He Won't Go
Chapter 6: Recovery.
October 7th 2003.
It was only yesterday when Nicole, Murray and Karin were informed that the passenger in Dany’s car had passed away. Dan Synder was a teammate and close friend of Dany’s and now Murray and Karin were left with the burden of having to inform him that his friend had passed away. Nicole hadn’t left the hospital since she arrived there on the last day of September, and had no plans on leaving unless Dany was by her side. She wasn’t leaving until he was better, and that was that. Her mind wasn’t changing on the matter either.
“Nicky, you should go and get some sleep.” Karin suggested.
“You know me well enough by now to know that I won’t sleep if I leave. I’m okay with my naps in the chair. Besides I just woke up, I am fine.” Nicole politely rejected the offer, knowing Karin knew better.
“Here you go sweetheart.” Murray held out steaming cup of tea for Nicole and handed his wife a cup of coffee.
“How are we going to tell Daniel about Dan?” Karin asked as she looked up at her husband. When Nic looked into Karin’s eyes, and looked at her face she could see that this had aged her a lot. It was causing her a lot of stress.
“I have no idea. I’m sure it will be the first thing he asks.”
The group sat in silence as they sat around looking at Dany. They were all being drove crazy having to spend so many days at the hospital and still there was no development with Dany, he was still on an IV, the doctors would come in and check on him every hour like they had for the past 5 days since Nicole arrived. They were all getting more comfortable being in the hospital especially since he hadn’t taken a turn for the worst yet and it was all what they were hoping to avoid. Nic couldn’t remember the last time she had anything to eat; she had given up on junk food days ago because it was causing her to have pains in the stomach.
“I am going to get some food, can I get you anything?” She politely asked while looking at Karin and Murray.
“No thanks.” They both said in unison.
It was 2 hours since Nicole had left the hotel room when she ventured back, she desperately had needed to see something other than the walls of the hospital that she had been staring at for the past couple days. She was past her crying phase that she was going through she had much worse worries than she had before she was convinced that Dany was going to pull through and it was only going to be a few more days and he would be awake and able to go home shortly after. It was the charges of vehicular homicide that he was worrying about. She was unable to think things through in her head she knew Dany had alcohol in his blood at the time of the accident and that he was driving over the speed limit but she knew that it was never his intention to kill his teammate, his friend. Daniel would never hurt anyone he cared about, not purposely anyway.
Her feet had carried her back to the room. She took one look at his parents and knew that they needed their sleep and as much as they tried to deny it, they were too old to be sleeping in the hospital where as Nicole would recover quickly from the craps that sleeping in the chairs caused. “You two can get yourself some sleep. I will call you when he wakes.”
Nicole took her usual place by his bedside and held his hand. She bought her knees up to her chest and began talking to him again. “Dany, enough is enough. Wake up.” Nicole’s eyes never left his face. “WAKE UP.” She said loudly, she sighed. She knew it was no use; he was going to be stubborn and do things on his own terms like he always had before. “If you wake up soon, I will admit that I was wrong when we broke up. I should have changed my school.” It was the first time she had ever said those words out loud, and admitted to more than just herself she had made the wrong decision.
Her eyes began to shut slowly; the lack of sleep was catching up on her. She rested her head against her knees as she slowly began drifting away to dream land.
“Nicky...” The voice said lowly, “Cole is that you.”
Nicole felt the tight grip on her hand when her head shot up and looked at Dany whose eyes were open and full of life. “OH MY GOD, YOU’RE AWAKE.” Nicole leaped from her chair and over Dany’s body when she squeezed tightly. “Thank god.” She whispered breathlessly into his ear. His arms came up around her body and for a brief moment he forgot how much he resented her while he held her in his arms. It felt so good to hold her so close, and feel her warmth and smell the faint smell of vanilla off her skin.
Nicole pulled away realizing that he might be in need of a drink and handed him a cup of water, and looked into his eyes it was then she remembered that she was going to be the one to tell him that Dan had passed away, and all the other details about everything. It was in those few moments of staring at one another when they both realized how complicated things were between them still. Nicole was just happy he was awake, no matter how mad he may be at her for the next few days she was going to suffer through. Even if he didn’t want to admit to himself that he needed her, or was going to need her she knew he did.
“I am going to call your parents and tell them your okay.”
“My parents... they’re here...”
Nicole nodded her head as she got out of her seat and walked towards the door in search of the pay phone. “Nicole, don’t leave just yet.”
The words stopped her dead in her tracks and she quickly walked back to the seat beside his bed. She folded her hands and placed them in her lap. “What do you need?”
“Dan, is he” Dany paused a moment and inhaled deeply. “Is he okay?”
Nicole expression went blank; she never had broken the news to someone about death. She had always been given the news when someone died in her family. She tried hard to recall what everyone would say, and how they would break the news but none of it seemed fitting in this very moment. “He passed away yesterday Danny. I’m sorry.”
Nicole was in shock when she seen the tears began to run down his face. Her heart broke into what felt like a million little pieces never had she seen Dany cry, she knew what was going through his mind and knew nothing that she could say was going to make him feel better about what happened. In her mind this wasn’t his fault, it was not his intention to have all this happen. She wanted to crawl into the bed beside him and just cuddle into him, promise him that everything was going to be okay but she wasn’t sure that it was going to be. There was no doubt a struggle ahead of him, but as long as he wanted to have her around she was willing to stay.
“Don’t tell them, please.”
She knew exactly what he was talking about. The accident – his blood alcohol level, Dany knew Nicole was relentless and would go to anything to find out exactly what was happening involving him and the car accident and the charges he was going to face. Dany knew, he could tell by the look on her face and it only had taken a few seconds to figure everything out.
