Don’t Forget to Remember Me Read Free

“They’ve taken her to ICU. She has a fracture to the left
side of her skull. We were able to re-inflate the lung, tape up her
ribs and pop her shoulder back in. There is some slight swelling to
her brain but radiology didn’t see any bleeding on the CT
scan.”
    “Is she breathing on her own?” I asked,
fearing the answer with everything I had. “Did you need a chest
tube or did the lung re-inflate on its own?”
    Jen came forward and hugged me. “We were
able to suck the air out with a big syringe so we didn’t need to
tube her. She’s on a vent and hasn’t regained consciousness,” she
said quietly.
    I hugged her back. “No doubt due to the
edema. All we can do is watch her now and make sure we catch any
bleeds or fluids. We’re not out of the woods until she wakes up.
Have they got her on blood thinners? Is the coma induced or not?” I
asked wearily. I was exhausted and started rubbing the back of my
neck. The next three or four days would tell the story. If she
didn’t wake up before that, the chances were, she never would.
    “Ryan, stop trying to be a doctor. You’ve
got enough to deal with,” Aaron began, but his words upset me. My
jaw tightened and I bit back the words I wanted to retort.
    “I want to know what is happening,” I said
instead.
    “She’s on several meds. She didn’t wake up
on her own, but Dr. Brighton ordered barbiturates to keep her
asleep so her brain can heal and to help reduce the swelling. I
don’t need to tell you the particulars,” Jenna said. She looked as
exhausted as I felt and her eyes were red and swollen.
    She moved back from the embrace and took my
hands. “Thank you, Jen. I appreciate all you’ve done. Can I see her
now? Is Dr. Brighton still with her?” The array of questions fell
from my lips like rain.
    “I’m sure they’re watching for hemorrhage.
It’s common with traumatic brain injury,” Aaron interjected quietly
and more contrite than before.
    I shook my head and started walking out of
the room, my intention to go straight up to ICU, but Jenna put a
hand on my arm to stop me.
    Her voice shook and she cupped my face with
her palm. “Ryan,” she said hesitantly her blue eyes full of
sadness. “Julia had some vaginal bleeding. It was quite
excessive.”
    “She had internal bleeding?” I asked in
panic. My heart started racing again but Jenna shook her head.
    “Ryan, um…” She raised her tear-filled eyes
to mine and brushed my hair back from my face.
    “Jen, what is it?” I choked out. “What is it
that you’re not saying?” Fear, even more prevalent than before,
engulfed me.
    “Did you know that Julia was pregnant?”
    Until that very moment, I thought it
couldn’t get any worse. I was wrong. I felt the blood drain from my
face and I clenched my fists hard enough for the nails to draw
blood.
    Hearing that Julia was expecting my child
should have made me the happiest man on earth, and instead it left
me aching and empty. My Julia, lying broken and still, in a bed
seven stories above me. I whirled away from Jenna to lean a hand on
the wall to steady myself. “Oh, my God,” I gasped for breath.
“Jesus, no!”
    The tears I thought had run dry began to
squeeze out of my tightly closed eyes. My stomach ached and my head
throbbed. My chest wouldn’t let me breathe and my throat
constricted with the sobs that wanted to break out of my chest.
“Why the hell is this happening? To someone as good as Julia?” the
words ripped out of my chest.
    “We still have Julia, Ryan,” Aaron pointed
out. “That is the most important thing right now. Try to focus on
that.”
    I nodded and put a hand over my aching
heart. I didn’t need to ask if she’d lost the baby. I already
knew.
    Jenna was openly crying now. She nodded and
grabbed a tissue from the box on the counter to wipe at her eyes
and nose. My hand started tugging on the shirt over my heart in
silent hope that it could remove the pain that was manifesting
there. I felt like a black hole