Chapter 28

They sayyour life flashes before your eyes in a near-death experience. Nothing like that happened to me.

There was just fear, anger, nothingness, then seemingly endless chaos.

I didn’t know how long I stood there staring at Seb lying on the floor. It was only when I registered Bodhi’s anxious voice begging for help that my body decided to work again.

Everything after that was a sick blur as we sat in the hospital waiting room, holding out for good news.

Seb had been rushed into surgery, and from the look on Theo’s face, things were bad.

Doc had excused himself as we all sat in silence, replaying the horror in our heads.

People came and went.

Emergencies continued around us.

Nobody came with news.

I was so caught up in fear and worry that I hadn’t even noticed our group had grown.

Mama, Yaya, Max, and Kay were all here, along with Kay’s parents, Doc, and Sam.

Bodhi and Lyric were even in matching scrubs. Shit, how long had I been out of it?

“Any news?” I croaked to the room at large, hoping someone had some sort of update.

“He’s still in surgery,” Lyric answered in a monotone, devoid of emotion.

And so, we waited. . . .

Hours later a stoic doctor came out. “The Papadakis family?” he asked in the direction of our large group.

“Yes! Is my son okay?” Mama jumped up, voice thick with emotion.

“He’s out of surgery and in the ICU but still hasn’t regained consciousness. We managed to stop the bleeding, but he lost a lot of blood. Unfortunately, Mr. Papadakis developed some complications.” Pausing, the doctor motioned to the waiting room chairs we’d all jumped up from. “Let’s have a seat, and I can explain.”

Exchanging concerned glances, we turned as one and shuffled back to the chairs we’d vacated. Once we were seated, the doctor slid an empty chair around to face us and sat. The loud scrape of wood on linoleum grated on my already frayed nerves.

We sat in silence, waiting, dreading, with all eyes fixed expectantly on the doctor as he leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees, hands clasped. I watched as a look of professional concern crossed the doctor’s face. I swallowed audibly and nervously scrubbed my sweaty palms down my jean-clad thighs. This didn’t look good.

The doctor addressed Mama, even though we could all hear what was said.

“As I mentioned,” he continued, “Mr. Papadakis developed some complications during surgery that we’re attributing to the massive amount of blood loss. His heart stopped at one point, which we stabilized quickly, but what I’m most concerned about is that Sebastian had what is called an ischemic stroke.” I heard a sharp intake of breath at this and saw Theo blanch even more. What did this mean!? Was an ischemic stroke worse than a regular stroke? Seb was only thirty-two. Shaking off my spiraling thoughts, I focused back on the conversation as the doctor continued. “Whether this stroke was caused by a blood clot or a direct result of his blood loss, we don’t know yet. What we do know is if Sebastian was going to have a stroke, the operating table was the best place for it to occur. We were able to give him medication and restore the blood supply to his brain quickly. There is some notable paralysis on his right side, but we won’t know the extent or seriousness of the damage until he’s conscious and able to follow some commands so we can assess this further. I feel confident that with therapy and no further complications from his injuries, he has the potential to recover fully from all this. It will be a long, hard road, but he is a strong and healthy young man. He is really lucky to be alive.”

“When can we see him?” Mama asked.

“We’re keeping him in the ICU. I can take one of you to see him now if you’d like?” He looked compassionately at Mama. “The rest of you should go home. We will monitor him closely and keep you updated as to when he’ll be moved out of the ICU and can have more visitors.”

We all watched as Mama was led out of the waiting room, and we were left to let the news settle in.

He was okay. For now.

Bodhi rubbed my back, then pulled me into a hug. I didn’t even realize I was standing again.

When had that happened?

“Should we take Yaya home? Or do you want to wait?” Bodhi’s soft voice was a balm to my frayed nerves.

Scrubbing a hand down my face, I swallowed hard. “Umm, yeah.... Maybe.” I think I was still in shock. I didn’t know what to do.

Bodhi moved away from me as I stared at the doors Mama had walked through. Seb had to be okay. He just had to be.