Fighting For Life

by Kylie Alyssa Forte

  I attacked the guy closest to me first which was the guy from Aubry’s past. It was obvious that he was ready for me though. He instantly blocked my attack and deflected me. I was pissed but the guy was determined, so it made our fight pretty even. I just kept thinking of Aubry and it fueled me on. When I got him pretty disorientated, I hit him in that face a few more times making him stumble back.

  “Ronnie, just go ahead and get started!” the guy called out when Tommy jumped in to help me finish him up. He knew he couldn’t take on both of us.

  My blood went cold, and mind went wild when I thought of Ronnie even touching Aubry.

  This wasn’t happening! This couldn’t happen.

  Before, I knew what was happening, Briana growled. “Over my dead body.”

  I turned to her to see what she was talking about, but she was already in action. She had managed to throw Brandon’s arms off of her and ran towards Aubry and Ronnie. Bri bent to the ground as she ran and fumbled, picking something up a few feet before them.

  I didn’t have time to see what it was because the guy sent a rogue punch my way, catching me off guard. He caught me in the nose harshly. I heard my nose crack as blood immediately seeped down my face. I didn’t really feel the pain because I was so worried about the two girls that I loved very much.

  Without a thought, I kicked the guy in the stomach, making him fall and then stomped on his head a few times for good measure.

  “Go!” Tommy yelled at me as the guy wobbled trying to get back up. “This guy is in bad shape. I can handle him. Don’t let Aub or Bri get hurt.”

  I was afraid that Aubry had already gotten too hurt though. The way she wasn’t even moving, told me that was true.

  I ran towards Bri, Brandon, and Aubry. Bri wasted no time when she got to Ronnie, she didn’t even wait for him to speak or anything. She just threw herself at him with a loud cry.

  My eyes widened as she did so, and I yelled in terror for her. He instantly slouched over and fell on top of her, pinning her beneath him. Brandon quickly flipped him over and pulled Bri up as she cried in fear. He wasted no time as he looked over Bri for injuries.

  When I finally got to them all, I almost choked. Bri had blood running down the front of her shirt, but Ronnie was the one with his knife plunged into his stomach. His breathing was shallow, and blood was spewing from his mouth. I was speechless as I looked between everyone.

  “Holy shit.” I breathed out as I looked at Briana who seemed to be unhurt, just in shock.

  I instantly blocked everyone else out when my eyes met Aubry, my Aubry. I sobbed as I kneeled down next to her. She was covered in blood and laid there motionless. Her shirt was ripped open in front as blood was spilling down from her face covering what was left of the tatters in blood red.

  I cried as I started to reach out towards her. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Why did this happen? I was supposed to fix things! I ruined everything! I ruined her!

  “Do not touch her!” Tommy spoke as he grabbed my hand away from her. He was in doctor mode as he crouched down next her while examining his patient.

  I looked behind us and saw the guy that we had been fighting was dragged up behind us. He was unconscious and covering blood and gashes. Just his stupid face made me angry to look at.

  “She’s alive,” Tommy spoke wearily as his gentle touch left her throat.

  “I called the police,” Brandon said quickly. “Paramedics are on the way.”

  “We can’t move her. She could have a broken neck or back for all we know. One wrong move and she could be dead or paralyzed,” Tom said with a scared look. “It’s weak, her pulse, I mean. It’s there, but it’s weak. I don’t want to do anything drastic to harm her even more. She’s alive, that’s all I can say for sure.”

  “She’s gonna be okay though, right?” I asked, sobbing as I looked at her there on the ground.

  “I don’t know Aiden. This is bad. I-I hope so . . .” he said brokenly.

  I couldn’t hang onto my sanity any longer. I screamed loudly as sobs broke through my chest. Tears streamed steadily as I felt the responsibility of her condition wash over me.

  No! No! No! She had to be fine! She couldn’t die! The terror of her possible death rushed through me . . . She couldn’t die!

