Changed

by Heather Dahlgren

  “Campbell, I promise you they will do everything possible to make sure she is alright.” I don’t say anything I just let my tears fall and rest my head on her hand. It doesn’t last long though.

  “We need to get out now, Campbell. I’ll let you give her a quick kiss, but then we need to go.”

  I get up and rest my lips on hers. “I love you so much, Kenz. Please fight, baby, please.” I get out of the ambulance and watch them rush her in. I walk through the doors up to the receptionist. “My girlfriend was just brought in by ambulance. Can you tell me where I need to wait so the doctor can find me?” She instructs me down the hall to a small waiting room.

  I am the only one in here and I am grateful for that. I pace the entire room for what feels like hours. The door opens and in come the girls with Young and Dick. I rush over to Maddie and Becca to pull them into a hug. We hold onto each other while we all cry over the pain we each feel. We all pull apart, then Young and Dick both give me a tight hug.

  “Have you heard anything?” Dick asks.

  “No. Nothing. It’s fucking killing me. Why the fuck aren’t they in here telling me something?” The girls are sitting with their arms wrapped around each other. Young and Dick are standing next to me.

  “You need to give them time to make sure everything is good. They will be in soon man.” Young says.

  “What the fuck happened anyway?” I turn to Maddie.

  “When I went outside that piece of shit Joe from school threw her against the wall. She already must have been hurt because I saw her head just smash back into the wall.”

  I have to bend over at the waist to breathe through the sick feeling. “Did you tell the cops?” Maddie and Becca are no longer paying attention to me. They are both crying holding each other.

  “The cops know everything man. They interviewed Maddie before we could leave. They have his name, I’m sure they probably have him in custody already.” Dick tells me.

  “I hope they didn’t find him because I’m going to fucking kill him. I am going to bust his fucking head open on a brick wall.” I say completely serious. I will kill that fucking piece of shit for doing this to my girl.

  It’s quiet for a few minutes before Young says, “Campbell I have a change of clothes in the car if you want me to go grab them.” I give him a questioning look. He points to my clothes so I look down.

  Holy shit, I didn’t realize I am covered in blood, her blood. My shirt and jeans have blood all over. I lift my hands and they have blood on them too. I close my eyes to try to fight back the tears. I am covered in my girl’s blood for fuck sake.

  “No, I’m good, man.” I am not leaving until I talk to the doctor. Not even to get out of the blood covered clothes or wash my hands.

  “Oh, I called her dad. He is on his way.” Becca says.

  Shit, I didn’t even consider the fact that her family would be here. I hope this isn’t going to be awkward for anyone. I hope he doesn’t know I was a dick in high school. That is all meaningless now though. What’s important is making sure my girl is going to be alright.

  “How fucking long have we been waiting?” I ask again for the millionth time.

  “Dude it’s only been fifteen minutes from the last time you asked.” Dick says.

  We’ve been waiting for almost two hours now. I’ve asked every nurse I can find what the hell is going on. No one gives me any answers. They all say they will look into for me. Young walks back into the room with coffee for everyone. He passes them out to everyone, but I don’t take it.

  “I’m good.” I can’t stomach the idea of drinking coffee right now. I need to know how Kenz is. Just then, the waiting room door opens and a doctor walks in. My heart drops into my stomach. I’m scared shitless to hear what he has to say.

  “I’m looking for Campbell?” he says.

  “That’s me.” Everyone jumps up and comes to stand next to me. The doctor looks at me questioning if he can talk freely.

  “We all love her. You can talk to us all.” I say.

  “Very well. My name is Dr. Keet and I’ve been taking care of Kenz. She has some severe head trauma from her head being banged on the brick wall. The good news is there is no brain trauma. We did an MRI and CAT SCAN both were clear. We did x-rays to check for broken bones, her wrist is broken probably from falling to the ground after she blacked out. She has no internal injuries. She is still unconscious, but I expect her to wake up in a few hours. Her body is trying to protect its self.” I stare at him in complete shock.

  “So you’re telling me that she is going to be alright?”

