When August Ends(73)

“You know what the last thing he said to me was?” she asked.

“What?”

“That I’m a good mother and he’s proud of me.” She burst into tears. “We’ve been through a lot, so that really meant the world to hear.”

I reached out to hug her. We embraced as two people who needed each other’s support. This wasn’t the time for bitterness or ego. All that mattered was Noah pulling through. He needed us—all of us.

As I let her go, I said, “He’s always spoken so highly of you.”

Olivia sniffled. “It was hard for me to hear him admit he’d fallen in love with you.”

What?

My heartbeat accelerated. “He told you that?”

“He did. Is that a surprise?”

“Well, he hasn’t said it in those exact words, but…”

Could that be what he was calling to tell me?

“Well, he most definitely said it in those words today, Heather. He told me he loves you. I’d been questioning his intentions when it came to your relationship, and he shot that down. He’s very protective of his feelings for you. I’d never seen that side of Noah. I thought you might need to hear that right now.”

“You’re right. I do. Thank you.” We hugged again, and I laughed a little. “This is weird, right?”

“Totally weird.” She smiled.

Such a strange mix of emotions swirled through me: joy from knowing that Noah loved me and excruciating fear that I would never get to hear that directly from him.

Neil Cavallari reappeared, looking defeated. “The nurse didn’t have any new information. She promised to let me know if she hears anything from the doctors.”

He took a seat across from us and placed his head in his hands. I went to sit down, and Ming moved from her seat in the corner to be next to me.

We all sat in silence, the sadness and fear in the air so overwhelming you could practically see it. I returned to saying prayers in a loop. It felt like my entire life was on the line. The fate of my future was down that mysterious hallway leading into the operating room.

Olivia suddenly stood. “My husband just texted. He’s driving around with the baby, and she’s hungry. I’m going to go feed her and come back. Please text me if the doctor comes out.”

“Okay, sweetheart,” Neil said.

A few minutes later, someone in blue scrubs came rushing toward us. Neil and I stood in unison.

He addressed Noah’s father. “The surgery was successful. We won’t know until he wakes up how much neurological damage there was. He was very lucky that the people in the supermarket acted fast and the hospital was nearby. We were able to get in as quickly as possible to stop the bleeding. But the fact is, if damage did occur, treating the aneurysm won’t reverse it. Rest assured that we did everything we could, and his vitals right now are good.”

“Can we see him?” Neil asked.

“I’m going to ask you to give us a little bit. Someone will come out and bring you into recovery soon. He’s going to be in the ICU for at least two to three weeks while we monitor him for complications.”

“How many people fully recover after something like this?” I asked.

“About fifteen to thirty percent of people escape major difficulties, so that outcome is the exception rather than the rule.”

Oh my God.

My fear paralyzed me.

“What about the other seventy-five percent?” Neil asked.

“Anywhere from mild to severe brain damage. Once blood enters the brain, it damages the tissue. Brain function is impacted, causing, in many cases, memory loss and cognitive disability. It’s why we acted as quickly as possible.” He must have noticed how distraught we looked because he added, “Some people do go on to live perfectly normal lives without any long-term damage despite rupture. Don’t give up hope. We’ll know more very soon as he wakes up.”

He placed his hand on Neil’s shoulder. “Someone will be out shortly to escort you back.”

“Thank you, doctor,” he said.

We held each other, and I whispered, “He’s alive. We’re so lucky.”

So many thoughts flooded my mind. No matter what happened, I was in this for the long haul. I would never leave Noah’s side. I didn’t care if he couldn’t remember me or couldn’t speak. I was here to stay.

A nurse appeared. “Both of you can come back, provided she’s family.”

“This is my daughter, his sister,” Neil said without hesitation.

“Follow me,” she said as she led us down the hallway.

“Thank you,” I mouthed to him.

My heart felt like it started beating again at the sight of him. Noah was still asleep, hooked up to an IV. It was a relief to see that he looked pretty normal, albeit unconscious. His chest rose and fell, and I was never so happy to see someone breathing in my entire life.

Tears stung my eyes as I asked the nurse, “How long until he wakes up?”

“It varies. It’s taking him a while, but that’s not uncommon.”

She wrote something down in her chart as if this was business as usual. I wondered if she realized this moment was the hardest I’d ever experienced, that for me, the world had stopped moving every second he wasn’t awake. I didn’t know whether the love of my life was going to be okay, whether he would even remember me. I didn’t know what I would do if Noah couldn’t speak. No matter what, I would be here. I needed to be strong for him.