"I'll get another vodka please" I slurred as I struggled to keep myself up against the bar.
I can't believe I'm gonna be a dad. I loved Vanessa and everything, but I couldn't be a dad! Not yet... I mean, look at me! I can't even shave my beard properly without fucking it up.
"No more! You go home now!" The bartender said as he shooed me away.
I scoffed. "Fucking place blows anyway" I muttered as I stumbled around, finally finding the exit.
It was time to face the music. I knew I had to go back to the hotel and talk things through with Vanessa. I also knew that I needed to do a lot of making up. I couldn't believe I grabbed her like that, it was so fucking wrong.
I walked outside and saw a bunch of girls gawking at me and muttering amongst themselves.
"That's him!" I heard one of them say as they pointed.
Maybe they'd heard our music somehow!
"You want an autograph?" I smirked.
"Your girlfriend, red hair" she said as she put her hands out by her shoulders to describe Vanessa's hair length.
I cocked my eyebrow and walked over.
"She's looking for you. She has this car..." she said as she pointed to a car that was driving past.
Fuck! I needed to make it back, now! She was gonna have my balls on a plate! Especially if she'd hired a car and went out looking for me. I looked at my watch and I'd been gone a good 7 hours or so.
I sobered up a little and took off running.
One of the girls started shouting something but I couldn't hear. I ran as fast as I could back to the hotel and as I walked through the lobby everyone was in some kind of frenzy.
"Mr Lee! Mr Lee!" Some small, bald dude came running over and stopped me.
"Sorry dude, I gotta find my girl. I got some serious making up to do. Whatever it is, just charge it to the room" I smirked as I pushed past him.
"Miss Teresi... something has happened to her! An accident! Please, come with me" he said, he sounded scared.
I sobered up on the spot.
"Accident!? What the fuck do you mean there's been an accident" I yelled as I walked back over to him and grabbed him by his collar.
"We don't know all the details yet but it was involving the car she hired. We can't waste any time, we have to go to the hospital now" he said.
My heart sank and I started shaking. My brain literally couldn't process anything. I just knew I needed to see Vanessa. I needed to know she was alive and that she was okay.
***
I had no idea how I got to the hospital. I had no idea what floor I was on or what part of the hospital I was in. Everything was one huge blur. I zoned back into reality and I had the dude from the hotel on my right, and a police officer and a doctor in front of me.
"Mr Bass? Or is it Mr Lee?" The officer asked.
"Uhhh on record I'm Mr Bass, Lee is my stage name" I said as I wiped some tears away from my eyes.
"And Vanessa is Vanessa Teresi? Yes?" he asked and I nodded my head.
"Can you tell me anything about what happened tonight, Mr Bass? Where you were?" He asked.
"We got into an argument and I went down to that sports bar so we could both cool off" I said. "Where is she? Is she okay? Can I see her?" I said quickly as I tried to look over them and through the double doors behind them.
"You're going to have to calm down, otherwise we're gonna have to ask you to leave" he said as he pushed me back.
"Just tell me where she is!?" I yelled as I punched the wall.
I saw the doctor put her arm out in front of the officer and shake her head.
"We need to run a few more tests, but for now Miss Teresi is alive and very lucky to be, however I recommend that you call her family" she said.
"Family?" I said quietly as I reached down and put my hands on my knees. I felt like I'd been winded. It was never good when you were told to call family.
"Is my baby okay? Please just tell me... is Vanessa still pregnant?" I asked as my voice cracked.
She looked sad. "You need to call family" she said as she looked at the officer and walked off.
Deep in the pit of my stomach, I knew the answer and I felt my heart shatter. I felt like the biggest scumbag on this planet.
"I will be in touch" the officer said as he closed his notepad and handed me a card with his number on it and walked off.
I slid down the wall and bought my knees up to my chest. I started to sob uncontrollably. I was so in love with her and I fucking hated myself for being responsible for this.
"You and your family can stay at our hotel, free of charge, as long as you need" the hotel guy said as he nodded and walked off.
What was I going to do? What was I going to say to everyone?
I must have been crying on the floor for about an hour when I finally stood up and walked over to a receptionist and asked if I could borrow the phone. I sniffled and punched the numbers of Nikki's phone. I knew someone would be there.
As it started to ring my anxiety went through the roof. I felt sick to the pit of my stomach.
"Helloooooo?" I heard Sharise giggle. I could hear Vince muttering in the background.
"Sharise!? It's uhhh... it's Tommy" I said.
"Oh... right... what do you want? Is Vanessa okay?" She snapped.
"I don't know how to tell you this but..." my voice started to crack again.
"What is it!? Tommy, what's happened?" She asked. Her tone changed instantly to a more serious one.