  He gives me a smile and says, “She is going to be alright. She is going to have to stay for monitoring after she wakes up, just to make sure. Other than external injuries that will heal in time, she should make a full recovery.”

  I feel myself start to relax for the first time in hours. The relief I feel is unexplainable.

  “Thank you, Dr. Keet. When can I see her?” I can hear the girls crying beside me, but I know it is from relief this time.

  “She is being moved to a room. A nurse will come get you when you can see her.” I shake his hand, thanking him again. He leaves the room and I fucking smile, thanking God for not taking my girl.

  We are sitting in the waiting room feeling lighter than we did just moments before.

  “Best fucking news ever.” Young says.

  “No shit. I am so relived.” Dick adds.

  I haven’t said anything yet. I feel better knowing she is going to be alright, but I need to see her. I need to touch her, to know she is alright.

  “I was never so scared in my life. That image will forever be in my head.” Maddie says and begins to cry again. Young goes to her and pulls her into his arms. He is whispering in her ear, she shakes her head and they continue to hold on tightly to each other. I guess there is something more going on with them. I smile looking at them. Becca comes to sit next to me.

  “Campbell?” I turn to look at her. She looks so sad and scared.

  “What’s up, Becca?” She runs her fingers under her eyes to catch the tears that start to fall.

  “Thank you for loving Kenz the way you do. I know you guys have some things to work through, but I know that you still love her. Please don’t let what happen break you guys. Kenz has been miserable without you. I just want her to be happy.” I pull her to me and give her a tight hug.

  “I never for one second felt any different about her. I love her more than anything. She was and still is my world. I will never do anything to hurt her again. I swear to you.” I pull back and she has a smile on her face with tears running down her cheeks.

  “You two are meant to be together.”

  “Damn right we are.”

  The door opens and a nurse walks in.

  “I’m looking for Campbell.” I jump up.

  “That’s me.”

  “If you follow me I’ll bring you to Kennedy’s room.”

  I turn to everyone before I leave. “I’ll text you her room when I get there.”

  I follow her through all the hallways and doorways. There are people all around. Some talking to doctors, some are laughing and some are embracing. I wonder what they are here for. Is it something happy like the birth of a child or live altering like death? I look down at my blood stained clothes wondering what these people think when they see me.

  “We are almost there.” The nurse says as we wait at yet another door for it to be unlocked. My hands start to get sweaty, my stomach is in knots, and my heart feels like it’s going to explode. The door opens and we walk through. I follow her past a few rooms until she stops. “This is her room. She is still unconscious, but you can talk to her. We believe that she can hear everything you say. If you need anything just come out to the nurse’s station.” She gives me a smile and pat on the arm.

  I take a deep breath and walk in. I see my beautiful girl laying in that bed and I can’t get to her fast enough. There is a chair by the bed so I pull it over. I sit and tak
e in her appearance. Her head wrapped in gauze, face is starting to bruise. She has a blanket up to her shoulders, except for the right arm with the broken wrist that is artfully placed on top of the blanket. She has a cast on that stops half way to her elbow. I reach out and carefully touch her fingers that stick out of the cast. I look up at her, stand, and lean over to kiss her. I press my lips to hers and begin to cry.

  “Oh baby, I’m so sorry for everything. I’m sorry I was an asshole back in high school. That I treated you badly, that I didn’t stop other people from doing it. I’m sorry that I waited this long to come to you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there tonight to protect you. I swear I will never let anything happen to you again.” I kiss her lips again and again. I kiss her cheeks, eyes and her forehead. “I love you so much, Kenz. I will always love you. You’re my world, my heart. I’m lost without you.” I kiss her lips once more and sit back down. I grab her hand that has the cast and hold it. “I was waiting for you, beautiful. I was at the bar. I wanted to fix everything, to fix us. When Maddie screamed for me, I was never so scared in my life. When I saw you, I thought I lost you for good. The thought of it makes me sick. I can’t go on without you Kenz.” I lay my head down on our hands and cry out all the fear and pain I’ve felt over the last few hours.

