Kate had met Trevor during her senior year of college. He was the friend of another friend’s boyfriend, and they had actually been trying to set him up with someone else. One look at Kate, however, and Trevor never looked away.
Their parents weren’t quite as enthusiastic about the relationship. They thought Trevor, who was twenty-five at the time, was too old for their daughter. And they didn’t think much of his occupation as a part-time construction worker, part-time college student. But Trevor was determined to make something of himself. Within a year of meeting Kate, he had spent a semester at the University of Texas at Dallas, studying to become an engineer. Their parents had warmed up to him a little, but recently, in the midst of their divorce filings, they’d both been pretty distant. Gavin guessed that needed to change, considering Trevor was about to become their son-in-law.
“Well, since we’re going to spend the evening in, why don’t you go open a bottle of wine while I change into something sexy?” Tiffany grinned.
“But you didn’t bring any other clothes.”
“I know,” she winked. That Gavin understood.
~*~
Hours later, the persistent ringing of Gavin’s cell phone stirred him from a wine-induced slumber. He opened his eyes and looked around the living room, trying to remember what had happened before he fell asleep. A quick glance at the brunette lying across his chest answered all his hazy questions.
It was worth it, he decided, despite the pounding headache that plagued him every time he drank too much red wine.
His phone rang again. Who the hell was calling him? He was pretty sure most of his friends were spending the day inside, warm, maybe even the way he was spending it. Who would want to be out on a night like this? Unless...
Oh, God. He’d forgotten to call Kate and Trevor to tell them that he and Tiffany were opting out of dinner. Man, Kate was gonna be pissed.
Miraculously, he managed to slip off the couch without waking his girlfriend. He stumbled hastily into the kitchen, where he’d left his phone, and answered without checking to see who was calling.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I fell asleep. Please don’t be mad,” he mumbled.
“Gavin?” his mother whimpered. It sounded like she was crying.
“Mom?” Gavin asked, instantly sobered by the sound of her tears. “Mom, what’s the matter?”
“It’s K-Kate...” She was crying so hard, she could barely get the words out. “She was in an accident.”
In that moment, time stood still. Suddenly, it felt like everything in Gavin’s body was shutting down, as though it had somehow forgotten how to exist. He couldn’t tell one sense from another. He was numb and in excruciating pain and for a few seconds, he was certain he was going to throw up. He took a few deep breaths and waited for the world to set itself right. A few seconds ago, everything was fine. If he could just figure out how to go back to that moment, then maybe this one wouldn’t have to happen.
And then, just like that, he found his voice again.
“What happened? Is she okay?”
“I don’t know. They won’t tell us anything,” Terri sobbed. “I’m so scared, Gavin...”
“Mom, where are you? Is Dad with you?” But his mother didn’t answer. A few seconds later, his father’s voice was on the line.
“Hello?”
“Dad? What’s happening? Where are you?”
“Medical City Plano.” His father wasn’t crying, but he was clearly shaken.
“Okay, I’ll be right there,” Gavin assured him. He’d begun to tremble. He needed to get to the hospital. He needed to know that Kate was going to be okay.
“Gavin,” his father implored. “Please be careful out there, son.”
As soon as he hung up the phone, Gavin dashed into his room and threw on a ratty pair of jeans and the first T-shirt he found lying around. Then, he grabbed his phone, keys, wallet, and a jacket and was almost out the door before a sleepy voice from the couch asked him what was going on.
Tiffany. He’d completely forgotten she was there.
“I have to get to the hospital,” he announced hastily. “Kate was in an accident.”
“Oh my God, is she okay?” Tiffany asked.
“I don’t know. I just have to get there.”
“Wait, Gavin! What about the roads?”
“I don’t care about the roads, Tiffany! My sister might be dying! I need to be at that hospital!” Tiffany paled and her blue eyes widened. Gavin was stunned himself. He had never yelled at a woman before in his life. But that didn’t matter now. All that mattered was getting to the hospital to be with his family. “Look, I’m sorry. You can stay here. I just need to go.”
