Getting to Me
Chapter Thirty-Three
Mandy groaned as her eyes cracked open, only to be met by harsh fluorescent lights and the incessant beeping of foreign machines that told her she was in a hospital. She tried to sit up but realized she felt a sharp, jabbing pain in her stomach when she tried, and she gave up as she just allowed her eyes to look around as best as they could, trying to get a feel for whichever hospital she was in.
She noticed that the walls were the standard, cliché white. She could just barely see the tile, and she guessed that it was white, once upon a time. The glass doors told her that she was in the ICU, which was probably why everything looked so sterile. The room was small, and there were no windows other than the ones that allowed her to look out at the doctors and nurses who were in the main area of the ICU.
She nearly fell out of the hospital bed when she looked at the door and saw a doctor walking towards them, a relieved smile on his face as he put the clipboard down at the end of her bed before clearing his throat. ‘I see you’ve woken up, Ms. Haner,” he said with a small smile before he cleared his throat. “We’ve been waiting for that for quite some time, now.”
Mandy blinked, pushing the dark hair out of her face before she looked up at him. “What are you talking about? How long have I been out?” She asked him, trying once again to sit up, trying to find Zacky. When she didn’t see him, a pang of fear hit her heart, and she couldn’t help but look towards the doctor again, desperation in her eyes. “Where’s Zack? He’s the guy that was driving,” she murmured before trying to move out of the bed. She needed to find Zack; she needed to make sure that he was okay.
“Ma’am, calm down,” the doctor tried to tell her, carefully holding her in the bed before he put a reassuring smile on his face. “Mr. Baker is down on another floor. He’s been awake for a few days. He’s stable,” he told her before touching her shoulder lightly. “Right now, we just need to worry about getting you back in working order.”
“I need to see him,” she told him quietly, feeling tears forming in her eyes. She needed to see with her own two eyes that Zacky was okay, because all she could think of was seeing the car start rolling over the edge of the cliff, his screams, and blood. It was all black after that; she couldn’t remember seeing his face after she’d blacked out, so she had no idea if he was really okay, or if this doctor was just trying to calm her down and sedate her with words.
“Not right now, Ms. Haner,” he said, this time his tone more firm. “We need to stabilize your vitals and keep them stabilized before you can even think of leaving this room, and we need to work on healing the damage that was done to your body in that car crash. Now that you’re awake, the healing process can expedite, but it’s still going to be awhile before you can see Mr. Baker again.”
“Does he…Does he think I’m dead?”
The words were whispered quietly, and she was hoping like hell that this doctor had somehow gotten word to Zack that she was still alive and that she’d survived the car crash. She didn’t want him to think he had killed her or anything; and even if he had, she would want him to know that it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t have possibly known that his going a little faster than recommended was going to end in such a horrible accident, and she didn’t want him feeling responsible for anything that had happened to her.
“No. He knows that you’re alive,” the doctor said with a small smile on his face before he reached back to push his hand through his hair. “And if your vitals stay stable for a few days, I’m sure we can either bring him up to see you, or take you to see him. I just want to make sure that you’re out of the clear before we expose you to that kind of adrenaline.”
Mandy sighed, but she nodded before laying her head back against the pillow again. She understood what the doctor was telling her, but that didn’t mean she liked it. She wanted to be able to go and see Zack; to hold him in her arms and whisper that she loved him. She looked over at the phone and then looked back at the doctor with a small smile.
“Am I allowed to make calls to his room?” She asked him, figuring if she couldn’t see him, she might as well call him to let him know that she was alright. She was determined to hear his voice on the other end of that phone, and even if the doctor told her she wasn’t allowed to, she was going to find a way to get into contact with him.
The doctor chuckled and shook his head before he nodded, walking over to the table by her bed before he adjusted it so that she wouldn’t have to strain to grab the receiver. “The number for his room is 901-463,” he told her before walking out of the room to give her some privacy. No longer than thirty seconds after he left did the door open again. A huge smirk broke out on her face before she turned to look at her parents. Brian was also standing there, a baby bundle in his arms.
“You’re awake,” her mother said with a small smile as she walked over to Mandy before hugging her as gently as she could. She could feel her own eyes tearing up a little bit when she saw her mother’s tears, and she just pushed some of her hair out of her face before clearing her throat that she could speak properly.
“Yeah. I’m kind of shocked myself,” she chuckled before stretching her feet out as much as she was able to, before she looked over at Brian and her new niece. “What’s her name?” She asked her brother softly, looking at the little girl. He just chuckled and walked over to the bed before putting the baby into her arms carefully. She noticed that, like all of the Haner children, the baby girl had chocolate brown eyes. There was only a little bit of fluff on her head, but Mandy had a feeling that her hair would grow to be a rich brown like Brian’s as well. She definitely had Michelle’s nose, and Brian’s lips. Seeing the baby girl made her forget all about the car accident for a few minutes.
