable
, but it will be over before you know it,” the doctor says to me.

He pulls the tube out and I immediately start to cough which sends shooting pain in my chest. A nurse hands me a pillow and tells me to hug it softly, that it will help lessen the pain in my chest. I do it and
I am thankful that it does help.

A
n oxygen mask is placed over my nose and mouth and soon I am breathing comfortably. Next my gown is opened and my eyes bulge out of my head when I see the huge gauze pad covering the left side of my chest.

“You are one lucky girl. The bullet missed your heart and
all the major blood vessels. We were able to remove the bullet and stitch you up. You also had a collapsed lung. We inserted a chest tube, but removed it shortly after surgery. You have a few stitches on the left side of your chest from the incision. All in all, you were very fortunate. We want to keep you for a few days to monitor you, but you should make a full recovery. If you don’t have any questions I can send your family back in,” the doctor says.

I shake my head no then a
nurse steps in, closes my gown and covers me back up. She checks on Chloe then everyone exits the room. My family comes back in and everyone starts asking questions all at once. Kyle comes to the side of my bed and buries his face on the side of my head in my hair. I reach for the oxygen mask to tell him I’m alright.

“Kyle, I’m here, I’m fine,
” I tell him in a hoarse whisper.

He looks me in the eyes
, and I have never seen sorrow and relief in one look, but it’s written all over his face. He places the mask back on my face.

“Leave that on
, honey. OK,” he tells me and kisses my cheek.

I’m just so tired
, but I’m scared to close my eyes again. What if I don’t wake up again? The beach and the lounge chair were nice, but there is no where else I would rather be than right here with my family.

“You rest
, honey. We will all be here when you wake up again. Your parents were here, but they went to Asher’s to be with Abbey for the night. They said to tell you when you woke up that they will be here in the morning.” Kyle places his hand on my cheek and I just can’t keep my eyes open any longer.

I
don’t know how long I slept, but when I wake up I hear whispering again. This time it’s Kyle and Chloe. He’s listening to her as she tells him everything that happened the day she was kidnapped and about the two years she was held. I feel bad for eavesdropping, but I don’t want to interrupt them talking either.

“The police questioned me in the emergency room. I told them everything. They said it was self defense and I won’t be charged for his death. Kyle
, I don’t know what came over me. I saw the gun and I just took it. He had Amelia, he would have killed her. I don’t feel guilty for shooting him. I do feel guilty that he died. I never meant to kill him,” she tells Kyle.

“You have nothing to feel guilty about. I’m just so glad you’re here.
I never lost hope that you were still out there. I could always feel you still here,” he says.

“Every night, before I would go to sleep, I would talk to you. Every night I would
send you my wonder twin powers and tell you that I was alright. I always knew you would hear me,” she replies.

“I did hear you
,” he assures her.

“Mom and Dad have both been here
, but something is different. What’s going on with them?” she asks.

“
After you went missing, the police told us they thought you left because you were upset about the deaths. They told us there was nothing they could do. Mom and I never believed them, but Dad believed the police and it tore the two of them apart. They got divorced six months after you went missing.”

“Oh, Kyle that’s awful. I can’t believe I caused all this
to happen. This is all my fault,” she says and starts to cry.

“Listen to me. I never want to hear you say that again. None of this is your fault. Mom and Dad are grown adults
, they made their own decisions. None of what happened is your fault. The man who took you is to blame for all of this. He’s lucky he’s dead. Because I would have strangled him to death with my bare hands if he weren’t,” he says raising his voice.

“Shh
, Amelia is sleeping. She needs her rest,” Chloe whispers.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be loud. I’m just glad you’re here now. The doctor has set you up with a psychiatrist
and I need you to promise me you will go.”

“I hav
e every intention on seeing her,” she reassures him.

“You’
ll be discharged today, and you will be staying with me until we can get everything figured out,” he tells her.

“Kyle
I could never just intrude on you. You have Amelia to think about too.”

With my eyes still closed I say, “You aren’t intruding. I insist you stay with your brother. No arguing
about it either.” With a smile on my lips I still pretend to be sleeping.

“Amelia, I’m so sorry
, did we wake you up?” Chloe asks.

I open my eyes and look at the two of them. Kyle is sitting on her bed
holding her hand, and looking at the two of them together brings tears to my eyes. I’m just so happy he has her back. Kyle jumps off the bed and is immediately at my side.

“Are you in pain? I can go get the doctor. It’s almost time for more pain meds
, I can see if they can give it to you early,” he says and starts to leave.

“No
, Kyle, I’m fine. I was just looking at the two of you, and I’m just so happy for you both, that’s all. Really, I’m fine.” The door opens and in walks my entire family. And I mean everyone. My parents, all my brothers and sister, and even baby Abbey is here. They all come bearing flowers and gifts not only for me, but for Chloe too. Leave it to my family, man I love them all so much. I’m pretty sure Asher pulled some major strings to allow this many people in the room.

Later that day Chloe was discharged
, and Kyle took her back to his house. My sister Ava went with them too. She said she would sit with Chloe while Kyle came back to the hospital to be with me. Kyle didn’t want Chloe to be left alone at all. Between my sister and my mother though, they each agreed to take shifts and assured Kyle that someone would always keep her company.

I on the other hand need to stay
in the hospital for a few more days. The doctor said since Kyle is a doctor and he will be there to keep an eye on me, and since he is torn between spending time with me and Chloe, they agree to let me go home a few days early. I couldn’t be happier about that. I feel bad for Kyle. He is running himself ragged trying to see to both mine and Chloe’s needs. He has to be exhausted. If he’s not here with me then he makes sure someone else from my family is here with me.