Strings Attached

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"How is he?' I asked the doctor as soon as he walked out of the operating room.

"Very delicate," he replied. "He is in ICU right now. We don't know if he'll wake up. The pole hit his head, and it caused his brain to become quite swollen."

"How's Brittany?" asked my mom as she squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.

The doctor lowered his face. "I'm afraid she did not make it," he said. "The pole hit her chest, and it caused her to bleed internally until her lungs were full of blood."

I could feel a lump in my throat.

How was I going to tell Teddy?

Even if Teddy woke up, he would have to go through his mom's death, and I did not know how I would explain to him that his mom had died.

The doctor turned to see me. "Do you have any idea of who the other driver was?"

I shook my head. "I don't know," I said in almost a whisper.

"Are you sure you didn't see who it was?" asked Mom.

I shook my head once more. "I don't even remember what color the car was," I said. "It all happened so fast."

"Well, if you happen to remember anything, let the officers over there know," said the doctor, pointing at two officers who were standing outside the operating room. "They're the ones in charge of this case."

"Okay," I whispered. I sighed. "Teddy's going to be okay, right?"

The doctor turned to see the ground. "We don't know for a fact."

"Well, you are a doctor. You're supposed to know he probabilities."

"Tina—"

"What are the probabilities that he'll make it?" I asked, louder this time.

The doctor sighed. "Very low," he admitted.

I could feel my chest tightening.

I could not understand why Teddy had to go through that much pain all the time. I could not understand how something as terrible as this could occur to someone as incredible as Teddy.

"I'll call Louise and Henry," I muttered, walking away from the doctor.

"Tina," Mom said, staring at me with sympathy.

I faked a smile. "I'll be all right," I said, taking out my phone and dialing Louise's number.

I made my way towards the restroom, and after four rings, Louise finally replied.

"Hey, Chris," she said cheerfully.

If only she knew what had just happened...

"I..." I could not help myself.

I started sobbing uncontrollably. Listening to my friend's voice made everything even more real.

"Chris? What's wrong?" asked Louise, worried. "Is everything okay?"

"Teddy's dying," I said, wiping away my tears. "You and Henry need to come. Now."

***

"Oh, boy," said Henry as soon as he saw me. He rushed to where I was and hugged me tightly. "What happened, Chris? I came as soon as Louise told me to."

I explained everything, and I could see his lips trembling and a couple of tears streaming down his face as I did.

I was also crying, so we both understood what the other was feeling.