CHAPTER 23
Embry POV:
Jake came over and plopped down beside me. We were in the waiting area at the Emergency Room waiting to hear about Seth. I leaned forward and put my head into my hands. God, I feel horrible. I told her I'd take care of him. With this wolf thing, we never think about the danger of anything. We felt strong, invincible, and we healed so fast that we never thought about injuries. But this was scary. He must have got caught in a wave that pushed him into something and he hit his head. Please let him be OK!
Finally, Leah came through the doors. We all stood up and went to her. "Hey, is he going to be OK?" I asked her. She looked awful. Her face was so red from crying.
She pushed her hair out of her face and said, "He just came back from CT. They put him in a room upstairs so Dr. Cullen and Mom would be the only ones to take care of him. Dr. Cullen is going to look at the CT and then we'll know something. He still hasn't opened his eyes." I went to put my arm around her and she moved away from me.
"Um, I just came down to get you guys. There is another waiting area upstairs if you want to come up." We all nodded and followed her. She took us to an elevator and we took it up to the 3rd floor, then got off and walked down the hall. "Here's the waiting area, and Seth is over there in room 312. I'll be in there with Mom, and I 'll let you know when you can come in, OK?" She turned and walked into Seth's room.
Jake looked at me. I could tell by his look that he noticed the brush off that Leah gave me. He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I need to call Bella. I'll be back, OK?" I nodded and he took his phone out of his pocket and dialed as he walked to the end of the hall.
I looked over at Jared, who was looking at me. "You don't look so good, dude. It's not your fault. We all took him. We've never had anything like this ever happen before. Well, except when Bella jumped all alone, and didn't know what the hell she was doing."
"Yea, whatever. I told her I would take care of him. She trusted me! That's a big deal with Leah," I said. I sat down in a chair and leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Jake came back and sat down beside me. "Can I borrow your phone Jake to call Kim?" I heard Jared ask Jake. I opened my eyes.
"Sure," Jake said as he handed the phone to Jared. He walked away to make his call. Jake looked over at me and said, "Hey, Em. Come on. He'll be OK. He's one of us. If he can rip apart a vampire, he can make it through this," he said with a smile.
"God, I hope so, Jake. I hope so," I said with a sigh. Jared came back, handed Jake his phone and sat down. We all sat there. And waited.
Leah POV:
I sat beside the bed holding Seth's hand. Mom and Dr. Cullen had cleaned the wound on his head and Mom said it was already healing. They had him hooked to a monitor that took his blood pressure automatically every 15 minutes and kept track of his heart rate. Mom kept watching his blood pressure as it was running very low. His breathing was good but his heart rate was a running high. Since we didn't know much about the werewolf connection, she thought that the high heart rate might be because of the high temp we all run.
Dr. Cullen walked in and looked at Sue. "I just saw the CT. He has some swelling on his brain from the head trauma. We know that he will heal quickly, so I want to wait a little before we do anything. This may heal on its own. Do you have anything to compare it to? Has anyone else in the pack had a head injury?"
"I have," I said. "Just a few weeks ago when we got into it with the three newborns that came through. One of them picked me up and threw me and I hit my head on a rock. Mom put in a couple of stitches and it healed by the next day."
"The cut wasn't as deep as this one," Mom added. "I added the stitches mainly to keep it closed while it healed because it was on her forehead, and I hoped it would keep it from scarring. Also, she woke up and talked a little then went to sleep, and she woke up at intervals during the night. She had a bad headache for a day, but the wound did heal inside of 24 hours. I'm just concerned because he hasn't opened his eyes."
"Yes, that is a concern." Dr. Cullen walked over and touched Seth's arm and said, "Seth? Can you hear me? It's Dr. Cullen. Can you open your eyes for us?" He didn't move. Dr. Cullen pulled out his little light and opened each of Seth's eyelids to take a look. "How long has it been since this happened?"
"Uh, well, I got there about, 2:00. So, I guess, maybe an hour and a half?"
