Unliving Love

by Jason A Grimm

  Chapter 14

  Overnight Watch

  “Where am I?” Mike asked in a groggy voice as he finally came to. He tried to sit up but had several sets of hands and straps holding him down. “Wha…” Is all he managed to get out before he gave up trying to get past the hands and straps holding him down.

  “Whoa Son, take it easy.”

  He knew that voice, it sounded familiar but the image wasn’t coming to him. All of his thoughts were all hazy and he couldn’t bring anything to the front to make a coherent one.

  “You got hit pretty hard Mike.” The voice said. “You’re in the back of the ambulance and we are on our way to the hospital.”

  I know that voice. Who is it? I know it. He thought to himself trying to place the voice. Just as he felt it coming to him, he heard another familiar voice.

  “Mike? Can you hear me?” It asked. “Can you open your eyes?”

  The image of the person that belonged to this voice shot through the fog that had been holding his thoughts back and crashed to the surface.

  “Jen?” He said.

  “Yeah it’s me.” She squeezed his hand and to her upmost pleasure she felt him squeeze back. There wasn’t a lot of pressure but any sign of response was good to her. “I’m here with coach.”

  Damn it, I knew that voice. He thought to himself trying to mentally get the fog out of his head. “Mom, dad?”

  “They are following us.”

  “Where are we going?” Mike asked trying to pull everything together and make sense of it.

  “To the hospital you got hit…” Her voice trailed off.

  “You got hit hard son, went down even harder.” Coach began to explain. “Got hit on your blindside.”

  Mike laid there silent as if trying to piece things together. “Did we win?” He asked. Everyone started to chuckle and he realized that there were more people in there than he was talking to. Of course there are more people in here. He thought to himself. He could feel the fog slowly lifting. He could feel the ambulance slow and turn then come to a complete stop. “What’s going on?” He asked finally opening his eyes. He could see Jen sitting on his left holding his hand and Coach sitting to his right looking towards the back of the ambulance.

  “We are at the hospital.” An unfamiliar voice said from below his line of sight.

  He heard doors open and then felt his body shake and start to move.

  “We are going to need that hand ma’am.” The unfamiliar voice said.

  Jen reluctantly let go of it.

  “We’ll get it back to you as soon as we can. For now, we are going to need you to go have a seat in the lobby though. Once we get him all settled in we will come and get you.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can sweetie.” She said trying to hold back tears.

  “I’ll be waiting.” Mike responded.

  The EMTs pulled mike the rest of the way out and began to roll him into the hospital through the large set of automatic doors. Jen and Coach climbed out of the ambulance and followed them in but made an immediate left as they were directed to the waiting room. He caught a glimpse as they were ushered by what appeared to be a nurse of some kind.

  When they brought him back into his room the team of staff lifted him up onto his bed and then rolled him on his side, sliding the hard stretcher that he had been taken off the football field on out.

  “Well I’d ask what happened but I was actually watching the game.” Another unfamiliar voice said.

  Mike tried to turn to see but his head was still being secured. He tried rolling his eyes instead but he barely caught a glimpse of the person who spoke.

  “I’m Dr. McMillan.” The man behind the voice now stepped into view. He was a short chubby looking man with large black framed glasses and hair just around the sides of his head. “That was one hell of a throw though young man. I have to say that I’m a huge fan.”

  “Thanks” Mike said

  “Ok now here is the plan. We are going to run some tests to see if there is anything going on in the noodle of yours.” Dr. McMillan stepped out of sight again. “Well anything abnormal that is.” He said back to Mike. There was a moment of silence. “First thing first, we are going to get you a CT scan, then an x-ray, want to check your neck and that kind of stuff. After all that comes back ok, we’ll get you out of that collar you’re wearing.”

  The staff that was in his room left and he laid there alone waiting. After a few minutes he heard a knock on the door. “Can I come in?” An older lady’s voice asked.

  “Yes.” Mike answered as best he could, the brace around his neck was tight and was making it hard to talk.