  I love her! She was going to explain to me what happened! Hell, I didn’t even care anymore! She just had to be okay! She had to stay with me!

  “Hold on, Aubry! please stay. I love you. I am so sorry. Please, please stay.” I sobbed over her body. “Please don’t leave me! You’re a fighter, so please . . . fight! I know. I know you’re tired. But Aub, please . . . for me, for B, for Cece, for Bri, for Tom, for Mom, for Pawpaw, for you . . . please fight. Please stay.”

  I heard the sobs from everyone around me, but I was solely focused on Aubry. “Please forgive me. I am so sorry. I was an idiot. Please . . . Aubry, I love you! I was supposed to make this all right tonight. I was supposed to love you. Oh God, please don’t die. Just hold on! Please, Aubry . . . just stay.” I kept weeping.

  I couldn’t lose her! I no longer cared about what happened to my dad. I didn’t care what she did in the past, none of it mattered. I loved her! I just needed her to be okay. She had to be okay.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Strong

  “She’s in emergency surgery right now,” my mom said, trying to stay calm. I could see her panic though.

  “Emergency surgery?!” I asked like a panicked fool. I couldn’t help it though; I was so worried. I honestly didn’t know what I would do if she didn’t make it. She couldn’t die!

  Cece immediately clung to me in the seat next to mine. I felt horrible for her; she loved Aubry just as much as I did. She couldn’t lose her either, none of us could. I was supposed to make everything okay again. She was supposed to be okay.

  “For brain bleeding and swelling,” she said with an exhale.

  “I’m sorry . . . what?” I asked panicked.

  “How serious is that?” Brandon asked while holding Briana’s hand that was being swallowed up by his sweatshirt that was coving her blood-covered shirt.

  “Extremely,” Tommy answered for Mom. “It’s brain surgery. It’s not only that, though. People who have had trauma on the head can have serious problems after they wake up. If they wake up.”

  My heart sped up at that statement. If . . . not when.

  “Why aren’t you in medical school again?” my mom questioned him.

  He shrugged.“I’m an underachiever.”

  My mom rolled her eyes but snickered at her nephew. “Look, all we can do is wait. They’ll come out here and update us on her condition when they can.”

  She picked up Cece who was still bawling from the chair next me. She took her to one of the couches further down from us. Cece needed sleep. We all did, but I couldn’t. I had to know if Aubry was okay.

  ***

  It was five in the morning when the doctor finally came out to talk to us. His eyes were tired and dull, just like the rest of ours. His facial expression gave absolutely nothing away. He stayed silent until he got right up to my mom.

  “Hello, I’m Dr. Mitchell,” he introduced himself to the rest of us. “We got the swelling down and the brain bleeding stabilized,” he spoke finally.

  I let out a long pent-up breath. Thank God.

  “She’s out of surgery, but not out of the woods yet,” he elaborated slightly.

  My heart immediately hammered at his words. What did that mean?

  The doctor sighed and shook his head. “It was a heck of a surgery. Seven hours of grueling work. She flatlined three times and had two blood transfusions. We fixed the brain bleeding, relieved the swelling, got a chest tube in place for a punctured and collapsed lung, fixed a few deep cuts that reached the veins on her wrist and hands and then fixed some other not-as-life-threatening traumas on her body.”

  I shut my eyes to stop the tears that were threatening to spill. She had been through so much.

  “Afte
r all of that, she . . . she is in a coma,” he spoke the words slowly and my whole body froze.

  “What?” I said in a slight whimper.

  “She is in a coma. Honestly, it’s probably for the best. It’ll make it easier for her to heal with not as much pain. She is also on a ventilator. We suspect when her punctured lung begins to heal, we can remove it,” he answered.

  “When w-will she wake up?” Briana asked softly. I could feel my heart squeeze at the question.

  “Well . . . when or if she wakes up is, kind of up to her. It is very dependent on any type of brain damage that she has sustained. We will not know the extent of any damage until she wakes up. Her unconscious reactions seem to be okay, but like I said, we don’t know much about the rest of her potential damage.” He sighed and looked at us sympathetically.