  After a while, I look up at her. “Come on baby. Open your eyes. Wake up, please.” I need her to wake up. I need to hear her voice, to know if she is in any pain. “Kenz, baby. Please open your beautiful eyes for me.” Still nothing. I sit pleading with her for about a half hour. I am desperate for her to wake up. I promise her I’ll never leave her again. I tell her how beautiful she is, how she is my life. I beg her to wake up. Nothing. I lay my head back on our hands and wait.

  I hear the door open, but I assume it’s another nurse so I don’t bother to look up.

  “Campbell?” I snap my head up at the deep man’s voice. As soon as I see him, I know it’s Kenz’s dad. I give her fingers a kiss and get up.

  “Yes, I’m Campbell Boyd. You must be Mr. Greene.” I stick out my hand to shake his. I don’t know what he knows about me. I have no idea if he thinks I’m a fucking asshole or if he thinks I’m the man who loves his daughter. I am hoping it’s the latter.

  “Please, call me John.” He sticks his hand out to shake mine. “I spoke to the doctor and nurses, they told me they expect her to have a full recovery.”

  I shake my head. “Yes, sir.”

  He walks over to the bed and kisses her cheek. “Oh, Kennedy. Are you trying to put your old man in the grave?” He kisses her cheek again and pulls a chair over next to where mine is. “Let’s sit.”

  “What the fuck happened? They said she was attacked. Is that true?” I take a deep breath.

  “Yes, sir. She was on her way to meet everyone at the bar and this ass ... um ... guy from school attacked her.”

  He covers his mouth with his hands. “Son of a bitch.” He mumbles.

  We sit in silence for a bit, both of us lost in our own thoughts. It’s strange to be meeting him for the first time under such horrible circumstances. I wish I would have known him before this happened.

  “So, Campbell Boyd, you’re from Toms River too aren’t you? Your parents are Christina and James?” I look over at him.

  “Yes, sir. Do you know my parents?”

  He gives a small laugh. “Everyone knows your father. He’s a great man.”

  He is a great man. He owns a restaurant in town. He is very successful, but he is down to earth. He does a lot for charity and if someone is just down on their luck, he makes sure they have extra food from the restaurant. My mom is just as wonderful. She doesn’t need to work, but she is a cafeteria aid at one of the local elementary schools. She loves to be around the kids and they love her just as much. She is always doing some kind of fundraiser. I am lucky that my parents are so wonderful. “Thank you, sir.”

  “You went to school with Kennedy, right?”

  Shit, I do not want to talk about this especially now. Although, I won’t lie to him either, “Yes, sir, I did. We didn’t really know each other until we met last year though.” I’m not sure if he believes me or not, but he doesn’t say anything else on the matter.

  “Kennedy told me you guys have been dating for a year. When the hell was I going to meet you son?” I can’t help the smile that spreads on my face.

  “I have been trying to get us all together for months now. Your daughter can be a bit stubborn when she wants to be.” Shit I hope I didn’t just piss him off calling her stubborn. He chuckles next to me.

  “She is stubborn just like her mom.” A sad expression passes his face while he looks at Kenz. “She looks just like her mom. Absolutely beautiful.”

  I smile over at John and say, “No argument here. She is my beautiful girl.” He slaps my back and nods his head. I think I just got his approval.

  We sit for about an hour together. Talking or just sitting and staring at Kenz. “I’m going to go down to the cafeteria for a bite to eat and some coffee. Would you like to come?” There is not a chance in hell I’m leaving my girl.

  “No, thanks, sir. I’ll stay here.” He gets up and heads to the door. He turns around before leaving.

  “Campbell? Just so you know, she may not have brought you home to meet me, but I knew all about you. I think she may love you. Which is not easy for a father to except.”

  I look right up at him because I want him to know how serious I am. “I love your daughter, John. More than anything. I will never let anything happen to her again. I promise you that.”

  He shakes his head. “Good to know.” Then he leaves me alone with her again.