“Olivia,” he told her with a small smile. “Olive for short,” he shook his head, an amused smirk on his face. Mandy couldn’t help but laugh a little at her brother’s words. She had always teased him that someday, he was going to have a kid named Olive because he loved eating the olives off of his fingers when he was a kid. She let the baby girl wrap her hand around one of her fingers before she looked back up at her parents, who were watching her with small smiles.
“I already asked the doctor this, but…I want to make sure,” Mandy cleared her throat as she looked at her father, knowing he wouldn’t mince words. “Is Zack alright? I need to know, Dad,” she murmured, not wanting to be too loud because of Olivia. She had fallen asleep already, and Mandy didn’t feel like being the one to wake her up.
“He’s fine,” Brian Sr. told her before he cleared his throat. “He’s got himself in a tizzy, trying to figure out a way to get up here and see you himself. He’s worried sick about you,” he told her with a small smile before he walked over to her, leaning over to press his lips against her forehead. Mandy smiled, knowing that her father hadn’t lied. He would never tell her something that wasn’t true, even if it would help her feel better.
“The doctor already said I can’t go see him,” she grumbled, not happy with the doctor’s orders. Her parents both nodded, and her mother put her hand on her shoulder before speaking softly.
“You’re not strong enough just yet,” she murmured to her daughter before putting a small smile on her face, trying to reassure her daughter that everything was going to be alright. “You just woke up today, and you’ve got a lot of injuries, Mandy. They…the doctors were worried that you weren’t going to pull through.”
Brian scoffed at that, as if he had believed that his sister was strong enough to pull through anything, and that put a smile on her face before she looked up at her mother. “I’m fine. Really,” she tried to reassure her mother before shaking her head. “I just want to see him, Mom. Even if it’s just for a few minutes,” she muttered. She had no idea how easy it would be for her to get down to Zacky, but the doctor had told her that he wasn’t in the ICU, which meant that he was probably cleared to move around a little bit more.
“I’ll see if I can get the doctor to let that happen,” her father promised her before picking the sleeping baby up out of her arms. “But for now, you need to get a little bit of rest. You’re going to need all the strength you can get if you want to see Zack.”
Mandy sighed and pushed her hand back through her hair, knowing that her father was right. She’d give Zack’s room a call after she woke up from a nap, but she was going to sleep. She felt more exhausted than she thought she should since she’d been out for so long, so a nap was just what the doctor ordered. And then, she would find a way to talk to Zack again.
She noticed that the walls were the standard, cliché white. She could just barely see the tile, and she guessed that it was white, once upon a time. The glass doors told her that she was in the ICU, which was probably why everything looked so sterile. The room was small, and there were no windows other than the ones that allowed her to look out at the doctors and nurses who were in the main area of the ICU.
She nearly fell out of the hospital bed when she looked at the door and saw a doctor walking towards them, a relieved smile on his face as he put the clipboard down at the end of her bed before clearing his throat. ‘I see you’ve woken up, Ms. Haner,” he said with a small smile before he cleared his throat. “We’ve been waiting for that for quite some time, now.”
Mandy blinked, pushing the dark hair out of her face before she looked up at him. “What are you talking about? How long have I been out?” She asked him, trying once again to sit up, trying to find Zacky. When she didn’t see him, a pang of fear hit her heart, and she couldn’t help but look towards the doctor again, desperation in her eyes. “Where’s Zack? He’s the guy that was driving,” she murmured before trying to move out of the bed. She needed to find Zack; she needed to make sure that he was okay.
“Ma’am, calm down,” the doctor tried to tell her, carefully holding her in the bed before he put a reassuring smile on his face. “Mr. Baker is down on another floor. He’s been awake for a few days. He’s stable,” he told her before touching her shoulder lightly. “Right now, we just need to worry about getting you back in working order.”
“I need to see him,” she told him quietly, feeling tears forming in her eyes. She needed to see with her own two eyes that Zacky was okay, because all she could think of was seeing the car start rolling over the edge of the cliff, his screams, and blood. It was all black after that; she couldn’t remember seeing his face after she’d blacked out, so she had no idea if he was really okay, or if this doctor was just trying to calm her down and sedate her with words.
“Not right now, Ms. Haner,” he said, this time his tone more firm. “We need to stabilize your vitals and keep them stabilized before you can even think of leaving this room, and we need to work on healing the damage that was done to your body in that car crash. Now that you’re awake, the healing process can expedite, but it’s still going to be awhile before you can see Mr. Baker again.”
“Does he…Does he think I’m dead?”
