Chapter 11
"Still no word?" Cooper asked as he and Patty entered the waiting room. They had been outside, dealing with the press that had gathered outside when the news broke. Alex, David, Qaasim, and their girls were all still at the police station. Thomas was sitting on the couch with Kristina leaned up against him, both still in their mint green and purple wedding clothes. Rosalina was curled up in a ball next to them, with her head in Kristina's lap. Thomas's gray suit jacket was lying across Rosalina, covering up most of her stained wedding dress.
"He's still in surgery," Thomas shook his head.
"How's Rosalina?" Patty asked as she and Cooper took a seat in chairs across from the couch.
"She cried herself to sleep," Kristina said softly, stroking Rosalina's hair. Mascara lines ran down Rosalina's face and Kristina tried her best to wipe it off without waking her. "Have you heard from everyone else? How's Alex?"
"They're headed back here now," Cooper said. "They stopped at the apartment to get stuff for Alex and Rosalina. The girls said they'd grab stuff for you two as well."
"Good, I need to get out of this suit," Thomas chuckled. "I just thought I'd be getting out of it for a different reason, if you know what I mean Kris."
"Babe, not now," Kristina glared at him for his sexual joke. She looked over at Rosalina as she shifted in her sleep, her dress ruffling against the stiff fabric of the couch. "Her beautiful dress is ruined."
"It was such a beautiful day," Patty commented. "It's just not fair."
"Hey guys," Qaasim said as he led the rest of the group back into the waiting room. They had all changed and had a duffel bag with them, which he handed to Thomas. "Here ya go bro, you guys should definitely change."
"How is he?" Victoria asked.
"He's still in surgery so we aren't sure," Thomas responded with a sigh. "How'd it go with the police?"
"Alex told them everything he knew, which wasn't much. He and Juanita stopped to get some coffee. I think he needs to just be with her for a little right now, which we respect. The police are going to look into it, check the hotel's surveillance cameras and such and let us know when something comes up," David explained. "But if any of us have any leads, we should definitely let them know."
"How's Rosalina?" Grace asked, sympathetically glancing at the sleeping Rosalina.
"As to be expected, a mess," Kristina frowned, continuing to stroke Rosalina's hair. "You should go change baby, you're practically sweating through that expensive suit."
"Come on with me, you can't sit in that dress much longer," Thomas urged as he eased his way off the couch.
"I'm fine, she needs me right now." Kristina assured. "I'm her number two when number one is away."
"Are you guys with Nat Wolff?" A doctor said, emerging from the elevator.
"Yeah we are," Cooper stood to represent the group and greet the doctor.
"Are you family or..." The doctor realized they were not as soon as he started talked. "Does he have any family here?"
"I'm his…wife." Rosalina slowly rose up from Kristina's lap, standing up and straightening her dress.
"Alright, we'd like to speak to his family in a separate room so if you could follow me, Mrs. Wolff." The doctor said, leading Rosalina towards a conference room across the hall.
"That is not the first time you want a stranger to address you with your husband's last name," Grace sighed, shaking her head.
"Where's Rosalina?" Alex asked worriedly as he and Juanita joined the gang. Juanita started to pass out the coffee the two had picked up.
"They just took her in that room to talk to her about Nat," Thomas said, pointing to the room filled with windows that Rosalina was sitting in. "Only family was allowed, you should go in there."
"Just because you're not family by blood or marriage doesn't make you all any less of his family," Alex told them all. "I just want you all to know that."
"We know," Kristina slightly smiled. Alex smiled back and headed into the room Rosalina was in.
"Hi, I'm sorry to interrupt, I'm Nat's brother, Alex," Alex introduced himself to the doctor, shaking his hand. "Nat's out of surgery?"
"Yes he is, I was just about to tell your sister in law about his condition," The doctor said. "Please, take a seat."
"Sister in law, wow that's new," Alex joked, sitting down next to Rosalina. He saw her shaky hands and took them into his own. "How is he?"
"Nat lost a lot of blood prior to surgery. His lungs collapsed and he seems to have suffered a heart attack as well. Right now, we have a machine breathing for him because we're not sure how long he will be out for. It could be from an hour to days. He's being moved into the ICU right now so he can have visitors one at a time." The doctor explained. "Do you guys have any questions?"
"He's…Nat's not going to die, right?" Rosalina asked.
"We're going to try our best to not let that happen," The doctor assured. "I'll let you know his room number when I know."
"Thank you sir," Alex said as he and Rosalina stood up, both shaking the doctor's hand.
"Can you…uh tell them?" Rosalina asked Alex as they started to walk towards their friends. "I need to uh…I'll be right back."
"Yeah of course," Alex nodded. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah I just need to be alone for a few minutes," Rosalina said, walking down the hallway. She found herself wandering around and pushed into a bathroom. She turned on the sink and started to splash water on her face. Her breathing started to get more rapid at the thought of her losing Nat. She started to pace the bathroom, shaking her hands to try and get them to stop shaking. The bathroom door swung open and Kristina was standing in the door with the duffel bag in her hand.
"You need to change, get you out of that dress." Kristina told her.
"No, no I'm fine," Rosalina argued. "It's my wedding day."
"Rosalina…" Kristina urged, grabbing her hand and looking into her eyes. Kristina reached around and unzipped Rosalina's dress, pulling it off of her. It pooled around Rosalina's ankles as Kristina pulled a t-shirt over Rosalina's head. After she finished dressing her, Rosalina grabbed her hand.
"Nat's not going to die, right?" Rosalina's eyes pierced through Kristina's.
"No, he's not." Kristina assured, pulling Rosalina into a hug. "Your husband is a strong man, he'll be fine."