  As soon as I am alone with her, I get up to kiss her again. It’s been to fucking long since I’ve kissed her and held her in my arms. I kiss her lips and say, “Come on baby. It’s just you and me. Wake up, talk to me. I miss you, beautiful.” I kiss her again. “I love you Kennedy Greene.” I hear a throat clear and look up to see who it is. Young, Dick, Maddie, and Becca are all standing there. “Hey.” I say and pull away from Kenz. The girls rush over to her, one on either side of the bed. I walk over to talk with the guys.

  “What’s going on?” Dick asks.

  “No change.” I say blowing out a breath and rubbing my neck.

  “The doctor said she will wake up soon, man. Just give it a little time.” I look over at Young.

  “I know what he said, but I just want my girl to fucking wake up already. I need to hear her voice.” Neither of them says anything, because honestly what can they say. I can hear the girls whispering to her, it makes me smile. I am so fucking grateful that she has these amazing girls in her life.

  The five of us are sitting around talking about anything, but what happened tonight. I’m sure we are all doing it for the same reason, to try to think of anything but the attack. It isn’t working so well for me because I am holding my girl’s hand covered in a cast.

  “Remember the first time we all met at the bar. I never would have thought we would all become such great friends.” Becca says. I think back to that night and how Kenz ran out. She ran out because she knew who I was, she was scared I would recognize her and be that same asshole I used to be. I am so disgusted with myself for causing her that pain.

  “As soon as Kenz is out of here we are going to have a kickass party with lots of alcohol and truth or dare.” We all laugh at Young.

  “When my girl gets out of here, I have a lot of making up to do.” I say looking at her, wishing she would just open her eyes.

  “Everything is going to be alright Campbell. She loves you.” Maddie says. I look over at her, again noticing that she is at Young’s side. His arm is wrapped around her. Looks like he finally found the balls to show how he feels. I can’t wait to tease the shit out of him.

  “I know everything is going to be alright Maddie. I love her too much to let her go.” A half hour later, they decide to go join John in the cafeteria. I promise to get ahold of them as soon as she wakes up.

 
; “Kenz, come on baby wake up. I can’t take it anymore. Please.” I don’t know how much longer I can stand this. It’s fucking killing me. I stand up kiss her lips and run my fingers down her face. I place my hands on either side of her face and rest my forehead on hers. She loves when I do this. “Baby, wake up. You can do it. Open your beautiful eyes. I’m right here I’m not going anywhere. Wake up Kenz.” For the first time I see her eyes move behind her lids. Holy shit. “That’s it baby. Come on wake up. I need you Kenz. I love you so much.” This time she squeezes her eyes tightly. “Kenz?” My heart is racing my stomach is flipping over. “Beautiful, wake up for me. It’s just you and me baby.” She begins to blink her eyes. “Oh my God. Kenz.” I kiss her lips and pull back slightly to see her better. She has her eyes cracked open. “Oh, baby. I love you. I love you so fucking much. I’m so sorry for everything.” I whisper because I’m sure she is in a great deal a pain. A tear runs down her face. I wipe it with my thumb. “Don’t cry baby. Everything is going to be alright. I promise you that. Are you alright? Are you in any pain? Can I get you anything?” I need to let the nurse know she is awake, but I’m being selfish right now. I just want her to myself. She opens her eye more and closes them quickly.

  “Ouch.” She says so quietly that if I wasn’t right next to her I would not have heard it. As much as I want it to be just the two of us, I press the call button for the nurse. I won’t have her in any pain.

  “The nurse will be in here soon baby. They will check you over, give you pain medicine.” She blinks her eyes open again. I have tears running down my face and as soon as she notices, she begins to cry too. “I love you, Kennedy.”

  I can’t help crying when I see him and hear him even though it is causing me extreme pain.

  “Shh, baby don’t cry.” I lift my right arm to touch his face, but it feels extremely heavy. My eyes widen and I look up at Campbell. “Your wrist is broken baby, you have a cast on it.” I close my eyes again; the pain is over whelming. “Kenz, don’t fall back to sleep baby. Open your eyes, please.” I can’t deny the pleading tone of his voice. I crack my eyes open again. I can’t seem to stop the tears. I’m over whelmed with everything. Joe attacking me, Campbell being right here with me.