Chapter Eighteen
Hours had passed, and finally Brax and Charlie heard the doctors rolling a bed pass them and into one of the rooms. They both rushed to see who it was. Casey was lying still on the bed.
"Is he okay?" Brax asked the doctors.
"Yeah, we've managed to recover him. He's got a few bruises and scars here and there, but his main injury is a broken leg. He'll have to take quite a few pain killers for the next 48 or so hours," Dr Walker said.
Brax sighed with relief, knowing that his youngest brother was safe.
As happy as Charlie was for Casey, she still couldn't stop worrying about her daughter, wondering why they're taking so long. "How about Ruby?" she asked Dr Walker.
"I'm not sure sorry, I wasn't with her, but I'll go into the room to check on her," he replied.
Another hour had passed and Ruby remained in theatre. Charlie was still crying in Brax's arms. Brax didn't know what to feel. His brother had gotten out safely, and was just sleeping in one of the rooms, but Ruby, who he looked after as if she was his own daughter, was still inside and nobody knew what was happening. Charlie had her face buried into Brax, and couldn't look around the hospital. She just kept asking Brax if Ruby was out yet. All Brax could say was that she wasn't, but everything will turn out okay. "Ruby's a strong girl," he told Charlie.
"You can go in and see Casey if you would like," Dr Walker said to Brax and Charlie. "He has just woken up, and a few familiar faces would do him good."
Charlie ignored what he had to say, and asked how Ruby was doing. Dr Walker said they weren't too sure, but is hoping for a good outcome. He couldn't look her in the eye when he said that; he knew she was starting to tear up again.
"Do you want to go in and see Casey?" the doctor repeated.
Brax did indeed want to see how his brother was doing, but he couldn't leave Charlie's side, not like this. "Go Brax, he'll want to see you," Charlie said.
Brax looked at Charlie unsurely. "Honestly babe, go, you'll want to see him too," Charlie said again.
He didn't want to leave Charlie in the waiting area on her own. "Why don't you come in with me?" he asked.
Charlie didn't want to sound heartless, but she didn't want to see Casey. She didn't want to see someone from the same accident as her daughter who had made a fine recovery, while Ruby was still stuck in theatre. She couldn't bring herself to do it. "I'm sorry Brax, I just can't. I just want to wait for Ruby until she comes out," she said while holding her tears back.
"I won't leave you alone," Brax said. "I won't see Casey until Ruby comes out."
Casey couldn't stand lying still on the hospital bed. It was extremely uncomfortable, and it made it worst how he had a giant cast on his right leg. Dr Walker had to check on him every half hour. During the fourth time he came in, Casey asked to see Brax. Dr Walker had heard Charlie and Brax's conversation earlier before, but couldn't tell him that his older brother didn't want to see him. "I'll see if he's around and I'll try to get him for you," Dr Walker told him. Casey thanked the doctor just as he was about to walk out the door.
Dr Walker walked over to Brax and Charlie. Charlie had fallen asleep, so hopefully, for Casey's sake, he could get Brax to see Casey. "Casey has asked to see you," he said to Brax.
"I'm sorry, I can't. Tell him after Ruby comes out," told Brax.
Dr Walker sighed and headed back towards Casey's room. He wasn't prepared to be an owl, but it was all part of the job. "Brax is waiting with Charlie," he told Casey as he walked into the room.
"Can they both come in?" Casey asked.
"Well Charlie is sleeping on him..." Dr Walker paused. He hadn't realised how awkward that must have sounded. "Err... What I meant was, Charlie's sleeping on his lap..."
Casey shot him a weird glance. The doctor decided to cut to the chase. "They're not going to move from the waiting area until Ruby comes out."
"Wait, Ruby hasn't come out yet?" Casey asked. Hours had passed, and he couldn't believe that she was still in there. He thought he had been in there for long enough...
"I'm afraid not," Dr Walker replied.
Casey couldn't believe his girlfriend was still in there. Charlie must be worried sick. "Do you know how she's going?" he asked.
"I'm not too sure, sorry."
"Am I allowed to go to Brax and Charlie then?" questioned Casey. He wanted to be there for Charlie, and at least the two of them would be on the same page. They both loved Ruby dearly.
"No, sorry Casey. You've got to stay in bed," Dr Walker answered firmly.
Casey grunted. "Let me know when she comes out then?"
"Yup, of course."
A couple of footsteps and a bed rolling towards them had woken Charlie up. "Is that Ruby? Is that Ruby?" she asked frantically.
Nobody answered her when the bed passed them. Ruby was lying there on the bed as still as a rock. Her skin was as pale as a sheep. This got Charlie into tears again.
"What happened?" she asked, in between her sobs. "Is she okay?"
All the doctors except one, dragged Ruby into another room. The doctor who stayed behind explained to Charlie what happened.
"Ruby was the one who was driving in the car. The other car had hit them on the side Ruby was on. Her injuries are quite severe and we've tried to recover her as much as we possibly can. She's still unconscious and will have to stay in a coma."
Brax couldn't look at Charlie when they were told this. Charlie started crying even harder. Brax cuddled her and told Charlie that at least Ruby has pulled through. The doctor, who was still with them, wasn't thinking at all. "We can't confirm that for sure. We still need to keep a close eye on her because anything could happen."
This set Charlie off even more. "She'll be okay," Brax tried to tell Charlie.
Charlie didn't want to hear any of this. "How do you know? You're not a doctor!" she yelled.
"She's strong Charlie," Brax told her, trying to calm her down.
"You don't get it. She's all I have Brax. I can't lose her, not now, not at such a young age."
"Charlie, I know."
"Do you Brax? Do you really? Casey's fine, he's awake!"
Brax couldn't understand why she was having a go at Casey. "Why does this have anything to do with Casey? Look, I get that you're upset. I'm just trying to hope for the best okay?"
"They were both in the same accident! Why is there such a big difference between their injuries huh!" Charlie shouted. She slumped back into her seat, buried her face into her hands and started crying again. "This isn't fair," she said, over and over again.