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Chapter Five: Waiting

Heath was a forlorn figure as he sat in the waiting area. A kind looking nurse came and sat next to him. She could see how distressed the little boy was so she gently placed her arm around his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. "What is your name sweetie?" she softly inquired. Heath continued to look down at his hands. He couldn't find the words to speak. His mind was all cloudy. The nurse hopped down off the seat and knelt on the ground in front of Heath, trying to catch eye contact with him. "My name is Lila. Did you want to tell me your name?"

"Heath," he mumbled.

"We are looking after your brother Heath, I'm sure he is going to be fine. But we do need to speak to your parents. Do you know how we can contact them?" Heath was feeling so lost that at this point having Danny around almost sounded appealing. Heath slowly raised his arm and pointed to the hallway that his father had disappeared down. "The maternity ward?" she questioned and Heath nodded back. This situation was becoming more confusing by the minute but Lila was relieved that they may soon have some answers. "Heath, what is your family name, so that I can find them?"

Heath spoke so softly that she barely heard him mutter the word "Braxton." As Lila stood up and headed down the hallway, Heath closed his eyes and curled up in ball on the plastic chair.

Heath did not know how long he had been drifting in and out of sleep when he felt the rough hands of his father yank him from his daze. "Heath, get up boy! We have to go see your brother." At the mention of Brax, Heath shot up.

"Where is he?" he quickly asked.

"Stop askin' questions and just do what you're told." Danny replied gruffly. Heath could see that his father was in no mood to being questioned, so he held his tongue and followed him down the corridor.

They entered a dark room and Heath was confronted with a horrible sight. His strong, older brother was lying there asleep and looking surprisingly small. He was hooked up to a ventilator and he was surrounded by all kinds of wires and machines. Heath could feel the tears that he had been holding back all day, welling in his eyes. A doctor entered the room. "Mr Braxton?" the doctor directed his question at Danny.

"Yeah."

"Is this your son?" the doctor turned and looked towards Brax.

"Yeah, that's me son, Darryl."

"Right. Darryl is in a pretty bad way right now Mr Braxton. He has three fractured ribs and the fractured ribs have punctured a hole in your son's lung. This puncture was the reason he lost consciousness. You got him to us just in time. Any longer without air and this may have been a very different conversation."

"Good. So he is fine then?" Danny casually asked.

"His life is no longer in danger but he is far from fine Mr Braxton. We have had to insert a chest tube between his ribs to help drain the air and allow the lungs to re-expand. He is also struggling to breathe on his own and needs extra oxygen. When he wakes he will be in immense pain from the fractured ribs. Your son has suffered a major trauma. How did he sustain these injuries?" the doctor asked sternly.

"I don't know." Danny replied.

"Yes, you said. I'm sure you understand that we have a few questions about how your son ended up in this condition and how his primary guardian seems to have no idea either. We are also struggling to understand why it was your young son that alerted us to Darryl's condition and not you."

"What are you suggestin' doctor?" Danny snapped.

The doctor did not have time to respond when two police officers walked into the room. "Danny Braxton, please follow us. You are needed for questioning in regards to injuries suffered by your son."

"Is this some kind of joke? I've already told them I know nothin'. I've been away and came back this morning cos me wife had a baby. I can't leave me other son anyway." Danny yelled.

"We just want to ask you a few questions. It is procedure. Your son can stay here with the nurse staff until we are finished." The policewoman looked down at Heath and directed the next question to him. "Are you OK to stay here while we talk to your dad? The nurses will look after you."

Heath nodded and watched as Danny was escorted out of the room.

Heath then found himself back in the company of the kind nurse Lila. "Hey Heath. How are you going?" she gently asked. When he didn't answer she continued. "Would you like me to take you to see your mother and your new baby brother?" Heath loved his mother but she had never been a source of comfort for him. Not like Brax. Heath looked across at his big brother. Heath needed to stay here. He needed his brother and his brother needed him.

"No." Heath replied.

"OK, we can stay here with Darryl. It's been a big day. You must be hungry. Should I go and get us some food?" she asked. Heath had been so worried for his brother that he had forgotten how hungry he was, but at the mention of food his stomach rumbled.

"Yes please," he responded enthusiastically. It was the first time she had seen a glimmer of life in the boy since he first alerted her to his brother's condition.

Lila smiled, "Food it is then," and she headed off to see what she could find.

When Lila returned to the room with a whole collection of hospital canteen food, Heath could not believe his luck. He sat there and devoured all of the food that Lila was able to find. It appeared to her that the little boy may not have had a good hearty meal in quite a while and she smiled sadly. Looking over at his older brother, she could not help but feel for these two young boys. She knew that in order to help them, she needed to break the code of silence. From the brief time she had spent with Heath, she got a sense that he relied on his older brother. When she suggested leaving the room, he tensed up and clung to the bed. If Darryl was the leader of the pair, she knew her best chance of finding out what had happened was before he woke up.

"You must have been hungry Heath? Did you enjoy that?" Lila asked.

"Yes, it was awesome." The little boy replied.

"I bet you didn't have time for breakfast before you came into the hospital this morning?"

"No, we had to get here quickly." Heath responded.

"Of course! When did you find out that your mum had had the baby?"

"The phone was ringing when I woke up and the lady from the hospital told Brax."

"Brax?" she asked.

"That's what I call my brother. He hates being called Darryl"

"Why does he hate his name so much?"

"I don't know, but I think its because Dad chose it for him." Heath innocently replied.

Lila could feel how close she was to breaking the silence. She had to tread carefully to keep the conversation alive. "That makes sense. Do Brax and your Dad not get on that well?"

Heath paused before answering. He suddenly felt uncomfortable about where this conversation was going. He liked Lila, he had begun to trust her, but Brax had told him to never speak about his parents to anyone. Never! "Only sometimes."

"I sometimes don't get on with my father either. He get's very angry with me and we have big fights. Do Brax and your Dad ever fight?"

Heath turned away from Lila and walked to the other side of Brax's bed. He needed his brother to wake up now. Heath couldn't do this by himself. He had broken Brax's number one rule, never trust anyone and never say anything! He had obviously said too much to Lila for her to be asking him questions about his father. Heath clung to the bed rail of his brother's bed.

"Heath, I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you. We don't have to talk about your family if you don't want to, but I want you to know that you can tell me anything. You can trust me."

Heath still didn't give her any eye contact and sat down on the other side of the room. Lila sighed! She knew that she had missed her big chance to help these boys.