"It's Vanessa, she's in the hospital... she's been in some kind of car wreck" I said as I started to breakdown again.
"She's what!? What do you mean!?" She started to fire questions at me.
"I don't know, nobody's telling me anything yet, they're running some tests on her. Can you... can you fly out here? It's bad, really fucking bad and I don't know what's gonna happen" I said as I wiped the snot from my nose.
The line went silent.
"Hello? Sharise!?" I said as I tried to move left and right, thinking there was something wrong with the signal.
"I'm packing my bag now! Me and Vince are getting the next flight out!" she said.
I put the phone down and started to pace around. I was going out of my mind. I was stopping every doctor and nurse that went by. I needed to talk to someone.
I walked back over to the receptionist and asked to borrow the phone again. I started to punch in the numbers and then I heard Athena's deep voice bellowing in my ear.
"Bass residence... how can I help?" She said.
"Athena..."
"Tommy!? Hey dude! How's it going? You got a nice tan yet?" She rambled.
"Athena just... can you get mom?" I asked as I clutched at my hair.
"Why do you want mom for? Am I not good enough to talk to anymore?" She joked.
"Athena just get mom!" I yelled as I slammed my hand on the desk.
I looked around and everyone was staring at me.
Great... now I'm that asshole!
"Alright... fine... mom! Tommy's on the phone!"
I heard the phone being passed over and my moms voice came on the line. She started rambling away, asking how things were going and if I'd popped the question yet.
"Mom somethings happened to Vanessa" I said as I was holding back the tears.
"What do you mean something's happened? Is she okay?" I'd never heard my mom sound so concerned about something before.
"I'm scared mom... I'm scared I'm gonna lose her... I'm scared she's gonna die" I said as I started to sob down the phone.
"Thomas, listen to me, you need to tell me exactly what has happened" she said sternly.
I explained everything and told her what I knew so far and like Sharise, they said they were catching the next flight over, without hesitating. Vanessa had become really important to my family, they cared about her a lot.
After I put the phone down, I looked at the clock and I had been here for 4 hours. Surely there should be some kinda update now!?
"Do you know if there's any change?" I asked the receptionist.
"I'm sorry, but the doctor will explain when there's something" she shrugged.
I rolled my eyes and groaned as I went and sat down. I was sitting there for hours. I was exhausted but I wasn't leaving this place until I knew where Vanessa was and how she was.
I decided to lie down on the row of seats and used my jacket as a pillow. I could feel my eyes getting heavy but I kept trying to fight it.
***
"Mr Bass!? Mr Bass!?"
I jumped and sat upright. I looked around and realised it was daylight and I must have fallen asleep. I rubbed my eyes and looked forward. There was a doctor covered in blood from head to toe. He looked exhausted.
"Is it Vanessa? Is she okay!?" I asked.
"She's gonna be okay" he said as he nodded his head.
Those words were like music to my ears. I put my head in my hands and tears of happiness ran down my face.
"She suffered some internal bleeding after breaking the ribs on her left side but luckily, we managed to stop that. An x Ray has shown that she has suffered some damage to her knees which probably happened when she hit the dashboard and there's a lot of cuts and bruises. She had some glass fragments in her scalp which we've removed but there's some swelling on her face from the trauma" he said.
"What about the baby?" I asked.
"The fetus seems to be fine. We haven't observed any bleeding and Miss Teresi hasn't shown any additional signs of a miscarriage" he said.
I took a deep breath and placed my hand over my heart.
"She's going to make a full recovery, right?" I asked.
"We would hope so. She may come to suffer long term with arthritis in years to come and there may be some scarring but other than that she'll be okay" he said as he put his arm on my shoulder.
"Can I see her!?" I asked, eagerly.
"Yes but before I allow you to go in, I have to explain that we have put her in a coma. The level of pain she's in is too much and we don't have access to the level of pain relief she needs but we should wake her up within a week" he said.
"A week!?" I exclaimed.
"It gives her body chance to heal without her being in any pain" he shrugged.
I rubbed my eyes in frustration. I just wanted to tell her I was sorry and that I loved her.
He guided me to the room she was in and I walked in behind him. My eyes widened and my heart ached as I saw Vanessa lying there. Her face was all swollen and it was different shades of black and purple. She had a bandage round her head and you could see blood on it. She had a breathing tube in and she had cuts and bruises all up and down her arms.
"She can still hear you. You should try talking to her" he said as he exited the room.
I slowly walked over to Vanessa's bed. The room was dark but there was a small lamp next to her, I don't know why they put it there, the machines gave off more light.
I sat down in the chair beside her, I picked up her hand and I just lost it. I thought I took a breakdown before but holy shit.
"I'm so sorry Vanessa. I love you so much. Please don't hate me" I sobbed as I kissed her hand over and over again.