“But, Gavin, - ”
He was out the door before she could finish.
~*~
He arrived at the hospital ten minutes and two run red lights later. One of them had probably caught him on camera, but he didn’t care. He rushed into the hospital and was pointed in the direction of the trauma ICU waiting room.
There, he found his distraught parents waiting with two people he’d never met before. They introduced themselves as Ted and Arlene Hanson, Trevor’s parents.
As soon as she saw him, Terri Avery threw herself into her son’s arms and wept. Gavin held her, smoothed her hair, and tried his hardest not to break down himself.
“What happened?” he asked.
“We got the call about an hour ago,” Rex told him. “Kate and Trevor hit a patch of black ice and ran head on into a tree. Thankfully, someone witnessed it and called the paramedics, but we don’t know how... how bad it is.” In other words, they didn’t know if either of them was going to survive.
An hour ago... that would have been the time he was supposed to meet them for dinner. And he’d never called to tell them that he didn’t want to risk driving in the ice and snow...
This time, Gavin knew he was going to be sick. Letting go of his mother, he ran across the hall to the men’s room and threw up. His dad appeared a few moments later. Gavin retched again. When he finished, he wiped his mouth and his father grabbed him and crushed him against his chest.
“It’s going to be okay, son,” he muttered as Gavin finally broke down.
“It’s my fault...” he whispered, his voice quivering.
“What?”
“It’s my fault!” Gavin cried, shoving away from his father. “Tiffany and I were supposed to meet them tonight, but we decided to stay in, and I fell asleep before I could call them...” By now, tears were flowing freely down Gavin’s face. “It’s my fault.”
“No, Gavin. It was no one’s fault. It was an accident.”
“But if I had just called them - ”
“Gavin. I need you to listen to me. It was not your fault. Now I need you to be strong for your mother. And for Kate.” Gavin wiped his eyes with his sleeve and nodded.
“Okay.”
“They haven’t told us anything yet. For all we know, Kate and Trevor are back there asking when they can go home.” His father didn’t sound at all like he thought that was what was actually happening, but Gavin needed to believe that it was. The thought of his little sister being hurt, really hurt, was more than he could handle.
They returned to the waiting room, where they sat in silence until about twenty minutes later, when a doctor in green scrubs approached them. One look at the grim expression on her face told Gavin everything he needed to know. Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t want to hear what this woman had to say. He just wanted to run. As far away as possible. But for some reason, he stayed planted in his seat. He felt his mother’s cold fingers grip his wrist. She remained seated next to him, her face white as a sheet. Rex, Ted, and Arlene, however, rose to greet the doctor.
“Mr. and Mrs. Hanson?”
“Yes?” Arlene asked, tearfully.
“My name is Dr. Harper. I operated on your son.”
“Is he alright? Can we see him?”
Dr. Harper took a deep breath and b
egan to explain Trevor’s extensive injuries. A rush in Gavin’s ears drowned out the doctor’s words. The news wasn’t about Kate. She was still in surgery. Although he didn’t want to admit it, he felt the tiniest sliver of relief. As long as they didn’t know what was going on, there was a chance that she was okay.
That relief was short lived, however, as he tuned back in to hear the doctor say, “I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, but he didn’t make it.”
“Oh no. No. No!” Arlene moaned and collapsed, weeping, into her husband’s arms. Ted held her tightly and cried with her.
Gavin watched the sad scene unfolding before his eyes, but he was having trouble processing it. Trevor was gone. It was unthinkable.
Somewhere through the haze of disbelief, Gavin heard his father ask, “Doctor. Do you know anything about our daughter?”
“I’m sorry. She’s in another O.R.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Shortly thereafter, the Hansons were escorted back to spend a few final moments with their son’s body. Gavin didn’t see them again for the rest of the evening.
