"You can't keep doing this!" Kellie shouted.
Johnny paced around the room, running his hand through his hair and across his face, frustrated and not knowing exactly what to say.
"We have Robby to think about for one. And now this baby too."
"You think I don't know that?" Johnny spat back as his anger and frustration finally reached a boiling point.
Kellie cut him off. "Do you even care about us?"
"Of course, I care!"
"I can't do this right now." Kellie said throwing a blanket down into a laundry basket before she walked out of the room. She quickly picked Robby up and grabbed her purse and keys.
"Where are you going?" Johnny questioned as he followed her.
"I don't know." She cried before slamming the front door.
Johnny opened the front door just in time to see her pull out of the driveway and turn down the street.
He slumped down into a near by chair letting his head drop into his hands. How had things gotten so out of sorts? He wondered. He loved Kellie and Robby. They'd had a good three years together, but he missed the carefree days of hanging out with the guys from time to time. He didn't understand why Kellie was making such a big deal about him going out with the guys. Sure, he'd been hanging out with them a lot lately. Sure, he'd stumbled in late drunk several times. But he still went to work every day, he still provided for her and Robby.
Johnny didn't know how long he'd been asleep when a knock on the front door woke him up. He was still sitting in the same chair. He sat up wiping the sleep from his eyes and glanced around, his eyes landed on the clock by the kitchen doorway reading 11:00. Johnny stood up making his way to the door as he heard another knock, this time louder than the first.
"I'm coming." He said on his way to the door.
"Are you John Lawrence?" A police officer asked as Johnny opened the door.
A worried look quickly crossed Johnny's, "Yes."
"May we come in side?"
"What's this about?" Johnny asked confused.
"I think it'd be best if we came inside."
Johnny stepped aside and let the officers inside.
"What's this about?" Johnny asked again.
"I'm Officer Wilks, this is Officer Andrews. We responded to a motor vehicle accident. The ID we found for the driver was listed at this address and by the name of Kellie Lawrence."
Johnny immediately felt his heart sink. "Is she alright?" He managed to ask.
"She's been taken to UCLA Medical Center."
Johnny's mind was rushing in a hundred different directions. All he could focus on was getting to Kellie. He quickly asked the officers, "What about my son?"
"I don't know. They were both taken to the hospital."
"I need my keys." Johnny said as he quickly patted his pants pockets trying to remember where he'd put his keys. He quickly located them on the coffee table.
"Are you alright to drive?" Officer Wilks questioned.
"I'm fine." Johnny said as he headed towards the front door.
The two officers followed him and stepped outside in front of him.
"You're sure you're alright to drive?" Officer Wilks questioned again.
"Yes." Was all he said as he locked the house and headed for his car in the driveway.
As the officers were climbing into their cruiser Johnny was already turning onto the street.
How could I have been so stupid? I shouldn't have let her leave. Johnny thought to himself as he drove down the road.
"I was told my wife and son were brought here." Johnny said as he rushed up to the receptionist's desk in the ER.
"May I have a name?"
"Kellie Lawrence."
The lady behind the desk pressed a few keys on the keyboard in front of her before looking up at Johnny. "If you'll have a seat the doctor will be out to speak with you shortly."
"Can't you tell me anything?" Johnny questioned aspirated.
"Sir, please have a seat and the doctor will be out to speak with you soon."
Johnny let out a frustrated sigh before he turned on his heel and walked off. He flopped down in a chair.
Johnny spent the first several minutes a nervous wreck. He anticipated the doctor's arrival but also feared it. Was Kellie and the baby okay? Was Robby? Just the thoughts that they could be hurt more than just a few scrapes caused him a lot of pain, especially since it was his fault Kellie had left, and before long he realized that he had been gripping the edges of the chair so hard, his knuckles had turned white. He stood from his chair, shaking out his hands as he rubbed the back of his neck and began pacing.
After another several minutes, however, he noticed the receptionist was glaring at him, so he shot her a sheepish smile and turned his back to her. His eyes landed on a TV that was blaring the latest news from the evening. A 3-car pile-up on the highway, and the city's baseball team scores of the night.
He wandered over to a small table with various magazines on it. He scanned them over with disbelief. Was this the crap people read these days? He then picked one with a hot babe on the cover and sat down in a chair again. After going through several ridiculous articles about "how to please your partner in bed", "10 definite signs a guy is into you", and his own horoscope which he thought was a sure load of crap, he slapped the magazine back down on the table and with a sigh gazed at the clock. It'd been over half an hour. What the hell was going on? He'd finally had enough.