  “Michael Lachey?” The voice asked.

  “Yes.” He answered again.

  “How you feeling hun?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Well I’m here to take you over to get your CT scan and x-ray.” She grabbed ahold of the bed and stepped on a lever releasing the brakes sending a wave through the bed. “Sorry if these beds get locked in a certain way when you unlock them, the wheels spin and it shakes the whole bed pretty hard.”

  “It’s Ok.” He forced out as she began to push him out of his room. Within a few seconds they were in a large oversized elevator. He heard the doors shut and then the slight jolt as it began its rise. From the dings he heard, he knew he went up two floors or down two, he was a little unsure of the direction.

  They began moving again. “The doctor said he saw the hit you took and that it was one of the worst he’s seen in a long time… maybe ever, He does like to exaggerate though.” She tried to make it sound not as bad as it had to her after she saw his face show even more worry. “We are going to take very good care of you.” She gave him the best reassuring smile she could muster and a few seconds later they were in a large room. “Ok gentlemen… he’s all yours”

  “Thank you much.” A man said off to Mike’s left. “We’ll give you a call as soon as we’re done with him.”

  “Ok sounds good.” She said as she smiled and turned to walk out of the room.

  Mike once again tried to roll his eyes to see the new people who would be taking care of him but they were standing too far off to the side to see. Not seeing anyone was making him nervous, he understood why his neck and head were immobilized but didn’t like not being able to see people until they ventured into his line of sight.

  “Mike Lachey.” The voice that had answered earlier said. “Wish we were meeting on better circumstances.”

  “Yeah.” Another voice spoke. “I haven’t seen a hit like that in a long time.”

  Mike’s nerves were starting to ware down as the feeling of helplessness started to overwhelm him. He was trapped and he wasn’t sure if he was ok and all anyone wanted to talk about is the nasty hit he took, which he can’t even remember happening. Mike felt tears begin to form, he did everything he could to hold them back but as the fog in his head lifted more and more the realization of his situation became more and more real.

  “We are going to get you checked out and fixed up so let’s not worry too much.”

  Mike wasn’t sure if the guy could see the emotion on his face but he was glad for the response either way. He felt the bed move and was positioned into place.

  “Ok on the count of three we are going to lift you with the draw sheet and put you onto the table” Mike felt the sheet around him tighten. ‘One, two, three.” The two men lifted him up and laid him onto the table that was beside his bed. “Now we are going to slide you into the giant tube that is above your head. You can’t see it much now but you will in a second. When we do that we are going to start taking images, then we will get you back into your room as soon as it’s done.”

  “Ok.” Mike said. It was even harder to talk now with the emotion swelling up in the back of his throat. Before he knew it he was sliding up into the giant tube.

  “Ok we’ll be as quick as we can be.”

  Mike laid there staring up as the tube started sp
inning around his head. He started to feel nauseous after a few seconds of being inside the spinning tube so he closed his eyes waiting for it to be done. “Ok we have this, now a quick hop over to x-ray and we will get you back to your room.”

  The rest of the process only took roughly twenty minutes although it felt much longer than that and just like the man said, before he knew it he was on his way back to his room. When he made it to his room he heard Jen’s voice, though she sounded somewhat angry.

  “Well you should tell…” She trailed off.

  What is going on? He thought to himself. Who is she talking to? His question was answered quickly but the answer was surprising.

  “Hey sweetie.” Mrs. Lachey said as he was rolled into the room.

  “What’s going on?”

  The room was silent for a few seconds before Mr. Lachey spoke. “Don’t much care for your doctor. He’s kind of an ass.”

  Mike could see Jen out of the corner of his eyes and could tell that she was forcing a smile. He figured there was no point in pressing the matter right now, he’d ask Jen when they were alone. He knew she wouldn’t keep anything from him as far as medical stuff goes. “Seems that way.”