~*~
He didn’t know how much time had passed. Word had somehow gotten out about the accident. Maybe Tiffany had posted something on Facebook. Regardless, Gavin’s phone had been lighting up with missed calls and text messages from concerned friends and family member so much that it had almost run out of battery.
By that point, the shock had warn off and the truth of what had happened was beginning to sink in. Gavin no longer felt like running. He just wanted answers.
Moments later, a man who, in Gavin’s opinion, looked far too young to be a doctor, appeared. All three Averys rose to greet him.
“I’m Dr. Singh. Are you with Kate Avery?” he asked.
“Yes. We’re her family,” Rex answered.
“Please, tell us she’s alright, doctor,” Terri pleaded.
“She’s stable. It was touch and go for a while, but her heart beat is strong and she’s breathing on her own.”
“Thank God,” Terri began to cry. Gavin felt weak, yet almost giddy, with relief.
“When can we see her? Has she asked for us?” Rex asked.
“Mr. Avery, your daughter suffered a severe brain injury. Now her vital signs are normal, but it will take an indefinite amount of time for her to recover from that trauma.”
“What are you trying to tell us, doctor?” Rex asked.
The doctor’s answer was direct and to the point. “She’s in a coma.”
~*~
She wasn’t brain dead. That was the good news. Brain dead meant the body wouldn’t survive without a machine to keep it alive. A coma, the doctor explained, was a natural part of the recovery process. The body remained unconscious while the brain healed itself. That meant there was a good chance that she would wake up. They just didn’t know how long it would take. Even the doctors couldn’t accurately predict it.
For the next few days, they all took shifts sitting next to Kate’s bedside. They wanted to make sure that she was never alone. The doctors told them to talk to her, that there was a good chance that she could hear them. One day, Gavin brought in her favorite book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and read to her.
Although Kate remained stable and the doctors were optimistic about her recovery, the rest of Gavin’s life was crumbling around him. His boss wasn’t very understanding about Gavin missing so much work, and although he wasn’t fired yet, he had been given his warnings. On top of that, Tiffany was beginning to get on his nerves. At first, she’d been a source of comfort and strength for Gavin. But after a few days, life at the hospital began to bore her. Gavin guessed he couldn’t blame her. She was young and energetic and she wanted to spend her evenings out and enjoying herself. Since they hadn’t been dating long enough for him to expect any real dedication from her, he told her to go out and have fun. But Tiffany seemed to think she had some sort of obligation to be there, and she made her displeasure at being holed up in a hospital room only too known.
On the last morning of their relationship, she threw a fit because Gavin told her that instead of spending his afternoon with her, he was going to stay with Kate while their parents paid their respects at Trevor’s funeral. Gavin had volunteered to stay behind. He didn’t want to face the hundreds of people who’d loved the man his sister was supposed to marry.
The man who’d still be alive if only he’d remembered to call.
In spite of his father’s constant assurance that it wasn’t his fault, Gavin was haunted by Trevor’s memory and a terribly guilty conscience. How could he face any of Trevor’s friends again? Many of them his own friends? And Kate... what was he supposed to say to her when she woke up and learned that her fiancé, whom she loved more than life itself, was dead and it was all because of him? He didn’t want to think about it.
“Baby, come on. You need some time away from this hospital,” Tiffany insisted.
“I don’t care. I’m not going to leave her.”
“Why not? It’s not like she knows you’re here.” Her words stung.
“You don’t know that.”
“Gavin, she’s in a coma. I don’t think two hours will matter much to her.”
“What if she wakes up? What if she wakes up and no one’s here?”
“I seriously doubt that’s going to happen.”
“Well then, I guess I’ll just spend a few more hours of my life in a hospital.”
