Shock Part 2

We went to a nearby block at a restaurant but I could not eat as I was so worried my tummy hurt. Ann and Mike took a glass of milkshakes each. After a few minutes, I returned to the office as it was already two o'clock.

Minute by minute, I kept checking the clock. Time was not just moving and this made me more anxious. We had agreed to meet with Mike and Ann after work then head to the hospital. Five o'clock on the dot, I was on the stairs running out of the building. Mike was in a white Prius along the road. I hoped in and went to the upper side of town to pick Ann. The drive was ten minutes away but it seemed like an hour. We were silent on our way to the hospital. No one knew what to say or what we would expect.

At the hospital, it was chaos. The nurses, sick people all over and our anxiousness made things complicated. Mike went and asked a nurse on the room number that Fred was in. We were told to wait a few minuted while she checked the registry.

"You can come in this way." The nurse said.

We followed her through the corridors to the room number 11A. She opened the door for us and Mike entered first. I waited for Ann to enter too so that I could be the last one. My heart was pounding so hard it scared me. I looked across the room as I entered and focused on the bed. I saw Fred's legs covered in a sheet. His upper part of the body was a little bit covered by Mike and Ann bodies. I stepped a little close.

"Oh my God!" I shouted.

"Kate, you need to be strong for him." Mike held me on the shoulders.

"I can't believe this." I said in between sobs.

Fred's face was horrifying. He was not the same man I knew. His face was so bruised he looked like he was part of a horror movie. Patches of blood was still plastered across his face. He was so swollen that you could easily mistake him for someone else. His left arm was in bandages and held up by some metal things.

"Are you family?" A voice behind me asked.

I turned around and saw the doctor. He was an older fellow with thick spectacles.

"Yes she is." Mike answered. "She is the fiance'.

"I'm so sorry madam. He has suffered a lot of internal injuries and a broken arm." The doctor started. "We tried to stabilize him and he is doing okay."

"What about his face?" I asked.

"Those are just bruises which will go away soon." He replied. "The police brought him yesterday evening. He was involved in an accident when two cars collided with each other along the highway."