C H A P T E R 3 | K A T I E
It was just past eight in the morning when my alarm sprung to life, effectively waking me up.
Daylight broke into my room through a crack in the thin curtains as I rolled over and silenced the constant beeping. Letting my head fall back against the pillows, I simply relaxed into the peaceful lull of my surroundings. I could hear the vague sound of birds chirping outside my window, and for a moment, I let my thoughts drift to the previous night.
Soon after Dean had left, the three of us – Holden, Stella and I – had made our way to the car. The two of them had slipped into the back seat while I was behind the wheel, and even as I nudged the volume of the radio up, I could still pick up on their hushed conversation.
Thankfully though, they'd not resorted to PDA in the back seat.
I had to hand it to Dean, because while his matchmaking skills had more than likely been a complete fluke, Stella and Holden had genuinely seemed to hit it off.
Dean.
He'd been an enigma that I couldn't quite work out. He was undeniably attractive, with his dirty blond locks and winning smile, but that had only made my nerves accelerate when Stella had left me alone with him. It was more his easy-going personality, and the way that he just went with the flow of things that got me to loosen up. He shared tiny bits of himself with me, prompting me to do the same, and as the night progressed, everything just felt simple.
It was strange. I wasn't normally that open with people, especially someone I'd just met, but there were moments when I was listening to him talk that the thought of kissing him had crossed my mind. They were fleeting feelings – the kind that floated happily around your head as a means to make you smile. They were only a blossom of what could be, and only time would tell if the feelings would bloom or fall from the stem.
Stretching my arms above my head, I bit my lip as I'd realized I'd fallen asleep in Dean's sweatshirt. He'd insisted that I keep it, and while it was a smooth attempt at getting to see me again, I'd been too tired when I'd climbed up to my bedroom the night before to shrug out of the comfort that it offered.
Getting up for the day, I knew I had almost an hour of spare time before I had to catch the bus to work. I took my time in the shower, letting the refreshing downpour wake me up before pulling on a pair of yoga pants and a loose t-shirt from my wardrobe.
Making my way downstairs, the lights were still off, and the only hints at life were the soft snores that both Stella and Holden were making, as they laid asleep on the pull out couch. Thankfully, even with the blankets covering them, I could see that their clothes were still on, which made the situation considerably less awkward on my end.
And while Holden was someone that I truly didn't know, I'd let Stella bring friends over plenty of times before, so this occurrence wasn't far out of the ordinary.
Pouring myself a bowl of cereal for breakfast, my stomach grumbled in anticipation. I spent the next half an hour feeling as though time was passing dreadfully slow, and while I scrolled through all the apps on my phone and finished my food, I had yet to hear anything from the pair currently occupying the living room.
As I finished rinsing off the dishes that I'd had piled in the sink the night before, I glanced at the clock, and knew that I had to wake them soon if I wanted them up before I left for work.
Flicking the lights on in the living room, I'd hoped that the action alone would be enough to wake them, but when they barely moved a muscle, I sighed, walking over to the couch. Leaning over, I nudged Stella's shoulder a few times with my hand, pulling back as I noticed her squirming awake.
Stella groaned as she stirred, and I chuckled as I saw Holden's eyes slowly open with confusion.
When I was sure that both of them had noticed me, I quirked an eyebrow as I smirked. "Hey."
Stella turned her head away from me, avoiding the morning light as she snuggled deeper into her pillow. "What time is it?" she asked in a mumble.
I laughed, pulling her pillow out from under her head. "Almost nine."
Holden sat up, running his hand through his messy hair. It was almost impossible not to see the guilt swimming in his eyes as they moved between Stella and I. "I should probably get home," he said, his voice catching Stella's attention as she raised herself up on her elbows. He grabbed the beanie that had fallen off his head during the night, tugging it on.
Stella yawned, covering it with her hand before she smiled at him. "I had fun last night," she said to Holden, causing him to crack a smile.
"Me too."
I motioned towards the entryway when nothing else was said. "I'll walk you out."
Holden nodded, smoothing out his clothes slightly as he followed me to the door. "I'm sorry if I ruined your plans with Stella last night or anything," he said hesitantly, his hands venturing into his jean pockets as his shoulders hunched. "I'm not usually – "
I cut him off with a soft smile as I opened the door. "It's fine," I shook my head. "Dean kind of explained to me what was going on with you last night, and if Stella happened to get your mind off your ex, then it's all good."
