Point of Retreat

mind, take these forms to the other gentleman with you. What about the little girl? Is she related to you?"
     
    I shake my head. "She's my neighbor. Her mother’s on her way."
     
    I grab the paperwork and head back to the waiting room.
     
    "Any news?" I ask, handing Gavin his clipboard. Gavin just shakes his head.
     
    “We’ve been here almost an hour! Where is everybody?” I throw my clipboard in the chair and sit down. Just as I land in the chair, a man in a white lab coat rounds the corner and walks toward us, followed by a frantic Sherry. I jump back up.
     
    "Will!" she yells. She's crying. "Where is she? Where's Kiersten? Is she hurt?"
     
    I walk to Sherry and put my arms around her, then look at the doctor for answers since I don't have any. He looks at Sherry. "Is the little girl who you're looking for?" he asks. Sherry nods. "She'll be okay. She's got a broken arm, but other than that she just got hit on the head pretty hard. We’re still waiting on a few test results but you're welcome to go see her. I've just put her in room 212. If you'll head to the nurses’ station she can direct you."
     
    "Oh, thank god," I say. Sherry lets go of me and darts around the corner.
     
    "Which one of you is with the other young lady?" he asks.
     
    Gavin and I both look at each other. The doctor's singular reference makes my heart stop.
     
    "There are two!" I yell, frantic. "There are two of them!"
     
    He looks puzzled as to why I'm yelling at him. "I'm sorry," he says. "I was only brought the girl and a young lady. Sometimes when they go straight to surgery, they don't come to me first. I only have news on a young lady with the blond hair."
     
    "Eddie! Is she okay?" Gavin asks.
     
    "She's stable. They're still running some tests, so you can't go back yet."
     
    "What about the baby? Is the baby okay?"
     
    "That's why they're running tests, sir. I'll be back as soon as I know more."
     
    He starts to walk away when I run after him and cut him off in the hallway. "Wait!" I say. "What about Lake? I haven't heard anything. Is she okay? Is she in surgery? Why is she in surgery?"
     
    He looks at me with pity in his eyes. It makes me want to punch him.
     
    "I'm sorry, sir. I only treated the other two. I'll do my best to find some answers and get back with you as soon as I can." He walks away in a hurry.
     
    They’re not telling me anything! They aren’t telling me a damn thing! I lean against the wall of the hallway and slide down to the floor. I pull my knees up and rest my elbows on them and bury my face in my hands.
     
    “Will?”
     
    I look up and Kel is looking down at me.
     
    “Why won’t they just tell us if she’s okay or not?”
     
    I grab his hand and pull him to the floor with me. I put my arm around him and he hugs me back. I stroke his hair and kiss him on top of the head, because I know that’s what Lake would do. "I don't know, Kel. I don't know." I hold him while he cries. As much as I want to scream; as much as I want to cry; as much as my world is crashing down around me…I have to hold it all in for this little boy. I can't even begin to imagine what he's feeling. How scared he must be. Lake is the only thing he has in this world. I hold him and kiss his head until he cries himself to sleep.
     
    ***
     
    “Will?”
     
    I look up and Sherry is standing over me. I start to stand up but she shakes her head and points at Kel who has fallen asleep in my lap. She sits down in the floor next to me.
     
    “How’s Kiersten?” I ask.
     
    “She’ll be okay. She’s asleep. They may not even keep her overnight.” She reaches over and strokes Kel's hair. “Gavin said you guys haven’t heard anything about Layken yet?”
     
    I shake my head. “It’s been over an hour, Sherry.” I turn my head and look at her. “Why aren’t they telling me anything? They won’t even tell me if she’s…” I can’t finish the sentence. I inhale a deep breath, trying my best to maintain my composure for Kel’s sake.
     
    “Will…if that were the case they would have told you so by now. It means they’re doing everything they can.”
     
    I know she’s just trying to help, but her statement hits me hard. I pick Kel up and carry him back to the waiting room and sit him in the chair next to Gavin.
     
    "I'll be back," I say. I run down the hallway to the nurse’s station, but naturally there isn’t anyone there. The doors that lead to the emergency rooms stay locked, so they don’t