{Austin}
"Calli's awake."
Two simple words; combine them and they have more power than imagined. Two words that send me to my knees. Two words that force sobs out of everyone in that hallway. Two words.
I fall straight to my knees, with my head in my hands. Mrs. Kelly screams out a sob. No one can comprehend what just happened in there. I'm pretty sure none of us care about that; all we care about is Calli is awake.
"Can we see her?" Mrs. Kelly asks. "I need to see my baby."
"Of course." Her doctor says. "But she's asked for specific people right now. She doesn't exactly know who is here, so don't get offended if you aren't one of them. Also she doesn't fully understand what happened that night. That's why first she wants to see Grey and Austin. Kelly and Nathan you will be next to go in."
I'm afraid to go in there. I don't think I can explain to her what's happened over the past seven months. I take Grey's hand in mine, and slowly we walk through the door. I look around the corner and she's laying in bed, with a nurse talking to her. The nurse looks up and smiles at me. Calli turn her head towards the door. Her eyes instantly light up.
"Hi." She says. Her voice sounds different from not using it for seven months, but it's still as clear as ever.
Grey shuffles over to Calli's bed. "Calli?" He mumbles.
Her eyes fill with tears. "Hi buddy."
"Mizz yew Calli." He manages to say.
Calli smiles. "I miss you too Grey." She looks at his thumb going up to his mouth. "No more of that ok?"
Grey nods his head and walks out the door.
I shove my hands in my pockets and Calli looks over at me. "He's never been good with conversations."
"I know baby." I whisper, trying to hold back more tears.
"Have you been crying?" She asks quietly.
I nod, choking back the sob. "More than you'd believe."
"I know what today is." She whispers. "The doctor told me."
I smile slightly. "I hated that they chose today of all days to do this, but now I'm thankful that they did choose it." I walk over to the bed and take her hand. "Now I can spend our anniversary kissing you and telling you how much I love you." I lean down and softly kiss her lips. When I pull away I keep my forehead resting on hers.
"I heard everything you said to me." She whispers.
I pull away and stare at her. "You did?" Tears escape my eyes before I have a chance to stop you.
She nods. "Austin I wanted to wake up that first day, but I couldn't. I wanted to scream. I just wanted something to happen, so you could know I heard everything." Tears stream down her cheeks. "I love you so much."
I let out the sob I've held in for her. "You have no idea how good it is to finally hear you saying that. I love you so much Calli." I lean down and kiss her again, but we're interrupted by the door opening and closing.
Mrs. Kelly and Nathan walk in holding hands.
"Hi mama. Hi Nathan." Calli whispers through her tears.
Mrs. Kelly runs to Calli, allowing her sobs to escape. Nathan walks over to Calli, tears escaping his own eyes as well.
I walk out the door letting them have their few moments together. I look up and see my three best friends smiling at me. I step toward them and they wrap their arms around me. Sarah joins in on our group hug. We let go, and I find myself once again wiping my eyes.
"What happened in there?" Beth asks me.
I smile and chuckle softly. "She heard me."
"What do you mean?" Demi asks confused by my words.
"While she was in the coma, she heard everything I said to her." I say still in disbelief that heard it all. "She told me she could hear everything that happened."
Calli's doctor cuts in. "That's not unusual for comatose patience to hear what's going in the background, but Calli was predominately brain dead. It's amazing she was able to hear all of that."
Mrs. Kelly and Nathan walk out moments later, allowing others to go in and visit her. Once everyone's done we're sent back to the waiting area to see what's going to happen to her. The doctor's are running multiple tests on her knee and her brain.
Finally after hours in the waiting area her doctor comes back out.
He takes his glasses off and stares at us. "Well, I have good news, bad news, and worse news. Which would you like first?"
"Good news." Mrs. Kelly says nervously.
"Well the good news goes along with the bad news. Calli's ACL has been torn for quite some time, and there are still glass shards inside the muscle of her leg, but that can be fixed with a couple of surgeries."
Everyone sighs a breath of relief.
"Thank God." Mrs. Kelly says squeezing Nathan's hand.
"Well, now here's the worse news." The doctor says." The accident caused severe damage to Calli's spine. It's so severe that even surgery won't completely fix it."
"What do you mean it won't fix it?" Mrs. Kelly asks, a sob escaping her throat.
"I mean," He begins. "Calli is paralyzed from the waist down. She will never dance or walk again."
Mrs. Kelly falls to her knees sobbing. "This can't be true. Dancing is Calli's life. What is she supposed to do now?" Her voice rising, practically becoming a yell.
"I'm sorry, but because of the length of time her spine was left unattended, it's impossible to fix." He says.
Beth and Demi are hysterically sobbing.
"You're her doctor!" Demi yells.
"You should've had that looked at in the beginning!" Beth screams.
Their dance teacher gently pulls them off to the side to console them. Jesse and Scott walk over as well, wrapping their arms around them.
"I know it seems like there is something I should've done for her from the beginning, but I couldn't. Had I done something, I could have caused more permanent damage to her than she already has. In a few hours she'll be moved in for the first surgery on her knee. That is just to get glass out. In a couple of days she'll have a second surgery to fix her ACL. A week or two after we've fixed up her knee, she'll go into surgery on her back to see what we can do." He kneels down beside Mrs. Kelly. "We are doing everything we can to heal Calli, to the best she will be." He looks up at me. "Austin, you might want to go to her room now."
I nod my head and sprint down the hallway. I slowly open the door, peeking around it. I see Calli instantly. She's sobbing hard, trying to catch her breath. I walk over to the side of her bed and gently squeeze her hand. She opens her eyes at glances at me.
"I can't believe this." She whispers. "Austin what am I supposed to do?"
I shake my head defeated. "I don't know baby." That's all I can manage to say. "I don't know if there's anything I can say or do to make you feel any better."
"Will you lay with me?" She asks choking on her sob. "My nurse just needs to come in and help you get in bed. I just really need you to hold me."
I nod my head. "Of course." I hit the button next to her bed, and the same nurse from earlier comes in.
"You want to lay with her don't you?" She asks smiling.
"If that's ok." I answer.
"It's fine." She says stepping toward the bed. "Let me help you first."
She adjusts Calli easily, and I crawl into the bed with her. I wrap an arm around her shoulder as her body is pressed against mine. It's been over seven months, but feels just like the last time she was wrapped up in my arms.
The nurse walks out the room, and Calli begins sobbing again.
"I don't know what to do Austin." She whispers. "I can't be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I need to dance."
I kiss the top of her head, holding back my own tears. "I know Calli." I sigh. "I can't promise you'll ever walk again, but I know how strong you are. I know you'll find some way to do what you love again."
Calli sighs. She's on the verge of sleeping from the pain medicine they gave her. "Do you promise?" She whispers before falling asleep.
I softly kiss her head again, feeling myself start to drift off to sleep. "I promise."