"Great," he muttered, ducking his head with embarrassment. "But thanks for letting me stay here."
"No problem."
"Maybe I'll see you around," he said awkwardly as he stepped out into the hall.
My lips pulled up at the corners. "Maybe."
Letting the door shut as he made his way down the hall and towards the elevator, I turned on my heel and headed back into the living room. Shaking my head with amusement, I saw Stella curling herself back up under the blankets.
"You know I'm leaving for work in a few minutes, right?"
She mumbled an incoherent reply, and as she pulled her pillow over her head, I made the assumption that she was suffering from a mild hangover.
I let her be as I collected my things from my room - throwing my scrubs, keys, and wallet into my bag – but once I returned a few minutes later, I saw that she hadn't moved a bit. I sighed. "Make sure you lock the door before you leave."
I saw her sneak a glance at me, the edge of her lips turning up tiredly as I flicked the lights back off. "You know I always do," she said, yawning as her words slurred together. "Have a good shift."
Seeing her lay there comfortably had me wishing, on some level, that I could do the same. In fact, as I stepped out of my apartment and shifted my bag higher up on my shoulder, I tried and failed to remember the last time I'd been able to truly relax without worry clouding my thoughts.
−−−−−−−−−−
"Katie?" Claudia asked, gaining my attention as my eyes snapped up to meet hers. I was standing at the foot of the patient's bed, having just finished writing down the updated information appearing on the monitor as she changed the patient's IV. "Would you be able to get the latest dose of pain medication for him?" she asked, nodding to the boy in the hospital bed.
I nodded, and after telling her that I'd be right back, I took the clipboard with me as I stepped out of the room. Heading towards the medical reception, my footsteps echoed off the walls, and there was still the small voice in my head that found it surreal I'd been given a job in the place I'd visited so frequently the past year. As the reception desk came into view, I joined the short line, noticing how quickly it dwindled down to nothing.
"I need the next pain dosage for the patient in room 54D," I said politely, sliding the clipboard across the desk so that she could look it over.
"Sure thing," the middle aged nurse behind the counter said, checking over the details I'd handed her. She turned and grabbed the required medication from the locked cabinets, handing me one small box of pills before signing off on them.
"Thanks."
"No problem," she said, handing me back the paperwork. "So, I heard Claudia let you give your first sponge bath before lunch."
Her words were heavy with humour as I visibly shuttered at the memory. The elderly man I'd been tasked with bathing had seemingly enjoyed my company a little too much as I'd scrubbed him down, all while Claudia had watched with a small smirk on her face.
Only after it was over did I learn that it was a tradition that the nurses did with the new hires.
The nurse saw my grimace as I nodded in confirmation and let out a laugh. "Don't worry, you'll get a lot more familiar with patients the longer you work here," she said with amusement.
I smiled wryly at the thought of working here for a while longer. It might not be the most glamorous job in the world, but it was what I wanted to do with my life. " I look forward to it."
Making my way back to the young boy's room, I delivered Claudia the medication and grabbed a glass of water. Handing it over to the boy, I watched carefully as he tossed the two pills into his mouth, and swallowed them.
"Are we done with the checkups then?" I asked as I followed Claudia out of the room. The boy's family had been allowed in as we finished up, and she began leading me away from the patient sector of the floor.
"We have a few minutes free," she replied, looking back over her shoulder as she went to push through a door, "So I wanted to show you – "
I never got to find out what she'd been about to say, as our supervisor called out for her. "Claudia," he said from a few feet behind us. Her attention immediately shifted as she saw him jogging towards us. "Are you and Katie able to tend to a patient right now?" he asked, his eyes flicking between the two of us.
Without a second thought, she nodded. "Sure," she said, taking a new clipboard from him.
He let out a breath of relief. "Thank you," he said. "He's being moved into room 29D right now from the ICU, so you're going to need to do a full examination before you let his family into the room."
"Will do."
When he turned and headed out of sight, I saw Claudia grimace as her eyes scanned the pages that he'd passed her.
"Is it bad?"