  Jen walked to Mike bent over kissed him on the forehead and set her hand on top of his. “How are you feeling?” Her eyes still red from tears. “You look more there.”

  “Still have some cob webs but it’s clearing up.” He moved his hand so he could hold hers. “I want to get this thing off my neck.”

  “I’m sure.” Jen smiled. “You look stupid with it on. It reminds me of a dog I had when I was younger that got burnt and had to wear one of those cones so he wouldn’t lick himself.”

  He let out a small muffled pain filled laugh and began to grimace.

  “Oh I’m sorry.” Jen began to tear up again. “Sorry.”

  ‘It’s ok just trying to make me feel better.”

  His parents had now joined them on the other side of him his mother holding his hand and his father with his hands up on her shoulders. “Hopefully we get some results soon. They don’t seem to be extremely busy so shouldn’t take too long.”

  The room became uncomfortably silent Mike even in his present state could tell that there was something that lingered from the conversation he had interrupted. “Will you turn on ESPN?” He asked. “I want to hear what they are saying, if anything. I don’t even know if we made the bowl game yet.”

  “You sure?” Jen asked in a concerned tone. “I’m sure they are saying something there were a storm of reporters as we were getting on the ambulance.”

  “I think we should ignore the media for a few days” His mother added. “I saw a couple reporters here as we were coming back to your room too.”

  “I agree with your mother Mal, should stay away from the media for a few days.” Mr. Lachey shot a glance over to Jen and smiled. “At least till we know what’s going on with you.”

  “They do tend to blow things out of proportion.” Jen said as she looked back down at Mike. “Once we get all the info we can make an official statement and then we won’t get caught up in all the hoopla. I can talk to coach about the game.”

  “Yeah I guess you’re right.”

  Just then there was a knock on the door. “Can I come in?” It was Dr. McMillan.

  “Yes.” Jen answered.

  “Good.” He said as he opened the door and let himself in. “Ok, we got some of the results back and the brain scans don’t show and severe trauma.”

  Jen exhaled in relief. “That’s good.”

  “So no severe damage to the brain however you do have a mild concussion though and we are still waiting for a few more results from x-ray. I do know however that you do not have a broken neck or spine. As soon as we get the rest we will let you know for sure what’s going on.” He walked up around to the top of Mike’s head, sat his clipboard on the free chair. He pulled out a small pen light and shined it into his eyes one at a time. “We are definitely going to keep you here for twenty-four hour observation. If the x-rays come back ok and everything is still good we can release you tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good.” Mike said as he tried to blink the bright yellow spots the flashlight had left in his eyes away. “When can I get cleared to play in case we made the bowl game coming up?”

  “Well for that you are going to have to see a neurologist. I don’t even want to venture a guess.”

  “What about this collar?”

  “Well I ordered you some meds, nothing crazy, just some vicodin for the pain and some ibuprofen to keep down any inflammation. When the nurse comes and gives you those I’ll have her take it off for you, if you promise not to move around much.”

  “Yeah, of course.” Mike said.

  “Thank you.” Mrs. Lachey smiled as she patted Mike’s hand.

  “Well that’s what I’m here for.” He shot her a smile. “There are a couple of reporters outside we made them leave the waiting room. Do you want me to tell them anything or would you guys like to deal with that later? I’d imagine all that stuff would get tiresome so I’d be more than happy.”

  “Actually if you could tell them what you told us that would be great.” Mr. Lachey answered. “They get to be a bit much and we’d like to avoid them as long as possible.”

  “Ok I can do that.” He grabbed his clipboard. “We are going to be moving him to a private room here shortly. The nurse will tell you more about all that when she comes in.”

  “Thanks again Doc.” Mr. Lachey said.

  The doctor nodded and exited the room.

  Just like he said, a few minutes later a nurse came in and gave Mike his medications and removed his neck brace. “We are going to have an orderly come transfer him to room 314B. He’s right outside the door so if you’ll follow me I’ll take you to the room and they will meet us up there.”