  If, not when.

  “Look, I’m going to be frank, that girl in there has obviously been through hell. All of her new cuts and old scars are a testament to that. Most people that I’ve seen with the amount of self-inflicted and non-self-inflicted wounds don’t even make it off the surgical table. That girl, though, is a fighter. I’ve never seen someone come so far after being so close to death. We all thought she was a goner, but she pulled through each time.

  “Normally I would tell you to hope for the best, but don’t get your hopes up too high. But honestly, I think that she has a good chance to make it through this. She needs everyone to believe in her, though. She needs to know that she is loved, and she needs help and support from every single person that cares about her. Studies have shown that a person can hear you while they’re in a coma. I’m not sure if that is true, there needs to be more research, but it can’t hurt to try. I’ve come to realize that the more positive energy you have around someone, the more they benefit. She is obviously a fighter, so believe in her and love her. Let her know that she is needed by all of you.”

  He was right, she needed our support, and I was not going to let her down again. I needed that girl more than she could ever understand. I needed her more than even I understood. I loved her.

  “She is still in recovery right now, but you should be able to see her in an hour or so. She’ll be in the ICU until she wakes up or . . .” He didn’t finish his sentence. “I will be back and forth to check on her throughout her recovery along with several other doctors.”

  “Dana, I’m sorry this has happened to someone in your family. I hope justice is served.”

  Yes, our family—she was a part of our family. She had to survive; we couldn’t lose another part of our family. She had to be okay.

  ***

  It had officially been an hour and four minutes. I was getting extremely antsy just sitting around and waiting. I wanted to see her. I needed to see her.

  It was about twenty minutes later when a nurse finally said that we could go and see her, two at a time. We all looked around amongst ourselves, everyone seemingly agreed in silence that my mom, and I would go in first. It seemed like no one even considered anyone but us going in first.

  I was instantly out of my chair as I followed the nurse nervously down the hallway. My mother followed us at a slower pace and a lot more calmly. I felt so nervous to see her; there was no telling how bad it would be. I felt so much responsibility sitting upon my shoulders. It was all me.

  We came to a pause outside of her door. The nurse gestured to the door, letting us know that she was in there. My breathing hitched, and I just wanted to cry. I hated this. I would have given anything to take her place. I hated that she was in there and in pain. I hated everything that she had gone through.

  Mom pushed me a gently and led me in. She kept a hand on my back, letting me know she was still there with me as we both walked into the dull hospital room.

  When we made it all the way into the room and shut the door, I finally looked up. What I saw made my heart shatter and face pale.

  She was laying there with a breathing tube down her throat, bandages covered her in so many places. Black and blue bruises and cuts littered her whole body, and she was as pale as a ghost. If the heart monitor wasn’t beeping beside her, and the ventilator hadn’t been breathing for her, I would have been sure that she was dead. She looked so frail and broken, it made me sick. The whole situation made me sick.

  I suddenly felt vomit making its way up my throat. I ran to the attached bathroom and threw up over and over again.

  It was all my fault! If I would have just been there with her, they wouldn’t have been able to get her. She was so close to death because of me. I threw up several more times as that realization hit me. I could lose her, and I had myself to blame for it.

  Tears fell freely, and pain wracked through my body. My Aubry was in so much pain because I was a stubborn idiot. I was a selfish prick. It was my fault.

  After several minutes, my mom walked through the opened bathroom door and rubbed my back. She was trying to comfort me, but there was no comfort for my screw up. She waited for me to wash my hands and face before she handed me a small cup of water. I downed it quickly to get the acidic taste out of my mouth.

  She then led me out of the bathroom and sat me down in one of the chairs that was by Aubry’s bedside.

  “Aiden, believe in her.”

  “I do believe in her! I just . . . I can’t believe that I let this happen. This is all my fault,” I replied in a rasp since my throat was raw from throwing up so much.