Her gaze shifted towards me and she nodded. "Drunk driving accident," she said, reading from the medical notes on the top page. "A young male was hit and veered off the road with critical injuries, and the impaired driver didn't make it to the hospital."
The words caused a small amount of pain to prick at the edge of my heart. "Is the male stable?" I asked hesitantly, falling into stride with her as we ventured back towards the patient's wing.
"It depends on how you look at it," she explained. "He's alive, and he'll recover with time, but right now he's not in good condition."
We stopped in front of room 29D, waiting back a moment as a group of workers piled out of the doors before stepping inside.
A tiny sound escaped my lips as soon as the door closed behind me - so quiet that Claudia didn't bat an eyelash towards me as she walked around the bedside – and I froze mid-stride. Dean was lying, beat and battered, in the hospital bed in front of me, and I could've sworn the sight caused my heart to stop beating.
Memories of the night before quickly began flashing through my mind, because the guy I'd met then, looked completely different to the one laying unconscious in front of me now.
He was almost unrecognizable, as he laid motionless in the bed, having been stripped of his clothes and thrown into a white-checkered gown. His eyes were closed and his hair fell raggedly flat against his forehead. The doctors had elevated his right leg, as it was wrapped extensively with gauze to cover an operation site, and they'd stitched up a few cuts on his forehead where a few drops of dried up blood were clotting.
I couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he'd gone through, as I had yet to see a strip of his skin that wasn't covered in a scratch, bruise, or cut.
When Claudia handed me the clipboard with his information on it, my shock seemed to wear off slightly as I noticed that she hadn't noticed my falter. With instructions to fill out the basic information as she hooked Dean up to his monitor, I nodded numbly. Watching as the numbers leveled out on the screen after just a few moments, I scribbled down the readings haphazardly. My mind was still unclear - wondering how this could have happened – which was dangerous. I was only half coherent, nodding and doing my best as Claudia told me which boxes to check off as she checked him over.
She pulled back from Dean's side minutes later, seemingly done with her inspection and checks, but as she readjusted two of his IVs, my muscles tensed as I noticed his fingers twitching.
That was the first sign, and when I saw his eyes peel open seconds later, I held my breath and tightened my grip on the pen I was holding. There were bruises surrounding both of his eyes, and his skin was ghostly pale, but as he slipped into consciousness, I zeroed in on the way his irises glassed over, flicking aimlessly around the room.
"What's happening?" he croaked, his voice dry and scratchy.
Something heavy settled within my chest as his gaze bore straight through me with no recollection of who I was.
"You were in an accident," Claudia replied, keeping her composure as she turned to me. "Would you be able to grab his family from the waiting room? They're allowed in now, and I'm sure they'd like to know he's alright."
I nodded wordlessly, clutching the clipboard to my chest as I walked briskly from the room. The hallway was empty, making it easier to collect my thoughts and even out my breathing, but it didn't change the situation.
Dean had been in a car wreck, and right now, I was one of the people helping him recover.
My steps were automatic as I walked towards the waiting room, and as I pushed open the double doors, I was met with a room full of hopeful, piercing eyes. The room was on edge, as everyone waiting there wanted me to tell them that their loved ones were okay – that they'd get better. I couldn't do that however, and knowing that put the weight of the world on my shoulders.
"Um, Mr. and Mrs. Adams?" I called out, feeling an ounce of guilt as so many sighed with defeat.
A small group of people to my left stood up though, seemingly frazzled and deterred by the news of Dean's accident. The man and women who stood up first were clearly Dean's parents, and a pair beside them seemed as though they were family as well. They were younger, maybe a few years older than myself, and the man looked uncannily similar to Dean, though the woman holding a child to her chest with comfort showed no resemblance.
Dean's dad intertwined his hand with his wife's, gripping tightly for support as tears welled in both of their eyes. "Yes?" he croaked, watching me with carefully.
He was terrified for his son.
I gulped. "Dean's allowed visitors." I said slowly, nodding back through the doors that I'd just emerged from. "If you'll all just follow me," I trailed, watching as they took the steps forward before I turned around.
The footsteps resonated loudly off the bare hospital walls, and the air was clouded with a tenseness that couldn't be described. It was hopeful, scared, and frightening all at once. Glancing back to make sure the group was keeping up, I stopped in front of Dean's door, pushing it open as Dean's family hurriedly rushed inside.
