The Dragon King

Chapter Ten

Riverton

Levi paced back in forth in the waiting room staring down at the dried blood on his hands. It had been an hour since he had arrived at the hospital, and no one had come out to inform him of Elyssa's condition.

"Will you sit down?" Imani whispered sternly. "You're making me anxious."

He sighed as he glanced between Imani and the seat she patted beside her. He made his way over and sat down, careful not to touch anything.

"What if she doesn't make it?" he asked, staring down at the carpet.

"Don't say that," Imani whispered, gently. She placed a hand on his knee. "She's going to be just fine."

"How do you know?" He flung his head in her direction, tears threatening to break loose. "This is a small hospital in a small town. What if the doctors aren't good enough?" His leg shook up and down as the thought of her dying passed by in his mind. "What if she doesn't make it?"

"You made it, didn't you?" Stella called out from the other side of Imani. "You were here lying in one of these beds just hours ago."

He huffed and shook his head. "That's different. I had a concussion. I wasn't being rushed into surgery because I was about to die."

He looked down at his hands once more as they shook. Was it his fault? Had she broken out of the hospital looking for him? And maybe if he hadn't had almost blacked out he could've kept her from losing so much blood.

"Hey, maybe you outta go wash that blood off." He turned to look up at Imani as she knelt in front of him. "It's been there for an hour. What happened wasn't your fault."

His swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded his head. He leaped off the seat hurry to get away from Imani and Stella before they saw him crying over a girl he didn't know.

He pushed open the bathroom door with his elbow and ran to the sink. He started scrubbing his hands with soap and water as he allowed the tears to flow freely. He watched as the water in the bowl turned red as the blood washed away down the drain.

His hands started trembling and he grasped the edges of the counter as he bawled his eyes out. What was going on? Why was he acting like such a girl? He was weeping over someone he didn't even know. But why have a flashback to an image of her if he truly didn't know her? That was just it. He did know her. He felt as if he had known her for years, but couldn't remember a single thing about her. Just her face. And now he may never see her again.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly trying to get himself to calm down. He pulled a few paper towels out of the dispenser, and dabbed his eyes. He blinked several times hoping the redness would die down before returning to the girls.

He cleared his throat, and stood tall before exiting the bathroom. Down the hall, he saw a man dressed in scrubs talking to Imani and Stella. Levi picked up the pace as his heart fluttered.

"What is it? Is it about Elyssa?" he asked as he stopped inches beside the doctor.

The doctor turned his way, and nodded. "We sewed her up good. She lost a lot of blood, but it could've been worse. She's stable for now, but we put her into a medical induce coma until we know that nothing is ruptured on the inside."

"Why did the stitches not hold in the first place?" Levi's voice rose higher then he intended it to.

The doctor chuckled. "My boy, stitches along your abdomen that are holding in place organs that had been punctured by a bullet are not meant for running and falling like she had done."