Stay For Me - Megan Smith Page 0,73
few moments later a doctor wearing scrubs and a white coat comes in. He takes a seat and introduces himself. “I’m Doctor Muslin. I’ve been working on Layla and Eli since their arrival. Layla and Eli are both in critical condition at this time. We are waiting on the results of some scans to decide the next course of action.” He takes a moment before he continues. “Layla and Eli are both stable at this time. Layla’s heart has stopped twice so far but each time we’ve been able to revive her. The pressure on Eli’s brain is causing some alarm but until we get the results of the scans I can’t tell you more than that.”
All I hear is the swooshing in my ears. Layla’s heart stopped; not once but twice. My best friend’s brain is swelling. I look down to my hands resting in my lap as the doctor finishes. I heard bits and pieces as I tried to focus on what he’s saying.
Surgery.
Blood coming out of mouth and ears.
Missing teeth.
Cracked ribs.
Broken jaw.
Collapsed lung.
Severe brain injury.
Possible rape.
“If there are any family members for Layla and Eli I’d suggest you give them a call.” Dr. Muslin says as he stands and pushes in his chair. “We’ll be speaking again with you soon.”
The door closes behind him and all that can be heard is crying. Jaylinn wraps her arms around me. How could this be happening to them? Who the fuck would be that twisted to beat them within an inch of their lives?
Eli has done so much for Layla and her sister Fallon. He opened up his home for them. By doing that they fell in love with each other. I knew a long time ago that they’d fallen hard; you could see it in their eyes. And Layla, my heart fucking breaks for her. Jaylinn told me all about her situation before she moved in with Eli. No one deserves to be treated like that, ever.
And now this. She’d just got her mom back and was living a stable life with Fallon only to have it ripped from her. Some people say that karma is a bitch but there’s not one thing that Layla has ever done to deserve the shit she’s had to endure. She has to make it…they have to make it.
Jaylinn
Cooper stands and pushes his chair in. “I’m going down for a drink, do you want anything?” He doesn’t really need a drink; I’m not stupid, he just needs a minute to himself, it’s how he deals with things.
I shake my head. “No, thanks, I need to call Layla’s mom to let her know what’s going on.”
“Are you sure? I could do it if you’d like.” Cooper shoves his hands in his pockets.
I wipe my eyes. “No, this is something I should do. You can explain what you saw when she gets here if she wants to hear it.”
He nods. “Yeah, sure. I, uh…guess I’ll call Eli’s sister and give her a heads up.”
“You sure? I could do it when I’m done.” I offer even though it’s the last thing in the world I want to do. It’s bad enough I have to call Layla’s mom, I don’t want to have to call both families. This shouldn’t have happened to them.
“No it’s okay. I got it.” Cooper tells me before walking out.
I reach in my purse and dig out my cell phone. I scroll to Mrs. Del Luca’s number and stare at it briefly before pressing the call button.
“Hey, Jaylinn, what’s going on?” She asks too cheerfully for this early in the morning.
“Hey,” my voice shakes. “Layla is in the hospital.”
She sucks in a breath. “Oh my God, is she okay?”
“You, um…you need to get down here.” I stutter.
“Jaylinn, is my daughter okay?”
“I don’t know.” I answer honestly. “We’re at Community Medical Center.”
I place my elbows on my knees and drop my head forward.
“Okay, let me get Fallon to a friend’s house then and I’ll be right there.”
“We’ll see you soon and be careful.”
I stare at a little black dot on the wall for what seems like forever. My stomach heaves. I take a few breaths but nothing calms it. I rub my hands back and forth over my stomach hoping to settle it. “Come on, settle down.” I whisper to myself.
Everything is suspended in time as we wait while our friends fight for their lives.
A while later Mrs. Del Luca arrives, she walks into the waiting room crying hysterically. Cooper still hasn’t returned. When