The steady beeping of his pulse transmitted loudly through the monitor, though it's sound was drowned out by his mother's sobs as she let her hand fall from her husband's and rushed to Dean's bedside. His father walked up behind his wife, wrapping his arm around her shoulders to steady her as she wept, while the other two people moved to the other side of the bed, taking a seat in the small, plastic chairs that lined the wall.
I kept my tears at bay, knowing that I was meant to stay strong in these situations. It was a part of my job. It just hurt when the person you were treating was someone you knew.
After awhile, as Claudia and I stood back to let everyone get settled, Dean's father finally turned to us with confusion and worry filling his eyes. "What happened?"
"It was a drunk driving accident," Claudia said, and before she could utter another word, I saw his brother's facial features harden as his eyes snapped to Dean.
"You better not have been the one driving drunk," he ground out lowly, his voice menacing and angry.
"I wasn't."
"He wasn't."
Two voices spoke at the same time, and while the first one was undeniably Dean in a dry tone, it took me a few seconds to realize that the second person who had spoken was, in fact, me.
Curious eyes flitted to me, as I drew my gaze downwards, ignoring the soft bundle of heat that bubbled on my cheeks.
Claudia once again broke the silence as she nodded in confirmation. "They're both right. Dean wasn't the one driving drunk, and the culprit did die on impact. He was speeding through a red light before he rammed into the side of Dean's car. Luck was on Dean's side however, as a cop was patrolling near by and saw the accident, so help was there immediately to save him from the wreckage."
"So what's wrong with me?" Dean asked bluntly.
"Well, your car seemed to crush a good amount of your lower body, which is where a majority of your injuries were," Claudia said, glancing down at the clipboard I'd returned to her for a clear reference. "Your right knee was shattered and you had an immense amount of damaged tendons surrounding the site. The doctors did what they could to repair it, but you also have a broken fibula, which luckily, didn't pierce through your skin. Two of your ribs were cracked, and six were bruised, which is why you may be finding it difficult to breathe. There were signs of a concussion once the doctors sealed up the wound on your forehead with stitches, so you may experience a load of nausea, dizziness, and memory loss for a short amount of time. The rest of your body is simply covered with cuts and scratches that will heal, but you'll be staying here for at least a week or two until you're able to function semi-permanently again."
"And what about my eyes?"
His voice lacked any sort of emotion, as though he had hardened himself up to the tragedy, while his parents, his brother, and the woman and child had tears welling and streaming down their faces at the news.
Claudia nodded. "That's the tricky part, you see, as the doctors were able to remove the glass from your eyes, but in doing so, the procedure caused several bruises and scratches. While your vision may be incredibly blurry and weak now, there is a great chance that your full ability to see will return within the next 48 hours or so. But if it doesn't, we'll run more tests to see if there's anything we can do to speed up the healing."
The explanation caused my eyes to widen the smallest amount. Dean was currently blind to his surroundings, which meant that he had no idea that I was there, and even though there was a tiny contraction of pain in my chest at the thought, I figured it was better this way.
Dean currently had way too much on his plate, and even though last night was vivid in my mind, his memories may have been tainted from the crash. He was better off healing with his loved ones by his side, and certainly didn't need someone he'd met less than twenty-four hours earlier worrying about him as well.
As the news and reality of the situation sunk in for everyone in the room, Claudia and I made our exit. The door clicked shut behind us, and I dragged in a deep breath. The sounds of sobbing and worried words coming from inside the room was saddening, but lifting my head up high, I knew there was nothing more I could do as I followed Claudia to see to our next patient.
a/n: so now you know how bad Dean's injuries are, but really, you guys are going to have to wait until the next chapter to see how Dean himself feels about all of this... plus Ryan will be quite a big part of the next chapter. Regarding that however, I've now uploaded all the pre-written chapters I have, though the next one is half completed. This means that I will be trying hard to finish that chapter for next Friday, but after that, the uploads will more than likely slow down.
(P.S. A few Wattpad Stars have been invited to Headquarters in Toronto next weekend... including me! There will be a meet & greet for the authors involved with the Imagines book at Yorkdale Mall on Thursday at 7, and while I won't officially be a part of it, I will be hanging around, so feel free to come say hello! )