“I won’t say a word.”
It was only yesterday when Nicole, Murray and Karin were informed that the passenger in Dany’s car had passed away. Dan Synder was a teammate and close friend of Dany’s and now Murray and Karin were left with the burden of having to inform him that his friend had passed away. Nicole hadn’t left the hospital since she arrived there on the last day of September, and had no plans on leaving unless Dany was by her side. She wasn’t leaving until he was better, and that was that. Her mind wasn’t changing on the matter either.
“Nicky, you should go and get some sleep.” Karin suggested.
“You know me well enough by now to know that I won’t sleep if I leave. I’m okay with my naps in the chair. Besides I just woke up, I am fine.” Nicole politely rejected the offer, knowing Karin knew better.
“Here you go sweetheart.” Murray held out steaming cup of tea for Nicole and handed his wife a cup of coffee.
“How are we going to tell Daniel about Dan?” Karin asked as she looked up at her husband. When Nic looked into Karin’s eyes, and looked at her face she could see that this had aged her a lot. It was causing her a lot of stress.
“I have no idea. I’m sure it will be the first thing he asks.”
The group sat in silence as they sat around looking at Dany. They were all being drove crazy having to spend so many days at the hospital and still there was no development with Dany, he was still on an IV, the doctors would come in and check on him every hour like they had for the past 5 days since Nicole arrived. They were all getting more comfortable being in the hospital especially since he hadn’t taken a turn for the worst yet and it was all what they were hoping to avoid. Nic couldn’t remember the last time she had anything to eat; she had given up on junk food days ago because it was causing her to have pains in the stomach.
“I am going to get some food, can I get you anything?” She politely asked while looking at Karin and Murray.
“No thanks.” They both said in unison.
It was 2 hours since Nicole had left the hotel room when she ventured back, she desperately had needed to see something other than the walls of the hospital that she had been staring at for the past couple days. She was past her crying phase that she was going through she had much worse worries than she had before she was convinced that Dany was going to pull through and it was only going to be a few more days and he would be awake and able to go home shortly after. It was the charges of vehicular homicide that he was worrying about. She was unable to think things through in her head she knew Dany had alcohol in his blood at the time of the accident and that he was driving over the speed limit but she knew that it was never his intention to kill his teammate, his friend. Daniel would never hurt anyone he cared about, not purposely anyway.
Her feet had carried her back to the room. She took one look at his parents and knew that they needed their sleep and as much as they tried to deny it, they were too old to be sleeping in the hospital where as Nicole would recover quickly from the craps that sleeping in the chairs caused. “You two can get yourself some sleep. I will call you when he wakes.”
Nicole took her usual place by his bedside and held his hand. She bought her knees up to her chest and began talking to him again. “Dany, enough is enough. Wake up.” Nicole’s eyes never left his face. “WAKE UP.” She said loudly, she sighed. She knew it was no use; he was going to be stubborn and do things on his own terms like he always had before. “If you wake up soon, I will admit that I was wrong when we broke up. I should have changed my school.” It was the first time she had ever said those words out loud, and admitted to more than just herself she had made the wrong decision.
Her eyes began to shut slowly; the lack of sleep was catching up on her. She rested her head against her knees as she slowly began drifting away to dream land.
“Nicky...” The voice said lowly, “Cole is that you.”
Nicole felt the tight grip on her hand when her head shot up and looked at Dany whose eyes were open and full of life. “OH MY GOD, YOU’RE AWAKE.” Nicole leaped from her chair and over Dany’s body when she squeezed tightly. “Thank god.” She whispered breathlessly into his ear. His arms came up around her body and for a brief moment he forgot how much he resented her while he held her in his arms. It felt so good to hold her so close, and feel her warmth and smell the faint smell of vanilla off her skin.
Nicole pulled away realizing that he might be in need of a drink and handed him a cup of water, and looked into his eyes it was then she remembered that she was going to be the one to tell him that Dan had passed away, and all the other details about everything. It was in those few moments of staring at one another when they both realized how complicated things were between them still. Nicole was just happy he was awake, no matter how mad he may be at her for the next few days she was going to suffer through. Even if he didn’t want to admit to himself that he needed her, or was going to need her she knew he did.
“I am going to call your parents and tell them your okay.”
“My parents... they’re here...”
Nicole nodded her head as she got out of her seat and walked towards the door in search of the pay phone. “Nicole, don’t leave just yet.”
The words stopped her dead in her tracks and she quickly walked back to the seat beside his bed. She folded her hands and placed them in her lap. “What do you need?”
“Dan, is he” Dany paused a moment and inhaled deeply. “Is he okay?”
Nicole expression went blank; she never had broken the news to someone about death. She had always been given the news when someone died in her family. She tried hard to recall what everyone would say, and how they would break the news but none of it seemed fitting in this very moment. “He passed away yesterday Danny. I’m sorry.”
Nicole was in shock when she seen the tears began to run down his face. Her heart broke into what felt like a million little pieces never had she seen Dany cry, she knew what was going through his mind and knew nothing that she could say was going to make him feel better about what happened. In her mind this wasn’t his fault, it was not his intention to have all this happen. She wanted to crawl into the bed beside him and just cuddle into him, promise him that everything was going to be okay but she wasn’t sure that it was going to be. There was no doubt a struggle ahead of him, but as long as he wanted to have her around she was willing to stay.
“Don’t tell them, please.”
She knew exactly what he was talking about. The accident – his blood alcohol level, Dany knew Nicole was relentless and would go to anything to find out exactly what was happening involving him and the car accident and the charges he was going to face. Dany knew, he could tell by the look on her face and it only had taken a few seconds to figure everything out.
“I won’t say a word.”