The words were whispered quietly, and she was hoping like hell that this doctor had somehow gotten word to Zack that she was still alive and that she’d survived the car crash. She didn’t want him to think he had killed her or anything; and even if he had, she would want him to know that it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t have possibly known that his going a little faster than recommended was going to end in such a horrible accident, and she didn’t want him feeling responsible for anything that had happened to her.
“No. He knows that you’re alive,” the doctor said with a small smile on his face before he reached back to push his hand through his hair. “And if your vitals stay stable for a few days, I’m sure we can either bring him up to see you, or take you to see him. I just want to make sure that you’re out of the clear before we expose you to that kind of adrenaline.”
Mandy sighed, but she nodded before laying her head back against the pillow again. She understood what the doctor was telling her, but that didn’t mean she liked it. She wanted to be able to go and see Zack; to hold him in her arms and whisper that she loved him. She looked over at the phone and then looked back at the doctor with a small smile.
“Am I allowed to make calls to his room?” She asked him, figuring if she couldn’t see him, she might as well call him to let him know that she was alright. She was determined to hear his voice on the other end of that phone, and even if the doctor told her she wasn’t allowed to, she was going to find a way to get into contact with him.
The doctor chuckled and shook his head before he nodded, walking over to the table by her bed before he adjusted it so that she wouldn’t have to strain to grab the receiver. “The number for his room is 901-463,” he told her before walking out of the room to give her some privacy. No longer than thirty seconds after he left did the door open again. A huge smirk broke out on her face before she turned to look at her parents. Brian was also standing there, a baby bundle in his arms.
“You’re awake,” her mother said with a small smile as she walked over to Mandy before hugging her as gently as she could. She could feel her own eyes tearing up a little bit when she saw her mother’s tears, and she just pushed some of her hair out of her face before clearing her throat that she could speak properly.
“Yeah. I’m kind of shocked myself,” she chuckled before stretching her feet out as much as she was able to, before she looked over at Brian and her new niece. “What’s her name?” She asked her brother softly, looking at the little girl. He just chuckled and walked over to the bed before putting the baby into her arms carefully. She noticed that, like all of the Haner children, the baby girl had chocolate brown eyes. There was only a little bit of fluff on her head, but Mandy had a feeling that her hair would grow to be a rich brown like Brian’s as well. She definitely had Michelle’s nose, and Brian’s lips. Seeing the baby girl made her forget all about the car accident for a few minutes.
“Olivia,” he told her with a small smile. “Olive for short,” he shook his head, an amused smirk on his face. Mandy couldn’t help but laugh a little at her brother’s words. She had always teased him that someday, he was going to have a kid named Olive because he loved eating the olives off of his fingers when he was a kid. She let the baby girl wrap her hand around one of her fingers before she looked back up at her parents, who were watching her with small smiles.
“I already asked the doctor this, but…I want to make sure,” Mandy cleared her throat as she looked at her father, knowing he wouldn’t mince words. “Is Zack alright? I need to know, Dad,” she murmured, not wanting to be too loud because of Olivia. She had fallen asleep already, and Mandy didn’t feel like being the one to wake her up.
“He’s fine,” Brian Sr. told her before he cleared his throat. “He’s got himself in a tizzy, trying to figure out a way to get up here and see you himself. He’s worried sick about you,” he told her with a small smile before he walked over to her, leaning over to press his lips against her forehead. Mandy smiled, knowing that her father hadn’t lied. He would never tell her something that wasn’t true, even if it would help her feel better.
“The doctor already said I can’t go see him,” she grumbled, not happy with the doctor’s orders. Her parents both nodded, and her mother put her hand on her shoulder before speaking softly.
“You’re not strong enough just yet,” she murmured to her daughter before putting a small smile on her face, trying to reassure her daughter that everything was going to be alright. “You just woke up today, and you’ve got a lot of injuries, Mandy. They…the doctors were worried that you weren’t going to pull through.”
Brian scoffed at that, as if he had believed that his sister was strong enough to pull through anything, and that put a smile on her face before she looked up at her mother. “I’m fine. Really,” she tried to reassure her mother before shaking her head. “I just want to see him, Mom. Even if it’s just for a few minutes,” she muttered. She had no idea how easy it would be for her to get down to Zacky, but the doctor had told her that he wasn’t in the ICU, which meant that he was probably cleared to move around a little bit more.
“I’ll see if I can get the doctor to let that happen,” her father promised her before picking the sleeping baby up out of her arms. “But for now, you need to get a little bit of rest. You’re going to need all the strength you can get if you want to see Zack.”
Mandy sighed and pushed her hand back through her hair, knowing that her father was right. She’d give Zack’s room a call after she woke up from a nap, but she was going to sleep. She felt more exhausted than she thought she should since she’d been out for so long, so a nap was just what the doctor ordered. And then, she would find a way to talk to Zack again.