He stood up and said to Mom, "Keep trying to wake him up. Let's wait 1 hour and do another CT. That should tell us something about his rate of healing."
Mom nodded. "Thanks, Carlisle." He touched Mom's shoulder and said, "Sure, Sue." He walked out of the room. She leaned down to Seth and said, "Seth, wake up. It's Mom. You open your eyes, mister." She touched his shoulder and shook him gently. "Seth. Wake up!" He just laid there. She took her hand and brushed his hair off of his forehead then she bent down and put a gentle kiss there. I could feel the tears run down my face again. How could I have any left!
Mom stood up and looked at me.
"I'm a mess, Mom," I said wiping the tears off of my face with my hand. "I am so sorry. I should have told him no. I should have made him go shopping with me for school supplies. He and Embry started whining about going shopping and Seth said he wanted to go cliff-diving." I looked at her and said quickly, "Mom we went before but I didn't tell you. Embry took us from the lower jump. They call it the Baby Jump and we just jumped feet first. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I knew you would be upset. We should never have taken him. But he loved it, Mom! He just wants to be like the rest of them, even though they are all older than him. He hates being the baby."
Mom came over and took me in her arms. "Oh Leah. I know you love your brother, but he's not a baby anymore. He's 14 and he will do these stupid things from time to time. At least he wasn't there alone, and you knew what to do for him. You saved his life today, Leah." That did it! I started crying all over again. She held me for a moment then she set me away and pulled my chin up to look at her. "But Leah, I can't take this. You and your brother are going to have to think about what this does to me before you do stupid things like this. It's hard enough dealing with the two of you being werewolves and going after vampires. My God! That's more than a mother should have to bear! I already lost your father, and to lose either one of you . . . well, I couldn't do it, Leah." She finally let the tears that had been threatening fall. She gathered me to her and we both cried.
"Quit bawling will ya? You're giving me a headache."
Mom and I pulled part and she moved quickly to the bed and said, "Seth? Can you hear me?"
"Yes. My head hurts," he said quietly with his eyes closed.
I smiled and said, "I'm sorry. I'll cry softer." I picked up his hand.
Mom asked him to open his eyes. He opened them very slowly and looked at us. "The light is really bright and it hurts." He closed his eyes again. I let go of his hand and pulled the blinds down. Mom flipped the overhead lights off and left the one by the bed on. It wasn't as bright. "Better?" I asked.
"Mmmm, hmmm. What happened? Where am I?" he asked. "Hospital?"
Mom was taking his vitals, so I said, "Yes, Seth. You're in the hospital. Do you remember anything?"
"Um, Jake, and Embry and Jared and me went . . ." he stopped and looked at Mom.
She smiled and said, "Oh you're already busted, buddy. Go on."
He went on, talking slowly, "I remember watching Jared dive. It was so awesome, Leah. I wanted to try. Jake told me how and I stepped up to the edge and fell with my arms out. It was fucking awesome! Sorry Mom." She looked at him with raised eyebrows and smiled. "I did it Leah. I did a dive! I wanted to do it again, so we made our way back up the cliff. Jared dove first again then I went after him. But, I don't remember anything . . . "
"Leah? Stay here with him. I'm going to get Carlisle, OK?" Mom asked. I nodded and she walked out of the room.
"Leah, what happened to me?" Seth asked. "And why are you squeezing my hand so hard?"
I gave a little laugh and said, "Sorry, I didn't know I was." I let go of his hand. "Um, well, I don't know exactly what happened. When I got there, you had already jumped. Jared was in the water looking for you, and Jake dove in to help. Embry told me that you dove in and didn't come up out of the water, so I jumped then Embry did. We all swam and looked for you. Jake found you and pulled you to shore. When I got there, you weren't breathing." I had to stop. The tears were running again. "You were so blue, Seth. Jared said you weren't breathing, so I gave you mouth-to-mouth and you coughed and then Jake turned you over so you could puke up the water you swallowed." I wiped the tears with my hand.
"Was I . . . dead?" he asked.