  Jen looked down at Mike. “We’ll see you up there.” She bent down and gave him a kiss.

  The nurse lead Jen and his parents out of the room as the orderly was coming in.

  He couldn’t have been more than sixteen. “You ready Mr. Lachey?” He asked.

  “Just Mike and yeah all set bud.”

  The orderly unlocked the wheels to his bed and began to push him out of the room. He wheeled him down the hall carefully swerving around corners and obstacles in the hall.

  “How old are you?” Mike asked.

  “Sixteen.”

  “What are you doing working here?”

  “I volunteer here on the weekends.” He responded with a smile as they entered the elevator.

  ‘Wow that’s impressive. I don’t remember what I was doing on the weekends at sixteen but it sure wasn’t volunteering at the hospital.”

  “Looks good on college apps.” The orderly wheeled him out of the elevator and started maneuvering him through the hall again.

  Mike smiled. “Yes it does, smart kid.” Mike felt odd calling anyone a kid being that he was so young himself. Before either of them could say anything else they were right outside his room for the night. “Thanks.”

  The orderly nodded as he wheeled him into the room. “Welcome.” He smiled and walked out.

  Jen was the only one waiting for Mike as he was wheeled into his room. “They went to get a couple drinks.” She said as if knowing he would be wondering.

  Mike was unsure of the amount of time he’d have so he asked before he could waste any more time. “What were you guys arguing about?”

  Her face became serious and stiff. “Nothing you need to worry about right now. We’ll talk about it later.”

  Mike looked at her debating whether to press the matter or not but decided it would be best left for another time. Luckily he did because his parents walked back into the room just a few minutes later.

  “We got you some Gatorade.” His father said as he sat it down on the bedside table. “Figure you need to keep your fluids up.”

  “Good idea.” Mike answered.

  “Speaking of fluids
sweetie.” Jen smiled. “You smell.”

  Mike smiled trying hard no to laugh. “Yeah I suppose I do. We should see if we can get some stuff and you can give me a sponge bath.”

  Jen smiled. “We’ll see.”

  “Well that doesn’t sound too promising.” He reached and took her hand. “Those pills are helping.”

  “Empty stomach plus narcotics usually equal a happy customer. Just hope it doesn’t make you sick.” Jen grabbed the bottle of Gatorade and opened it up handing it to Mike. “Drink some.”

  Mike obliged and took a few large gulps then handed the bottle back to her.

  “Wonder if you can have some food.” Mrs. Lachey said. “Where is your little button thing?” She reached and grabbed the call light and presses the button and a second later a voice came through a little speaker on the wall.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “Um we were wondering if he can have some food. He has barely eaten anything all day.”

  “Let me check his chart real quick.” The speaker went silent. “We can get him something if you’d like.” The same nurse said through the speaker a minute later.

  “That would be great.” Mrs. Lachey replied.

  “Ok we will send in a menu and he can select what he’d like.”

  Within minutes the same orderly that had brought him to his room was knocking on the door to bring in the menu. “I’ll wait outside just yell for me when you’re done.”

  “It won’t take long.” Mike said as he began to look over the menu. “I never did get your name.”

  “Jacob.” He said with a smile.

  “Jacob here volunteers on weekends.” Mike said as he continued to look over the menu. “Sixteen, it’s impressive.”

  “Wow.” Jen said. “When I was sixteen, I was wasting my time at the mall thinking my fashion dilemmas were the worst thing in the world. Here you are helping people.”

  “Thanks, looks good on college apps.”

  “Still.” Mike was about to hand his menu to Jacob when Jen snatched it out of his hand. “Hey.”

  “Making sure you aren’t going to make yourself sick.” She glanced over the menu, made a few adjustments and then handed the menu to Jacob. “That’s better.” She said as she smiled at Mike.

  Jacob took the menu and left the room smiling.

  “Nice Kid.” Mrs. Lachey said.

  “You know, you two should head home, it’s getting late.” Mike said to his parents.

