𝘼𝙁𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙒𝙀 𝘾𝙍𝘼𝙎𝙃𝙀𝘿 ↣ 𝙊𝙉𝙀 𝘿𝙄𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉

35. HEARTBREAK WEATHER

It took about fifteen hours for the sedation to wear off and Karter to wake up.

When he came to, the doctors pulled the ventilator tube from his chest. He coughed and I was quick to offer him a drink of water. After taking a drink and squeezing his eyes shut, he started to talk.

"Is Keenan okay?" was the first thing out of his mouth.

"She's okay," Louis said. "Zayn ran her home to grab a change of clothes, they should be back in a couple minutes."

"The painkillers," he mumbled. That was the second thing. "I don't want them."

"Karter, you just underwent brain surgery," Dr. Winn, the brain surgeon, said. "Without painkillers you're going to be miserable. Nauseous from pain. You'll take longer to recover."

"Please," Karter whined, squeezing his eyes shut. He opened them and looked at Louis and I. "Please," he begged quietly.

Karter Smith, our formerly hot headed and sarcastic teenage boy, was laying flat on his back below us begging for our consent. He was an addict, and he was terrified of becoming addicted again.

He was choosing one pain over another.

"Love?" Louis offered the decision to me. He didn't know.

"He can go without pain killers if that's what he wants," I said quietly, looking to the doctor. I sat down in the chair beside his bed and brushed his hair off of his forehead. "If you change your mind, just let us know. Okay, buttercup?"

"Yeah," he murmured. I knew his mind wouldn't be changed.

Dr. Winn disconnected his morphine drip and made a note in his chart to forgoe pain killers unless requested by the patient. "The morphine will start wearing off now, and in about half an hour it will be out of your system completely. Okay, Karter?"

"Okay," Karter whispered.

The doctor left the three of us alone. Louis sat next to me and rested his forearms on the hospital bed mattress.

"The adoption went through yesterday," Louis told him. Karter's closed eyes cracked open.

"Really?"

"Really," Louis said.

Karter's bruised face pulled into a smile.

"That's awesome," he said. "Does Keenan know?"

"Do I know what?" Louis and I looked back. Keenan was standing in the doorway, a sad smile on her lips. Louis and I stood up and moved out of the way so they could see each other clearly.

Karter did his best to sit up. His arms fell open, offering a hug. Keenan ran the few feet across the room and collided with him. Karter's face scrunched in discomfort but he made no move to let his little sister go.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she promised. She pulled out of the hug a few inches to look him over. "Are you taking the pain killers?"

"No," Karter said, shaking his head. He then realized that moving his head in any way was a bad idea. Carefully, slowly, he lowered his head down onto the pillow below him.

Louis and I looked back at Zayn, who was standing in the doorway. We stepped back to him, giving our kids a little bit of space.

"I'm glad he's awake," Zayn said. He pushed a hand through his raven hair and offered us a strong smile. "I'll let everyone else know?"

"That would be great," Louis said through an exhale.

The boys and their families had pulled together to support us. They stopped by with flowers and stuffed animals. Niall and Cameron brought leftovers from their dinner, not that Louis, Keenan or I (but especially Keenan) had any appetite.