"Well, you weren't breathing and you sure looked it. But then I found the gash on your head. It was really deep and you wouldn't wake up so we called Mom. She told us to bring you here right away. That's what we did."
"You saved me, Leah. Thank you." He smiled and squeezed my hand.
I smiled back and said, "You're welcome."
He closed his eyes and for a minute I thought he was out again. Then he opened his eyes and said, "Where are the guys?"
I forgot about them! "They're outside in the waiting room. When Mom gets back, I'll go and tell them that you woke up."
"Don't be mad at them, Leah. I'm the one that wanted to go. Me, OK? If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me," he said.
"Oh, I'm plenty mad at you, believe me. But I'm just so glad you're OK, that I will probably get over it," I said with a smile.
He smiled at me then closed his eyes again. "Man, my head really hurts."
"Yea, I remember that headache. Mom will give you something for the pain, I'm sure."
Just then Mom and Dr. Cullen came in. The doctor walked over to Seth and said, "Well, it's good to see you awake. How do you feel?"
"I have the worst headache ever!" he said.
"Yea, I can imagine. OK, let me take a look," Dr. Cullen said. I walked over to Mom and told her I was going to go out to tell the guys that Seth was awake. She nodded and I walked out of the room.
I found them in the waiting area. Jake and Embry were sitting side by side, both sitting forward with their heads in their hands. It was kind of funny really. Sometimes it was like they were brothers, they were so close. Jared was sitting across from them and saw me first. He stood up and said, "Is he OK, Leah?" Jake and Embry jumped up as soon as they heard Jared ask.
I smiled and said, "He just woke up. Dr. Cullen is in there with him now taking a look. He had some swelling on his brain, but the doctor thinks it might go away on its own. He's waiting an hour then he'll do another CT to check. But he's awake and talking. That's good."
"Oh thank God!" Jake sighed. "I gotta tell you, Leah, he scared the shit out of me!"
I laughed and went to Jake and put my arms around him, "Me, too." He held me tight then let go. "When you laid him on the sand, and I saw how blue he was . . . " I closed my eyes. I couldn't believe I had any more tears, but there they were. Jake pulled me close again and I let him. I finally pulled away and Jared held out a box of Kleenex.
I pulled a couple out of the box and blew my nose. "I can't believe I have any tears left! Geez. I gotta stop." I threw the Kleenex away and said, "I need to see what the doctor said. I just wanted you guys to know that he was awake." They all nodded. I turned to walk away and Embry caught my arm. "Leah?" I shot him a look and pulled my arm away then turned and hurried back to Seth's room. I wasn't ready to talk to him yet.
I walked into the room and Dr. Cullen was gone. "What did he say, Mom?"
"Well, the gash looks a little better and he wants to go ahead with another CT around 4:30. He gave Seth something for the pain, but not enough to knock him out. We need to be able to wake him up and talk to him. I think he's going to be OK, honey." She put her arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze.
I sat down in the chair on the other side of the bed. Seth was sleeping and Mom left to get something she needed. I closed my eyes and put my head back. I couldn't believe I almost lost my brother today! That image of Seth, laying on the sand, came into my head. He looked . . . don't go there, Leah. He'll be OK. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
If only he and Embry hadn't whined like babies. If Embry hadn't encouraged Seth . . . why was I so pissed at Embry? It was Seth's idea to go. Seth was right. I should be mad at him, not anyone else. But, damnit! Embry told me he would take care of him! I trusted him that nothing bad would happen. And here we are, sitting in the hospital! I sat up and looked at Seth. He looked more and more like Dad the older he got. I couldn't stand the thought of losing my little brother, too. I closed my eyes. Maybe you were looking out for him today, huh Dad? I really miss you.
"Leah? Is it OK if I come in?" I looked up to see Embry standing at the door. "I won't stay long."
It was on the tip of my tongue to scream at him to get the hell out! I just sat there and glared at him and said nothing. I didn't trust myself to open my mouth. He walked in and looked at Seth. "Is he going to be OK, Leah? Just tell me."
