Chapter 8

Maybe it was the smell or the white, cold rooms, but Eddie Monroe hated hospitals. He had spent the night in one the following night, waiting for any news of Elisa's surgery. Nick had waited too, but Juliette was in a panic. He had brought her to the hospital at around 3 in the morning.

The three sat in the silence of a slow moving hospital lobby. It wasn't awkward, just tense as Nick had spent the last hour pacing. He would walk about ten steps and turn, the sound of his boots squeaking against the floor made the room a little less quiet. He ran a hand through his hair as he turned once more, some tears of frustration still in his eyes.

"Why haven't they told us anything yet?" Nick's voice was grumbly and breakable as he closed his eyes.

Monroe sighed, standing up and placing a comforting hand on Nick's shoulder. He motioned for Nick to sit down next to Juliette in one of the blue, uncomfortable, plastic waiting-room chairs. Finally, he took a deep breath, trying to keep himself steady as he straggly walked over to a doctor.

"Elisa Burkhardt." He breathed out, the back of his throat closing up a bit as he tried to hold back tears. Slowly, he pushed desperate hands into his jean pockets as the doctor pushed a few white papers up from his clip board.

The doctor hummed a bit, making Monroe stand on the edge of annoyance once again. Finally, the doctor looked up. "She came out of surgery about thirty minutes ago."

Nick ran up behind Monroe, looking over the taller man's shoulder. "Then can we see her?" He said with a breath.

Monroe blinked as he pressed his lips together and grinned his teeth into the inside of his mouth.

She came out of surgery thirty minutes ago? And no one bothered to tell us? He took a step away from the small circle as Juliette talked to the doctor. Nick looked over, then put his hands on his hips a bit, walking over to where Monroe now sat, staring down at the blank, white floor.

Nick sat down on his knees, trying to look into the worried face of Monroe. "Hey, she's fine, alright? She came out of surgery, which means she must be ok." He offered a friendly, yet goofy smile.

Monroe glanced over, a smiled curling up onto his lips as he laughed at the smile Nick had given him. He huffed, then rolled his eyes, pushing Nick over a bit. The two stood up as Monroe nodded.

"Let's go see her."

Her blond hair still had small specks of red in it, her own blood. The stiches had been laced so perfectly in her throat, but they still looked as reckless as Elisa's personality. Juliette, Nick, and Monroe stood outside the window, looking in on the unsettling-still Elisa Burkhardt. Nick and Monroe had one look in their eyes that was eerily similar, but neither noticed the other at the moment as the Doctor in charge of Elisa walked up.

Doctor Tiller smiled sweetly, pushing back her curly black hair. "She lost quite a lot of blood, but…" She looked up from a clipboard in her hands. "I'm pretty confident she's going to wake up, but… she did lose a lot of blood."

Monroe looked over, clearing his throat in the awkwardness that had formed in the hallway. "Can we go in and see her, then?"

Doctor Tiller nodded as Monroe pushed open the door, Juliette right on his tail. Nick was stopped by Doctor Tiller just as he was about to go to his cousin's side.

"Detective Burkhardt, we do have one issue." Tiller looked down towards the clipboard as Nick stood on edge.

"An issue?" Nick shook his head nervously. "What kind of issue?"

Tiller sighed, "Even if she does wake up… there's a high chance she might not ever be able to speak again. Her vocal chords were damaged immensely."

Nick blinked and leaded in a bit. "There… but…" He whispered. Nick blinked. "She has to talk, please Doctor Tiller. Elisa, she…"

Nick took a step back, leaning against the wall opposite of the window to Elisa's room as he ran a hand through his hair. Doctor Tiller walked over glumly.

"I'm sorry, Nick." She placed a comforting hand on his arm, then walked towards another room.

Nick looked up and into the window where Elisa lay in her white hospital bed. Juliette was stroking her hair as Monroe slowly took her hand. Monroe smiled a bit as Juliette laughed as something she'd said.

Quietly, Nick walked in the doorway, placing a hand on Juliette's shoulder. He looked down sullenly as Monroe watched him. Monroe looked up, sensing something was wrong.

"What?" He paused, not breaking eye contact with Nick.

Nick blinked, looking around onto the floor. He hated being the bearer of bad news. He hated being the one to have to tell Elisa she might never be a musician like she'd wanted. He looked down at Juliette, whose comforting eyes had turned to him.

"Doctor Tiller said that… Elisa, because of the damage done to her vocal chords… she might never speak again," Nick closed his eyes, his head falling down.

Monroe stood up, his fingers curling up into his hand. "What? Are you kidding me?" He shook his head, his hand still enlaced in Elisa's lifeless one. "She's supposed to be… a… a producer! How's she supposed to do that without a voice?"

"Monroe-" Nick said, his hands still on Juliette's shoulders as Monroe paced, finally letting go of Elisa's hand.

"No, Nick. This isn't fair. They need to fix her!" He pointed towards Elisa, a fire in his eyes.

Light had trickled into the hospital room, making it cozy and comforting. She didn't open her eyes, hearing a lovely sound; the voices of Nick and Monroe. She wanted to sit up, to take them in her arms and yelled out how much she loved them, how thankful she was to be alive. But she was unable to. All she could do was listen for a moment as she heard Nick's voice.

She might never speak again… It sounded foggy and far away, like she was in a dream. Everything felt too real, though. She knew she was not dreaming.

This isn't fair! They need to fix her! Slowly, Eddie sat back down, taking Elisa's hand in his. He started to grumble to himself as Juliette and Nick were ushered outside by Doctor Tiller.

Eddie rested his head in his open hand. "Please, please wake up." He whispered in the bed sheets.