  “No. Do not do this to yourself! You know good and well that Aubry would never blame you. You know that she’d be pissed if she heard you right now. The only people at fault are the two guys who attacked her. The police will take care of them. Right now, we have to focus on her. We have to focus on our love for her.”

  Logically, I knew that she was right, but I was so angry at myself for letting it happen. I felt the hatred for myself rolling off of me in hot waves.

  “Aiden, do not revert back to your old ways. Do not do what you did after that imbecile attacked Bri. Do not shut everyone out.” My mother almost sobbed.

  “It was Aubry who brought you out of that state. Do not go back to it when she needs you the most. Do not blame yourself. You had no control over any of their actions. Aubry needs you to not only believe in her, but also yourself. You can’t love her properly when you hate yourself. She loves you, so focus on that. Focus on being the man that she needs. Don’t shut down and revert back to old habits,” my mom said on the verge of tears.

  She was right. I had to be strong for Aubry. I had to believe in her. I had to be the man that she needed. I loved her so much.

  “You’re right. Can I have a few minutes alone with her? I need to apologize for being the complete ass that I’ve been.”

  My mom’s face softened and nodded. “Aub, I love you. I love you like you’re one of my own,” my mom told her and kissed her forehead. “Pull through because I can’t lose one of my children.”

  I stayed silent for a moment after she left us alone. She looked peacefully asleep, aside from the ventilator down her throat. Her face was swollen and discolored, but it was still beautiful. Her body was frail and pale, but it was still strong. She was strong. I took her hand and scooted closer to the bed.

  “Aubry . . . I am so sorry. I was an ass, plain and simple. I have no excuse for it. I said some horrible things to you, and I can’t take them back. What I can do is promise to make it up to you.” I sighed as I choked back tears.

  “Just wake up, please Aub! I don’t care what happened to my dad. I don’t care that you were a drug dealer. I don’t give a shit about the past anymore. I know that your life has been difficult, to say the very least. I was stupid for overlooking that. Please wake up, so I can show you how amazing life can be. You make life so much better.”

  I felt the tears rapidly rolling down my cheeks. “You are so amazing. Wake up, so we can learn and grow with each other. I love you so much. I-I can’t lose you!” I was sobbing with my forehead on the rail of the hospital bed. I just needed her to wake up.
I needed her.

  A few minutes later, there was a light knock on the door as Bri walked in. When she walked into the room, she immediately began sobbing. She found her way to the chair next to mine and leaned on my shoulder for support.

  “Aubry, I’m so sorry. I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve been horrible. I was just so mad. And for what? I knew that it wasn’t your fault! I was just blinded. Aubry, please pull through. Please? We need you to make it.” She paused and sobbed loudly.

  “You were the person who gave me a lifeline to get out of somewhere so dark that I never thought I’d see again. Aub, we all need you! I love you. J-Just wake up soon . . . Wake up, please!” my sister finished. After a few minutes of sobbing, she left the room quietly.

  I hadn’t even begun to register that my sister stabbed Ronnie. I was shocked and impressed, all at the same time. It boiled my blood to know that Ronnie was somewhere in the same hospital in police custody, getting treated too. It almost made me want to go find him so I could finish off the job that Bri’s stabbing didn’t do.

  Another knock came from the door, and Brandon appeared. He saw Aubry and closed his eyes with a whimper.

  “Jesus, Aubry!” He breathed deeply and stumbled to the chair. He hadn’t even glanced at me. “You have to wake up. You can’t just leave us. You have to wake up! After everything—” He stopped abruptly and turned to me still in shock.

  “Could you . . . could you give us a few minutes alone?” he asked sheepishly.

  I stood up and nodded. I didn’t want to leave her, but I knew he needed his time with her too. “I’ll be waiting outside the door,” I said calmly and walked away. I knew that he knew things that I didn’t. He had listened to her when I was being a prick.

  I was so incredibly thankful to B for taking care of her when I decided to be a screw-up. I had to tell him that when he was done in there. He was a good friend, not just to me but to everyone. He was good.