I took a deep breath and said, "Mom thinks so. They are doing another CT at 4:30 to check the swelling. He had some pain meds, so he's just sleeping right now." I kept my voice even and curt.
He nodded. He walked toward me and I put out my hand and said, "Don't. I can't talk to you right now." He stopped where he was and nodded then said, "Leah, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have whined about shopping. We should have gone with you. But we didn't and this happened. God, Leah. What can I do? How can I fix this?"
"Embry?" Seth said softly.
"Go back to sleep, Seth. You need to rest." I told him. Embry walked up to the bed and said softly, "Hey, dude. You scared the shit out of us you know."
Seth opened his eyes and smiled. "Sorry, Embry. I don't know what happened." His eyes drifted shut.
"Hey, get some sleep, OK? We'll talk later," Embry told him.
"It was my fault, Leah. Don't be made at Embry." He closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.
Embry looked over at me and said, "I'll go back out with the guys. Talk to you later." And then he turned and walked out. Way to go, Leah. I was being stupid. I loved Embry and I should be leaning on him now instead of treating him like shit. I sat there and looked at Seth. You're right, little brother. I guess I shouldn't be mad at him. But I can't help it. He shouldn't have encouraged you. He should have told you no. He promised he would take care of you. The tears were rolling down my face, yet again. I wiped them away. I needed to stop this!
Mom walked back in and said, "I just talked to the boys. I told them I would let them see Seth after the CT." I just nodded. "Leah, you're avoiding Embry. That's not like you. You two are usually attached at the hip! Are you blaming him for this?" Why does Mom always know what I'm thinking?
"I don't know. I guess I am. He came in to see Seth. I could see the pain in his eyes, Mom. I know it's killing him. He loves Seth, too."
She was standing on the other side of Seth's bed. She gave me her "mom" look and commanded, "Get your butt out there right now, Leah, and talk to him. He's a wreck! This was Seth's decision, stupid as it was. Yes, you two could have tried to stop him, but he would have found one of the other guys to take him. Like I said, Seth isn't a baby anymore."
"No, I'm not. Quit being an ass, Leah. Go talk to him," Seth said softly . His eyes were still closed and Mom looked down at him and said, "Quit doing that! You know that we think you're sleeping." He smiled and said quietly, "Shhhh. I'm sleeping."
I laughed and said, "Fine! I'll go talk to him." I leaned down and kissed Seth on the forehead. "Stupid brother. I love you any way."
He smiled and whispered, "Me, too."
I walked out of the room to find Embry.
Embry POV:
Jake and Jared went to find a pop machine and some snacks. Bella had come a little while ago, and she was sitting in a chair idly flipping through a magazine. She loved Seth, too, like a little brother. I guess he was everyone's little brother. I stood in front of the window wondering if I should leave. Maybe I was making things worse by staying here. Sue had stopped by to talk to us and assured us that she didn't blame any of us. She knew it was Seth's decision to dive, and she was holding him responsible. Still didn't make me feel any better. God, why didn't I stop the little runt! I'm such a fucking idiot! Just then Sam and Emily walked down the hall, with Paul and Quil following them. Great, that's just what I needed.
Sam came up to me and said, "Where is he?" I knew by the look in his eye he was pissed. At me.
"He's over there. Room 312. I just saw him. They gave him some pain medicine and he's sleeping," I answered him.
"What the hell, Embry? I told you he was too young for this shit! Why didn't you listen to me? What the hell were you thinking?" Sam was in my face, yelling at me. I just stood there and took it. He was right. I was wrong. Story of my life. Jake had come back and stepped up beside me.
"Sam, I could hear you all the way down the hall. Calm down, will ya?" Jake said.
"Sam, now is not the time," Emily said quietly.
Sam came back with, "When is the time, huh? I am responsible for this pack. When one of us gets hurt, I need to make sure they will be OK, and that whatever happened will NEVER happen again. You get that, Embry? Huh? This will NEVER happen again!"
