“Samuel James?” The paramedic said as Sam answered his phone.
“Speaking.” He answered.
“There has been an accident, we need you to come to Mount Sinai hospital right away.”
“What happened?”
“You should bring your immediate family.” The paramedic hung up before he could ask any more questions.
He jumped out of bed and got dressed, waking Mandy as he called his mother. By the time they got to the hospital Riley was being wheeled into an operating room. His mother was pulled away by a different doctor only to come back seconds later, crying her eyes out. “Sam, your father didn’t make it. They said he was dead on scene.” Erin ran into Sam’s arms. He calmed Mandy and Erin as much as he possibly could for about ten minutes, then pulled away and started trying to get a hold of Jackson. A dozen calls with no answer he stopped trying when the surgeon came out.
“Riley will be fine.” He whispered to his mother and his wife as the surgeon approached.
“Mr. James?” The surgeon looked directly at Sam. Sam nodded and the surgeon raised his eyebrow. “She’s in a coma, her brain had some slight swelling, but not enough to require me to remove part of her skull. We have her on some medication that should help with the swelling. Are you the husband?”
“No, I’m her brother.” Sam answered shaking his head.
“Well, I need to talk to him, as soon as possible.” The doctor returned.
“When will she wake up?” Sam asked, glancing over at his mother and Mandy, seeing that they had heard everything, and were now comforting each other.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” The doctor said, before quickly walking away.
Sam tried Jackson’s number again but when it went to voicemail he threw his phone against the wall, shattering it to pieces. He walked out of the hospital without saying anything and got into his car to go check the nearest three jails. It had been about nine hours since Jackson got arrested but he only found Ronnie sitting in there.
He paid Ronnie’s bail and handed him the keys to the car. “Where the hell is Jackson?”
“He got bailed out a couple of hours ago.” Ronnie answered. “What’s going on?”
“There was an accident. We need to go back to Mount Sinai.” Sam’s face remained stoic.
Once they got back to the hospital Sam asked a receptionist where Riley’s room was and went in, hugging his wife and mother as soon as he got there. He sat down in a chair and started rubbing his fingers on his temples trying to alleviate the headache that was coming on as Ronnie read the medical chart they left at the edge of the bed. His mother rubbed her hand across his shoulders.
“Sam everything will be alright. Riley will be alright. Your father is in a better place now, I know it’s hard to see right now but everything will be fine. We will make it work.” She smiled, even though she still had tears streaming down her cheeks.
Sam shook his head. “I can’t find Jackson. I shattered my phone, so I don’t have his number anymore, and Riley’s phone is in dads car, probably smashed, Ronnie never got his number, and I know that she would want him here, even if she doesn’t make it.”
“She’ll make it.” Mandy spoke for the first time since they got there. “Don’t you dare say she won’t, we all know how strong she is.” She was half yelling with tears streaming down her face as she walked over to Riley’s hospital bed and held her hand tightly. “You hear that Ry, you’re going to make it, you’re going to be just fine. Riley we need you.”
Sam walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her but it only made her cry harder. Even Ronnie had tears in his eyes at the sight of Riley hooked up to tons of machines and barely even alive.
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