  “We can’t leave with you in here like this.” Mrs. Lachey answered

  “Like what?” Mike smiled. “I’m not dying mom, it’s just a mild concussion. I’m bound to get a few over my career.”

  “I just don’t think we should leave.”

  “I’ll be fine, I’m only here for observation and chances are I’ll be going to sleep in the near future anyways.” He rubbed his forehead. “Especially the way these meds are working.

  Mrs. Lachey looked over at her husband. “What do you think?”

  “I think it’s getting late and we have a long drive ahead of us so if he says he’s ok then it’s not a bad idea to leave.”

  Grudgingly Mrs. Lachey agreed to leave and they gave their hugs, kisses, and said their goodbyes and began to leave.

  “Oh please tell Janet thank you for taking Tracy and Grant home.”

  “We will.” They turned and walked out the door giving a last minute wave as they did.

  After about an hour after his parents left, his food finally came. Jacob brought it in to him. They shared a brief conversation about college and then he went about his business.

  When Mike lifted the lid his tray contained nothing that he had ordered, except for his drink which was water anyways. “What did you do?”

  “What?” Jen asked. “Oh that, well you didn’t need what you ordered we needed something light so you don’t get sick.”

  “Well, we may have needed this… but I wanted a burger.”

  “Well I ordered you soup, so enjoy.”

  Mike shook his head as he began to eat and about half way through the soup he was grateful for Jen’s interference. He sat his spoon down and pushed away his tray. “You were right.”

  “Poor baby is your tummy upset.” She said in a condescending tone with a large smile.

  “Sometimes I don’t like you. You know that right?”

  “Yes.” She stood up and kissed him on the forehead. “But you always love me.”

  “True.”

  Mike laid there for what seemed like an hour debating on asking Jen about what she and his parents were arguing about. When he finally decided he was going to, Jen’s cell phone went off.

  “Hello?” She answered. “Yeah he’s ok… Just overnight.” She paused for a few minutes “Yeah but I’m not exactly sure yet.” There was another pause but it was shorter this time. “Ok thanks Tracy.” She hung up her phone then took her seat back at Mike’s bedside. “That was Tracy she was calling to see how we were.”

  “That was nice of her.”

  “Yeah she’s a sweetheart.”

  “What did her and Grant think about the game?”

  “Well up until the end they were really into it. It was funny actually.”

  “Well glad they had fun.”

  “Me too.” She reached up and took Mike’s hand. “Never really got to the bottom of their relationship though.”

  Mike smiled. “Well you’ll have to try harder next time.”

  “Seems that way.” She pulled his hand up and kissed it. “You should try and get some rest.”

  “Can I?”

  “Can you what?”

  “Can I sleep? I didn’t think you were supposed to sleep with a fresh concussion.”

  “But you told your parents…”

  “Just so they’d leave. They didn’t need to be here and they have a long drive.”

  “Oh.” Jen reached up and hit the call light and a few seconds later the same female voice as before came through.

  “What can I do for you?” The nurse asked in a sweet voice.

  “Can he sleep?” Jen asked.

  You could easily tell that the nurse was smiling at this question. “Yes he can sleep. We have to come in every couple hours though to check on him.”

  “Ok thank you. Sorry for bothering you, we just wanted to make sure.”

  “You’re fine sweetie; we get asked that question all the time. It’s a very valid question.”

  “Good then I won’t feel so silly.” Jen said to the voice in the speaker.

  “Well then it’s settled.” Mike said as she finished her conversation. “I am going to try and rest it’s been a long day.”

  “Yes it has.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Sleep.”

  “Where?” He asked. “No way are you going to get comfortable in that chair.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I might.”

  He scooted over to one side of the bed. “Here” He patted the empty spot beside him.

  Jen smiled and slowly climbed in beside him. With her head on his pillow and her arm across his body she leaned and kissed his cheek. “You still stink.” She whispered into his ear with a smile.