"That's enough, Sam!" I turned to see Leah standing behind me. Her eyes were blazing. She walked up to stand beside me and said, "Knock off the Alpha shit, OK? We know it's your job, and you take it VERY seriously, but Emily was right. Now is NOT the time. My little brother was hurt. It's killing all of us. But it was an accident. A very stupid accident. Seth is the only important thing right now."
Sam hung his head and took a deep breath. He looked back up at Leah, and his Alpha mask was gone. "I'm sorry, Leah. You're right. How is he? Will he be OK?"
"They are getting him ready to go down for another CT Scan. His first one showed some swelling on his brain from the head injury. Dr. Cullen wants to take another CT to see the change. He knows we heal quickly, and he thinks this may go away on its own," Leah explained.
Sam looked up as Sue and another nurse wheeled Seth's bed out of his room into the hall. They stopped so we could see him. He had his eyes closed. Sam looked over to Sue, and she nodded to him. He leaned down to Seth and said, "Hey little dude."
Seth opened his eyes and looked at Sam. "I'm sorry. Don't be pissed at Embry, OK? It's my own stupid fault."
Sam smiled and replied, "It's OK. Don't sweat it. I'll find another reason to kick his ass, OK? Just get better."
Seth nodded slightly and closed his eyes again. Sue began pushing the bed toward the elevator. The other nurse ran ahead and pushed the button. They pushed Seth into the elevator and were gone.
Sam took Emily's hand and they went to sit down. Jake put his hand on my shoulder. "He'll calm down. Don't let him get to you." He squeezed my shoulder then went to sit with Bella and Jared. Quil had been standing with him and he said to me, "Yea, dude. You know Sam. He has to yell at us. It's his job." I nodded and he walked over to try and get Paul to quit pacing around like a caged animal.
"Embry?"
I turned to look at Leah. The anger was gone from her. "Mom told me to get my butt out here and talk to you and Seth told me to quit being an ass." She gave me a small smile. "I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you in there. I guess I felt like I had to be angry at someone, and I'm sorry it was you."
I just wanted to reach out and pull her into my arms. Instead, I said, "You weren't being a bitch. I'm so sorry, Leah. I should have stopped him. We should have gone shopping with you. This is all my . . ."
She stepped closer and put her hand on my arm. "No, it's not your fault. Has anything like this happened before? You guys dive all the time. You thought he would be OK. So did I. Mom's right. It was Seth's decision. It was just a stupid accident. Let's stop trying to lay blame and just concentrate on Seth, OK?"
I closed my eyes and put my head down. I felt her put her arms around my waist and she whispered, "Hold me, Embry."
I wrapped my arms around her and held her as tightly as I could. This is what I needed. I needed Leah. We stood there for awhile, not moving, not talking. Just feeling. I breathed deep to inhale her scent. I felt it run through me and work its magic. I finally loosened my hold on her and she lifted her head to look into my eyes. She smiled and I felt like everything would be right again.
Leah POV:
I was sitting with Seth when Dr. Cullen came in. Mom stood up as soon as he entered the room. "Well, the second CT shows a huge reduction in the swelling. I want to keep him here over night so we can watch him, but I think by tomorrow he'll be fine."
I smiled at the obvious relief on my mom's face. "Thank you, Carlisle. That's good news."
He smiled and said, "Yes it is. These werewolves are amazing, aren't they?" He looked at me and winked. "I'll write an order for pain meds for him because I'm sure that headache will hang on for awhile. You have my number, Sue. Please call me if anything changes, alright?" She nodded and he said, "I'll be by in the morning to check on him again. Try to get some rest, both of you." He smiled at us then he left the room.
I looked at Mom and smiled. She gave me a small smile then sunk down onto the little stool by the bed and put her head in her hands. I could hear her crying. It was finally too much. I walked over and held her shoulders while she cried. I handed her the box of Kleenex and she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "I'm sorry, honey. I just was trying to hold it in so I could do my job and take care of him. I am just so relieved he will be alright." I hugged her and said, "Yea, I totally get that."
I looked down at Seth sleeping so peacefully. The pain meds had finally kicked in. I, too, was very thankful he would be alright.