Monday, October 15th
(Cole’s POV)
I awaken slowly to the rudeness of immeasurable pain. I can’t help but yelp just to find that the sound of my own painful cry causes me even more discomfort. It takes a concerted effort to settle into a quiet whimper yet somehow I do manage it.
“Try to relax, Cole. I hit the call button to see if I can get you some pain killers.”
I cringe at the sound of his kind, yet familiar voice.
“Good afternoon, Dr. Moore. How may I help you?”
I yelp harshly as I cover my ears in an attempt to dull the sound of the voice coming over the speaker.
“Cole has woken up and seems to be in a lot of pain. Can you check his chart for the next dose of Vicodin?”
“Yes sir.”
I’m curled into the fetal position by the time the short conversation concludes. It’s only when I feel hands gently rubbing the tops of mine that I react again, rather over react to the simple stimulation. Yelping and screaming I fight back. It doesn’t matter that my head is already screaming in pain, I’m weak and that’s when the worst things tend to happen.
It’s as suddenly as I start fighting that I find hands wrapped around each of mine moving with me, slowing me down while manipulating them in front of me. I can feel someone behind me, silently waiting for my panic to resolve into light whimpers.
“Jamie must be quite exhausted as I would have expected that bad of a fight response to wake him. Try to relax, Cole. You're at Ridge General Hospital in the ICU. My name is Andrew Moore. I’ve been working with you since you arrived in July. Do you remember what happened when you tried to run five days ago?”
I curl into a ball again, fighting to get my hands free. I feel his grip loosen before his hold triggers my growing panic allowing me to place my hands back over my ears. My whimpers persist as I attempt to curl tighter but find the discomfort of the catheter enough to hinder my efforts.
“Good afternoon Cole. My name is Alexis.”
Her voice is cheerful but easily aggravates the pain I’m already in. I squeeze my hands harder against my ears as I attempt to pant through my increasing stress. I yelp before cringing at my own sound as familiar hands, again, wrap around my own.
“I’m going to lay behind you while she gives you the Vicodin. Stretch out your legs, the IV is near your ankle.”
I whimper lightly as I try to force myself to relax.
“Can you feel my touch?” The female Dr. Moore called Alexis, speaks in a tolerable whisper.
I pull my leg slightly away as I feel a gentle rub against a sock I didn’t know I was wearing. I’m slowly starting to come around as my senses attempt to self regulate. It only takes a minute of Alexis gently rubbing her thumb across my ankle to relax and allow her to move my leg.
“Give the medication slowly. Stop if he pulls away. Wait for him to relax before starting again. Dr. Black said he gets a lot of side effects from all the medication he tends to need.”
I loosen the pressure I’m putting on my ears as he explains what I need to the nurse. I’m slowly finding myself acclimating to being awake and aware of my surroundings. A sharp whine involuntarily escapes as the burn of the medication creeping up my leg causes me to pull away.
“I’m sorry.”
Her voice is soft but more importantly, genuine. She waits patiently for me to appear ready and the second half goes a lot easier.
“Are you okay with me lying like I am?”
Dr. Moore continues his low, gentle speaking while brushing his fingers through my hair.
“Yes sir.” I speak quietly for the first time since waking.
“I’m sorry. I’m just nervous. The only one who’s done this with me is Alpha Black.”
I’m honest with how I’m feeling as Dr. Moore hasn’t given me a reason to fear him.
“That’s where I got it from. I’ve been talking with Alpha Black daily. So has Alpha Whiteman. We are fighting for you. I promise we are doing everything we can to find away. A law, a precedent, an emergency order. Anything. The fight isn’t over until you’re back on Red Fang land and even then it simply becomes more complicated. I didn’t want to explain all that but Demetri insisted that we be transparent. Nothing will be hidden.”
“Thank you.” I whisper. “I’m sorry. I want to know more but I want to sleep.” I somehow manage to yawn through.
“Sleep is the most important thing right now. We won’t remove the cath or ng-tube until you’re a lot more active. I do want to tell you that it may take several days for you to really start staying awake. Dallas struck you hard enough and enough times to cause swelling and bleeding in your brain. The bleeding had resolved without intervention by Friday but you still have a measurable amount of swelling according to your last scan this morning. I will have signs put up instructing everyone to keep the lights and noise low.”
“Thank you.” Is the last thing I remember saying before falling swiftly into the blackness of sleep.
Wednesday, October 24th
(Cole’s POV)
It was a struggle to get out of bed today but I somehow managed to do it. It’s been two weeks today since Dallas planted his foot in my face and only two days since I was released from the hospital. Alpha Moore and Alpha Whiteman kept me there as long as they could but we all knew that it was only a matter of time before the hospital was no longer a medical necessity.
Even though it’s the middle of the week my father made certain that they understood that his bus was coming today to retrieve the last of his pack and his son better be on it. My nearly two weeks in the hospital were easier than these last two days back at Dr. Moore’s house. I’m completely exhausted and can’t keep my mind from imagining the hell Kristoph will be allowed to put me through once I get home.
I’m on my last shirt, folding it and placing it in my duffel bag just as my mouth starts to water and my throat tightens. I drop the shirt into the bag and take off for the bathroom. I make it into the room just in time to kneel before the porcelain god and give up the only thing I’ve managed to consume today; water.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