He flung himself out of the chair and stormed towards the desk, "Alright listen lady, it's been a long damn night, my wife and child are in there. I've been stuck out here for over half an hour and I want some answers!" The receptionist looked unamused with his attitude, and was about to retort, when the doors finally opened.
"Are you Johnny Lawrence?" A middle-aged man in green scrubs questioned.
"Yeah." Johnny replied nervously.
"I'm Dr Gibbons." He said extending his hand.
Johnny grasped his hand in a firm handshake.
"Come with me please." He ushered Johnny through the doors and into a small room with a couch and several chairs. "Have a seat."
Johnny said down, still waiting for answers.
"Your wife has suffered some severe trauma." He began. "She had a lacerated spleen with internal bleeding, which we were able to repair in surgery. She has several broken ribs and a fractured wrist. What I am most concerned about is the swelling she has to her brain."
Johnny's eyes widened in fear but she didn't speak.
"We're keeping a close watch on her. Right now, she's in a coma and has a tube down her throat to help her breath."
"She's gonna be alright, right?" Johnny finally managed to get out.
"We're doing all we can."
"What about…"
"Your son has a minor laceration to his head and a fractured left arm. I'd like to keep him over night for observation. Baring any complications, you should be able to take him home tomorrow."
Johnny let a small sigh of relief out, at least Robby was alright. "The baby?"
Dr Gibbons took a breath before he spoke, "I'm sorry there was nothing we could do."
Johnny's heart sank. He felt like he'd just been crushed by a ton of bricks.
"Can I see her?" Johnny said forcing back the tears.
"Yes, but only for a few minutes." Dr Gibbons said as he stood from the chair.
Johnny stood up and followed the doctor out the door and down a hallway. They both stepped onto the elevator. The doctor pressed a button for the sixth floor as the door slid closed.
Several seconds later the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. Johnny followed Dr Gibbons down the hallway and around a corner before they came to a stop in front of a room on the left.
"Like I told you before, she has a tube down her throat to help her breath. She's unconscious right now, but we like to encourage all family to talk to comatose patients."
Johnny gave a slight nod before Dr Gibbons opened the door and the two of them entered the room.
Johnny was taken back by the image he was met with. Kellie had a breathing tube down her throat just like the doctor had told him. Various wires were draped across her shoulder connecting to the heart monitor that let out a rhythmic beep ever few seconds. Johnny also noticed the splint on her left wrist, along with a small bandage above her left eye. As he moved closer to the bed, he could make out the bruising by her left eye trailing down her check, along with various small cuts and scrapes.
"I'll give you some time alone." Dr Gibbons said as he stepped out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him.
Johnny slowly moved closer to the bed. This time he was within reaching distance of Kellie. He sat down the bedside chair and gently grasped her hand in both of his. "I'm so sorry." He said as the tears he'd been holding back finally fell free. "This is all my fault." He laid his head on top of his hands and hers.
After sitting with Kellie for about an hour a nurse came in to check her vital signs and tell Johnny that visiting hour was up. "You can come back in an hour." She informed him.
Johnny stood up and left the room reluctantly. He made his way back to the elevator and pressed the call button. Within a few seconds the doors sprung open. Johnny stepped in and pressed the button for the lobby. When the doors opened again, he stepped off and went in search of a phone. He needed to call her parents and the guys, maybe his mom too.
He located a phone and quickly made the necessary phone calls before wandering outside taking a seat on a near by bench. The nights events replayed in his mind and then the image of Kellie laying motionless in the hospital bed. Johnny finally broke down. The flood gates broke, and he sat sobbing on the bench with his head buried in his hands. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting here when he heard a voice call his name, "Johnny."
He looked up to see Dutch standing in front of him. He quickly wiped his eyes and took a death breath trying to put on his strong front. "Hey, man." He finally said, his voice more shaky than he wanted it to be.
"How is she?"
"Not too good." Johnny said honestly.
"The baby?" Dutch questioned.
Johnny just shook his head as more tears filled his eyes and he sat back down on the bench.
Dutch let out a deep sigh, "Damn." As he clenched his fists. He sat down beside Johnny on the bench, clasping his friend on the shoulder.