Truth be told, Gavin really wasn’t too sad to see things end with Tiffany. Sure, she was beautiful and fun to be around, but Gavin needed someone a little more grounded in his life. After she stormed out, Gavin glanced down at Kate. She had labeled Tiffany as a “dingbat” from the start, but she’d tolerated her for Gavin’s sake. Now, looking down at his sister’s peaceful form, Gavin couldn’t help but smile a little.
“You were right, Sis,” he told her. “She was kind of crazy.”
Chapter 23
January 30
Three weeks and a few days later, life at the hospital had become almost routine. Gavin didn’t like that at all. He didn’t want it to become his new normal. He’d done some research on brain trauma and comas. Apparently, it could take as long as several months for a brain to recover, and since no two brain injuries were alike, it was almost impossible to predict how long a coma would last. That was the discouraging part.
Although the doctors assured them that Kate was healing, the fear still lingered that she might never wake up. The thought of his sweet, crazy, beautiful sister never opening her eyes again was excruciating and to be honest, Gavin wasn’t sure how much longer he could handle not knowing.
Then, just like that, the nightmare ended.
It was around one in the afternoon. Gavin and Rex sat reading in Kate’s room while Terri ran down to the cafeteria for a quick lunch. She hated being away from Kate for too long and more often than not, Gavin and Rex had to remind her that she needed to eat.
Gavin noticed the movement first. A slight twitch of Kate’s fingers. At first he thought he’d imagined it, but then it happened again.
He tried not to get too excited. Her fingers had twitched on occasion before and nothing had happened. But there was something different this time. He found himself holding his breath as the fingers on her left hand slowly bent, like she was trying to make a fist.
“Dad,” Gavin said. They both watched with anxious anticipation as Kate moaned softly and moved her head from one side to another. As she did, Terri walked into the room to find Gavin and Rex hovering over her daughter’s bed.
“What’s going on? Is she okay?” she asked.
“Just come here,” Rex urged her. As she approached the bed, Kate’s face scrunched up in a grimace. Terri gasped. “Kate?” Rex whispered gently. “Pumpkin?” Slowly, Kate opened her eyes. Terri began to cry. Rex heaved a happy sigh of relief. As for Gavin, he’d never felt more thankful for anything in his life.
For a brief moment, Kate looked completely lost, l
ike she had no idea what was going on. Then, her eyes focused in on the faces of her family, and although it took her a moment to recognize them, she smiled.
“Hey,” she whispered, her voice raspy.
“Hi, Baby,” Terri whispered tearfully.
“What happened?”
“You were in a car accident. You hit your head. But you’re going to be just fine.” Kate looked confused, like she had no idea what her mother was talking about. “Do you remember the accident?” Kate shook her head. “That’s probably for the best.”
Slowly, Kate’s eyes drifted from Gavin to Terri before finally settling on Rex. “Daddy,” she whispered.
“Yeah, Pumpkin?”
“What happened to your hair?” She sounded almost amused.
“My hair?” he asked. She nodded.
“It’s all gone.”
It was then that Gavin knew that something wasn’t right. Their dad had started losing his light blond hair the summer before her senior year of college. He’d finally accepted it and shaved it off the following April.
“I shaved it, Sweetheart, remember? Right before your graduation.”
“What?”
“I wanted to look nice for your graduation. So I shaved it.”
“What graduation?” By now, Kate was visibly distraught. Terri saw it too.
“Your college graduation. From SMU.” Kate’s eyes widened as it became apparent that she remembered no such event. Before anything else could be said, Dr. Singh appeared, looking cheerful.
“Well, look who’s awake,” he grinned.
“Doctor, something’s wrong,” Terri announced frantically. Gavin wanted to shake her. Didn’t she know that kind of tone was only going to upset Kate more? “She can’t remember anything.”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s not entirely the case.” He walked over to Kate’s bed and shone a flashlight into her eyes. “Can you tell me your name?”
“Katherine Elaine Avery.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“February 3.”
“What are your parents’ names?”
“Rex and Terri.”
“And your brother’s name?”
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