Page 90 of All Your Tomorrows
CHAPTER 23
“You’re awake,” a doctor said as he swept into my hospital room the next morning. “How are you feeling?”
“I have no idea. Why am I here?” I said.
“First things first,” he said, leaning over me and pressing his stethoscope to my chest. “I need to check on your new heart.”
“New heart?” I gasped.
“Relax, Nora. We wouldn’t want you overworking it.”
Tears stung my eyes. “Why did I need a new heart?”
“You suffered an aortic aneurysm.”
“What?”
“You were in some type of accident that caused blunt force trauma to your chest.”
“An accident?”
“You don’t remember?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“That trauma caused an aneurysm which is a balloon-like bulge in your aorta,” he explained. “It ruptured causing bleeding inside your body. Since that can be fatal, we needed to act fast. We hadn’t considered a transplant, but there was one in close proximity with the same blood type as yours.”
My mind reeled. Aneurysm? Heart transplant? Accident?
“You’ll make a full recovery and be able to do everything you could do before.”
I tried to nod my understanding, but the gravity of the information overwhelmed me, immobilizing me. My eyes moved around the room hoping Kyler was nearby, but all I found were flowers and balloons. “How long will I be in here?”
“Oh, I think you’re looking at another week. Get some rest. You need to stay strong for that heart.”
I didn’t know how to reply; everything felt like I was in a dream.
“Do you have any other questions for me?” he asked.
Only a hundred. But I needed time to wrap my head around everything before I could even begin to ask questionsandretain his answers. “I don’t think so.”
He patted my arm before walking toward the door. “Happy New Year,” he said before disappearing in the hallway.
New Year?
I closed my eyes and dragged in a deep breath. A week had passed and I had no recollection of it. None of it seemed real.WasI dreaming?
* * *
The sound of footsteps woke me from a sound sleep. But why was my room dark again? Had I slept all day? Had I missed my mom’s visit?
A police officer entered my hospital room. “Nora?”
I nodded.
“I’m Officer Kent. I’ve been assigned to your case,” he explained, moving to the side of my bed. He crossed his arms and stared down at me. “How much do you remember about Christmas morning?”
I thought back as best as I could. To how happy I’d been to wake up in Kyler’s arms. To Daci’s texts about the alarm. “My boss needed me to check the café. I ran over and then…then I had an accident,” I said, repeating the doctor’s words.