The Healer Ch. 04

We went through a maze of emergency room pods until we stopped at one and the orderly pulled the curtain aside to let me in. I stood there shocked for a moment since Deb had never been sick enough to be admitted to the hospital. She appeared to be asleep and there were monitors on her, an intravenous drip, and her right hand was bandaged up. A nurse was adjusting some connection to a machine and turned when I walked in.

"How is she doing? Is she okay?"

"Are you her husband?"

"Yes, I'm Mike."

"Well Mike. It's not really my place to say. I'll send the doctor in since you are here now."

With that she left the room and I pulled a chair up next to the bed. I took Deb's hand in mine and tears began to form as I held her.

"Hello Mike, I'm Doctor Thompson and I've been taking care of your wife."

"Hi Doctor. Is she going to be okay? What happened?"

"We are waiting on a few test results but we think she will be fine. We were hoping that you could shed some light on what happened. All we know is that she was at a local nightclub and the staff found her unconscious on the bathroom floor. There was blood around her which came from the lacerations on her hand and best we can tell those came from her breaking the mirror. Do you know if she was upset or depressed about something?"

My insides shredded at the question. My wife was laying injured in an emergency room because I couldn't keep my cock in my pants. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

"I think it might be my fault Doctor. I was unfaithful and she found out so I know she was upset about that, but I haven't talked to her in weeks. She left when she found out and hasn't returned any of my calls. I feel so damn responsible."

"Okay Mike. The important thing is that she's okay and resting comfortably now. She was unconscious on arrival but became very emotionally distraught when she regained consciousness, so we sedated her. She was also a little dehydrated and that's improving. We will need to have her talk to a psychiatrist before we release her but we should be able to get her out of her later today. Will you be taking her home, considering the circumstances?"

That question also tore me up. A year ago it would have been an easy answer that wouldn't have required any thought. It's amazing how one mess up could have an impact on so many things.

"I, uh, don't know Doctor Thompson. I guess I'll need to talk to her."

"Okay, you can just let the nurse know. Be sure to let me know if you have any other questions."

With that we shook hands and he left the room. There was a buzzing sound from the side table and it happened to be Deb's phone. The Caller ID said it was her friend Jen but right now I had bigger things to worry about so I let it go to voice mail. As I held her uninjured hand my mind went to how stupid I'd been and how much I loved her. She didn't deserve to be treated the way she had and I was a real douche bag of a husband. For the next hour or so I sat and watched her breathing and the steady beeping of the machines, and with every passing moment desperately wishing I could roll back the clock and undo what I had done.

Deb's hand twitched in mine and I saw her breathing pattern changing. She stirred a bit and slowly her eyes opened, struggling to focus. Then she turned towards me.

"Mike? Is that you?"

"Yes it's me babe."

With that she pulled her hand from mine and turned her face away. Ice water shot through my veins all over again. Shit!