Forest Lake

Chapter 42

My heart was beating a mile a minute. All I wanted to do was run to her.

“Unfortunately, Brexanolone can cause irregularities with the heart, especially in the high dose he gave her.” the doctor continued, making my stomach twist. “Her blood pressure and heartbeat increased dangerously, but we managed to stabilize them. We will need to monitor her continuously in case it happens again. We are not sure about the other drugs at the moment, but they could have an effect on her heart as well.”

The room was spinning, and I wanted to break down everything around me.

“Will she be okay?” Chris asked, his voice shaking.

“Yes.” the doctor nodded, and I wanted to cry in relief. “The drugs should be out of her system soon. We are hoping that she won’t have another heart episode.”

“She won’t die?” I managed to ask, my voice cracking at the end.

“No, Mr. Richardson.” the doctor said with a small smile. “She will be okay. As I said, we need to monitor her heart and be careful, but she will be okay.”

I covered my face with my hands and sobbed.

Chris gripped my shoulder tightly.

“I want to see her.” I mumbled, hoping that the doctor would be able to hear me with my hands covering my mouth.

“Sure, Mr. Richardson.” the doctor said. “She is asleep at the moment, and she won’t be awake for a while.”

I didn’t care. I needed to touch her and see her and make sure that she was breathing.
I moved my hands from my face and stood up.

“What about us?” Chris asked, standing up as well.

No. Fuck no. Nobody is getting close to her right now.

“Just her brother for now.” the doctor said. “You can visit her when she wakes up.”

“Okay.” Chris mumbled, but I could see he wasn’t happy.

I didn’t give a shit, though.

“We will be here, Mason.” Jax said, rubbing Hazel’s back soothingly. “Please let us know how she is doing.”

I nodded and followed the doctor to her room.

He was leading me through different halls, but I didn’t pay attention to anything around me. I simply couldn’t. I needed him to walk faster. I wanted Emma now.

We finally reached the door, and the doctor stopped and turned to me.

“Don’t be alarmed with all the wires, okay?” he said softly. “We need to monitor her closely, so she is hooked up to a lot of different machines. We will be removing them as soon as the drugs are out of her body.”

I nodded, trying to stop myself from screaming at him to just let me in.

He turned back around and opened the door.

My sister was laying on the bed, with several different machines hooked up to her. She looked so small and fragile that another sob escaped me.

I ran to her and leaned my forehead on hers. I wrapped my arms around her carefully. I didn’t want to mess with any wires and hurt her.

“Hi, Emmy.” I mumbled, closing my eyes. “I am here. You are safe. He will never touch you again. Nobody will ever touch you again. I promise. I will always keep you safe.”

I wished she would respond. I wished she would open her eyes.

But she didn’t.

“When will she wake up?” I asked the doctor as I raised my head and looked at him.

“I am not sure.” he said. “In a few hours, probably.”

I nodded and started to remove the wires carefully.

“What are you doing, Mr. Richardson?” the doctor asked, stopping me.

I almost punched him.

“I am laying down next to her.” I said, ripping my arm out of his grasp.

“You can’t do that.” he sighed, trying to move me away.

I saw red. No one will take me away from her ever again.

“Don’t tell me what to do.” I said angrily, clenching my fists. “I will be careful with the wires, but I am laying down next to her.”

I was ready to punch him and send him flying out of the room.

The doctor studied my face for a moment before he sighed and nodded.

“Press the red button if you need anything.” he said pointing at the button above her bed. “I will check on her in an hour.”

I nodded and went back to rearranging the wires.

I climbed in next to her carefully. I wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead.

“I love you.” I mumbled quietly. “Please wake up soon.”