It's Always Been You (A Keaton Stromberg Fanfic)

Chapter 22

“We are looking for Valerie Harper. She just came in here after being hit by a car.” Drew spoke calmly. After hearing him mention she got hit by a car, I started to tear up again. It just reminds me on how real this actually is. This isn’t just some nightmare that I can wake up from. I hit Valerie Harper with my car.

I was snapped back out of my horror thoughts when the nurse behind the counter speaks. “I’m sorry but she can’t take visitors right now. She’s in stable condition.” For someone who has to give bad news regularly, she is quite good at it.

“Will she be okay?” Drew asks, again speaking for mute Keaton and me.

“She’s in a coma. To be honest with you, the doctors don’t know if she will wake up from it. She is in surgery right now for her broken bones but there is a lot of bruising on the head. She is in severe condition. She was hit pretty badly and well, it’s a miracle she is still alive right now.”

I can’t take it anymore. I use all the strength I have and run out of the hospital. I can hear Drew following me. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I am pulled back and spun around to be face to face with Drew.

Drew's POV

I know Wes is upset about hitting Valerie but this is getting ridiculous. Freaking out isn’t going to help anything. For either of them.

“What do you want?” Wes snaps at me.

“Dude, you need to get your act together. You being stressed isn’t going to hel-“

“You don’t get it Drew. I HIT HER WITH MY CAR! SHE’S IN HERE BECAUSE OF ME. IT IS ALL MY FAULT!!!” He screams. I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s killing himself over this. “I killed her.” He whispers barely audible but I can hear him.

“Hey! Don’t do that. Don’t give up hope.” I say trying to comfort him.

“You heard the lady Drew. It’s a miracle she is still alive…” He drifts off.

“Exactly! She’s still alive! She fought through it and she will continue to fight through it Wes. She’s strong and we both know it. She’s going to make it.”

“How do you know?” he whispers not looking at me.

“I just know man. It’s times like this when you have to believe.” I say. I walk back into the hospital to check on Keaton.

I see him by the front desk sitting in a chair with his hands in his hand. I can hear him crying and I sit down next to him, his head still in his hands.

“This is all my fault.” He mumbles into his hands. Not him too. It’s neither of their faults. It wasn’t her fault either. She just happened to be at the wrong spot at the wrong time.

“This isn’t your fault at all Keaton. She was just at the wrong spot at the wrong tim-"

“No Drew. If I didn’t flip out on her and if I had just let her explain herself to me she wouldn’t have run out crying. I didn’t even let her speak. I just yelled at her. Now she may not even make it and the last thing I would have said to her would have been me breaking up with her.” He cries into his hands once again.

Both these Strombers just have horrible timing. The doctor calls me over, seeing that I am the only stable one and pulls me into another hallway.

“I have some good and bad news about your friend Valerie.” She says looking down at clipboard. “Would you like to hear the good or the bad news first?”

“The good news please.” I say.

“Okay. Well the good news is that she is stable. Her body is all wrapped up and she has casts on her left leg and arm. They should heal nicely and she should be okay to walk again in a month if, and this is where the bad news comes in… if she wakes up again. She is still in a coma, and with the brain damage she has I’m not sure how long it will last. It could be a few days till a few years.” A FEW YEARS! I don’t even know what to think right now.

“What would you say the odds of her waking up are?” I ask the one question repeating in my head right now. I am freaking out on the inside, but on the outside I somehow manage to stay calm.

“I would say 50 50. I am so very sorry.” She says and walks away. Wow. 50 50 chance of waking up? I don’t know if I’m happy or sad. This is so much better than what we were expecting but it is still not good news.

Keaton's POV

“What did the nurse say?” I ask Drew. I see Wes walk back into the hospital and sits next to Drew. We give each other an ‘I’m Sorry’ look. I know he is beating himself up about this. I’m still mad at him but I can’t put all the blame on him. It’s my fault too. If I hadn’t yelled at her…

“She said that she’s doing a lot better than expected. She’s still in a coma but there is a 50 50 chance she won’t wake up from it.” He said. I almost broke into tears again but I have no more left in me.

“Can we see her?” I hear Wes say from his seat. I was wondering the same thing but couldn’t put the words on my mouth.

“Yeah.” Drew gets up and we follow him to her room. “Come in when you’re ready.” Drew says and walks in the door. I stand in the hallway with Wes and we just look at each other.

“I’m sorry.” I hear his whisper looking at his feet. He feels so bad. He is blaming everything on himself. If only he knew that it was my fault she was on the street in the first place. That it was my fault too.

“Wes. She was on the street because of me. Because I broke up with her.” His head jolts up but I continue talking before he has the chance to ask any questions. “I hears her talking to Drew in his room on how she had a dream she was married to you. I thought she was cheating on me or something… I don’t know. I didn’t even let her explain. I just walked out, and she walked past me outside onto the road and…” I couldn’t finish what I was saying. Wes just pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back and then we pulled away.

 It was time to go see her.

Let me know what you guys think. Would love to hear your thoughts and Ideas. I have one chapter left but I was wondering... SEQUEL?? Let me know.. Thank you!

~Audrey