CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

Bitzi looked up from the floor with a soft smile. Mr. Lundgren and George were finally released. George's right arm was badly broken, but they were able to set the bones in a thick cast without much trouble. Mr. Lundgren's head was wrapped with gauze from the cuts he sustained, but both were okay now.

"It's nice of you to stick around. I'm sure you're both tired," Bitzi whispered, looking towards the nurse's station. Since informing her of Buster's injuries, they'd remained at their station, never even looking in the troubled mother's direction.

"It's the least we could do, Bitzi. We're both in for a very long road," Mr. Lundgren whispered, taking a seat beside her. George sat on the other side of her. "I've gotten a preliminary report from one of the detectives. I just had to make sure it wasn't my fault. Their lights were on but there were no sirens. I didn't expect it. Things just happened."

"I know," Bitzi nodded, sighing quietly. "Things are just so hard right now. I can't pay for any of this, and we'd have to change apartments when he gets home. There's no way our unit is handicap accessible. I had to take apart my dining room table just to get it through the door."

"We'll help you in any way we can. I can move into the guest room and let him live in my master bedroom if we have to. I know my house is accessible, and it would be a good way to give back to you. I'm about to go through a divorce, but I'm sure we can make this work. We'll all get through things together," Mr. Lundgren said with a light smile. His mind was still on the conversation he had with the detective, namely the part about what the ambulance was doing going through that intersection so quickly. There were no emergency bulletins at the time. Could the driver have abused his power?

"Did you hear her, Dad?" George asked. Mr. Lundgren looked up with a start. "She wants us to go. She can handle things on her own until some of her friends get here."

"I just have a lot to think about. It's not you. In all seriousness, I forgive you. None of this was your fault, not one bit of it," Bitzi said sternly. Mr. Lundgren nodded, looking over to his son. He felt guilty about the cast on his arm. He couldn't even imagine the guilt he'd feel when he first saw Buster.

"Come on, Dad. The rental company just called to say they have a car ready," George whispered. His father nodded and the two journeyed to the elevator.

Not long after they were gone, a doctor came to see Bitzi. Buster was paralyzed from the waist down from a spinal fracture. He'd never walk again, he assumed, though the spinal cord may repair itself once the spinal fracture was put into place. He'd require life-changing surgery, something Bitzi knew she could never afford.

She told them to go through with the surgery anyway. She'd do anything for her son. The community would stand behind them; they'd have to.

She fell asleep in the waiting room, dried tears sticking to her cheeks.

A/N: Poor Bitzi and Buster. With such a traumatic experience behind them, it's hard to know that they still have much more to experience. Will they need to get into a legal battle over the ambulance driver's poor decisions? Can any of them even afford this? We'll find out more in later chapters. Next, Francine is having a workout in her room. Her life is filled with so much drama, but does she have a plan to get away from it, or will she just make more for herself? Find out the answers in Chapter Fifty-Six.