Everything I Need

30

   I'm led out to the waiting room to wait there until Kyler is out of surgery. Office Graves waits with me because she apparently has to and because she needs to get Kyler's statement once she is out of surgery and awake. The officer tries to make small talk but I'm not really interested in what she is saying. Nothing she is talking about catches my attention until I hear her say "so... your wife is pretty young and a good bit younger than you. How exactly did that come about when you were her stepmom? You can't actually..."

   I whip my head around and look at Officer Graves. "I don't see how that's any of your damn business. It has absolutely nothing to do with what happened or the fact that MY WIFE is in surgery possibly fighting for her life. I think it's best if you sit elsewhere, away from me, if you have to be here."

   Officer Graves looks at me for a second then reaches out and puts her hand on mine and says "look, I..." I jerk my hand away and move to another row of seats. She stands up and looks in my direction like she is surprised that I moved away from her. "I would advise you not to come near me again right now because if you do, I will not hit you by accident this time." She walks away and walks towards the vending machines, leaving me to my thoughts.

   I'm worried that something is wrong with Kyler's surgery and I'm getting pissed because nobody will tell me anything about her condition or what's even going on except that she is in surgery which I already know. Everytime I ask, I keep being told the doctor will talk to me soon.

   After being here for an hour and a half, I suddenly hear my name being called from behind me. I look back and my parents, Julia, Blakley, her son and Tylisha all come rushing through the emergency room doors and straight towards me. I look at all of them because I don't even know how they knew I was here. Before I can even ask how they knew I was here, my mom and dad both pull me into a hug and I break down crying again. "H-He s-shot her! H-He shot his own daughter. H-He was absolutely hateful to her. T-The things he said were... were....." My parents hug me tighter and I feel another arm wrap around me as I hear Julia trying to comfort me too.

   My parents release me and motion for us to sit down. As soon as we are all seated my dad asks "are you okay Lauren and is the baby okay? Did that son of a bitch hurt you? Did he do that to your lip? Tell me where he is and I will kill him."

   I shake my head as I fight back more tears and finally gather myself enough to speak. "H-He is dead and... I'm... I'm okay and luckily so is our baby. The doctor used a handheld ultrasound scanner after I told the nurse I was pregnant and the baby is fine. We are okay thanks to Kyler. She got there before he could really do anything to me. His ring cut my lip but that's it besides.... besides he groped m-me ...." I can't even finish talking as I feel tears clouding my eyes again as the memory flashes through my mind.

   My dad quickly says "that son of a bitch better be glad he's dead because if not I would kill him." We all look at him in shock at what he said but nobody disagrees with him. I know dad never really liked Mike but I have never heard him say anything like that about anyone.

   I look back at my mom "i-is it wrong that I want to be mad at Kyler?"

   My mom has a confused look and asks "what do you mean? Why would you be mad at her?"

   I sigh as I run a hand through my hair. "I want to be mad because she should have called the police when she first got to our house. She didn't though, she just came inside. W-what if Kyler doesn't make it? What if something happens in surgery and she doesn't ...." I start crying again as I rest my head in my hands. I allow my tears to fall as Kyler invades my mind. I can't lose her, I just can't. She is my soulmate and she is my forever.

   My mother wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into a hug and says "shh sweetie, it's okay. It's going to be okay and Kyler will be okay. She's a fighter sweetie and you know that. You don't need to think the worst right now. You know she is too stubborn to give up and she loves you too much to give up. Don't get yourself worked up, you know the stress is not good for you or my grandbaby and after what you went through, that was enough stress to last your pregnancy. As far as her calling the police, well, she should have but apparently the only thing she was worried about was getting to you. You were her number one priority. You and the baby. As a parent, it's a great feeling knowing that your child's significant other would risk their own life to save your child."

   I feel my dad's hand rubbing my back as my mom still holds me. Julia squats down in front of me and says "Lauren, you know for a fact that you are all Kyler thinks about. You also know that she would do anything for you so you can't be mad at her for putting you and the baby first."

   My mom kisses my head "sweetie, the love you and Kyler have for one another is a rare thing. You two were meant to be together. Mike was... well, Mike was just a stepping stone that led you to your true love."

   It's quiet for a few seconds until Julia starts laughing. I pull away from my mom's embrace and look at my younger sister. She finally settles down enough and says "wow mom, you sounded like a screwed up hallmark card. 'Mike was just a stepping stone that led you to your true love.'"

   Before any of us can respond to Julia's stupid remark a doctor comes out and he asks "is anyone here for Kyler James?"

   I quickly stand up and say, "I'm her wife!"

   The doctor walks over to me and reaches out his hand for me to shake. "Hello Mrs. James, I'm Dr. Jackson and I'm Kyler's doctor. Her surgery went well and she was just put in a room. Luckily the bullet went straight through and didn't cause any major damage. Just some tissue damage which was repaired and she will make a full recovery. As of right now, her arm is wrapped against her chest so nothing happens with the stitches in her shoulder and to give the tissue time to heal. Her arm will be put in a sling tomorrow or the next day and once she is released she will need to keep it in the sling for her shoulder to heal.

   I sigh in relief "thank god she is okay! Thank you so much. She complained about her ribs right before she was shot so what's going on with them?"

   Dr. Jackson nods his head. "It appears she was hit or kicked numerous times in her ribs. She has two fractured ribs and a lot that are severely bruised. As bad as her ribs look, she's lucky only two are fractured. It will take about a month to a month and a half for her ribs to heal. We don't wrap injured ribs because it constructs airflow and makes it harder to breath. She will most likely have pain while taking deep breaths and possibly even normal breathing too as bad as her ribs are bruised. Most movement will hurt and she will need to rest and give her ribs time to heal once she is released. I'm keeping her here for at least a week then will discharge her. Do you have any questions?"

   "C-can I see her and is she awake?" I ask as I look at Dr. Jackson.

   "She is not awake yet due to the anesthesia and just the overall trauma to her body but I can take you to her room so you can be with her. I would prefer to hold off on everyone being in there when she first wakes up especially since she came in unconscious. It might be a little overwhelming for her when she first wakes up." Dr. Jackson explains as he begins to lead me to the elevator leaving everyone else in the waiting room.