The Soul Summoner (The Soul Summoner Saga Book 1) (27 page)

 But… my name wasn't coming from Warren.

"Sloan?" I heard again closer this time. I broke free from him. 

"That's my mother!" I said in a panicked whisper.

"Sloa...oh oh!" Mom nearly choked on my name as she staggered backward as soon as she walked into my room. 

"Mom!" I snatched up the closest discarded shred of clothing my fingers found and wrapped it around my chest. 

She had stumbled back out of my room to the hallway. Warren sat down on the edge of the bed, laughing.

I looked around the corner to see my mom panting and gripping her chest. She was leaning against the wall. "Mom, what are you doing in my house?"

"I used my key. You didn't answer when I rang!"

"I didn't hear the doorbell!"

She threw her hands in the air. "Obviously." She was still panting. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you had company." 

"What do you want?"

Her face sobered. "You need to get dressed. Your father just called me from the hospital. It's Adrianne. There's been an accident!"

Warren stood and I darted out into the hall and grabbed my mother by the arm. "What?"

"Your dad called and said they just brought her in by ambulance. It's bad. You need to go," she said.

I pressed my eyes closed and reached out into the world with my gift to find my best friend. She was alive, but that was all I knew. 

Warren came out in his black t-shirt and handed me my sweater. "Let's go," he said.

16.

MARK HIGGINS HAD been drunk when he came by to pick up Adrianne. They never made it to the party because he had driven his Jeep off an extra high road shoulder, flipping it. As is the case with most drunk drivers, Mark was practically unscathed; Adrianne, however, had been ejected.

My father had been on call and was at the hospital with a patient when they brought her in. He had tried to call me several times, but my phone had been on silent. When the three of us got to the hospital, I ran to the emergency room's waiting area. 

Her mother, Gloria, who was like a second mom to me, crossed the room when we walked in. She started crying, and she gripped me so tight I feared my head might pop off. 

"How is she?" I asked as I pushed her back enough to search her bloodshot eyes.

She sniffed and wiped her runny nose on the back of her hand. "I don't know," she cried. "They had to take her into emergency surgery because of swelling on her brain."

My father came in right behind us and slipped his arm around my shoulders giving me a gentle squeeze. "Hey, sweetheart." 

"Do you know anything?" I asked frantically.

He shook his head. "Not much. She wasn't conscious when they brought her in, and she didn't look good. They said she had a lot of obvious broken bones, but the head trauma was their biggest concern. I'm trying to get any information that I can, but unfortunately, we just have to wait." He looked over at my mother. "I've got to finish up with my patient, but I'll come back here when I'm done."

I turned toward Warren and buried my face in his chest and cried. He kissed the top of my head and rubbed my back, but even his magical touch brought little comfort. Adrianne had called me, and I had ignored her.

After a couple of hours in the waiting room with Adrianne's parents and mine, the doctor walked in, hugging a clipboard to his chest. "She's stable," he began. "There was very severe swelling from a head injury, so we placed a monitoring device in her skull to gauge the pressure in her brain cavity. We are giving her medicine to keep her sedated. It will give her body some time to repair itself. The next few hours are very critical. I'm not going to lie. This is very serious." His face was grim. "It will be a miracle if she makes it through the night, but it's still a possibility."

It felt like invisible hands were squeezing and twisting my heart like a dishrag inside my chest. There didn't seem to be enough oxygen in the waiting room anymore. Warren's hand rested on my hip, and I remembered to inhale.

I took a step toward the doctor. "Can we see her?" 

He nodded his head but held up his hand. "Once we get her settled and stable in the ICU, two visitors at a time will be allowed in. It will still be a little while before anyone can go back." He sucked in a deep breath. "Please understand she has severe lacerations and bruising on her face. She's intubated, very swollen, and her head is in a stabilizer. It can be a very disturbing sight."

"What else did you find?" Adrianne's mother asked.

The doctor sighed and glanced down at his clipboard. "Besides the brain injury, she has a broken arm, a cracked shoulder blade, three broken ribs, two broken fingers, a broken leg in three places, and more stitches than we could keep track of." He looked up again. "The head trauma is the only thing that is potentially life-threatening at this point, but she is very banged up."

"Where's the jackass that put her in here?" I nearly shouted at him.

The doctor took a cautious step backward. "The driver of the Jeep was taken into police custody after being treated for minor injuries. That's all I know."

I wished I had Warren's ability to stop a beating heart. 

I looked up at my dad. "Do you think she's going to make it?"

He slipped his arm around my shoulders. "Tonight will be the real test," he said. "The odds of her recovery will increase exponentially in the morning."

Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I quickly brushed them away with my sleeve.

I choose to distract myself with anger. "Do you know what happened to Mark Higgins, the driver she was with?"

Dad lowered his voice. "The driver had six stitches above his left eye and a bruised sternum, but you're not supposed to know that. I'm sure he's at the county jail by now."

Anger boiled inside of me.

He squeezed my arm. "I'm going to take your mother home. Are you going to stay here for the night?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I said. "I can't leave."

"I'll stay with her." Warren stood up and offered his hand to my father.

My dad shook it. "I'm glad you're here, son."

I wondered if that would remain true if Mom decided to tell Dad what she had interrupted back at my house. I hugged my mother. "Thanks for coming to get me." I dropped my voice to a whisper in her ear. "And I'm really sorry."

She gave me an awkward smile. "Call us if anything changes. Do you want me to bring you some more comfortable clothes?" 

Warren stepped forward. "I'll go by the house and get some for her," he said. "Thank you, Mrs. Jordan."

Her smile was even more awkward with him. "Thank you, Warren."

They left, and I settled back down beside Gloria Marx. Warren knelt down in front of me. "What do you want from the house? I'm going to go change and grab you some clothes."

I tried to think. "Just some sweats or something," I said. "They are in the tall chest of drawers on the bottom."

He nodded. "Do you need anything else?"

I shook my head and kissed his lips. "No, thank you."

While he was gone, Adrianne's parents were allowed in to see her. When they returned, I was permitted to go in. Adrianne's mom came with me. I froze once I stepped behind the curtain in ICU. There were more tubes going in and out of my best friend than I had ever seen in my life. Her face was so badly injured that I wouldn't have recognized her. Even with the bandaging, I could see they had to partially shave off her beautiful hair. 

A doctor stepped in and asked to speak with Mrs. Marx. Before she left, she touched my arm. "Are you all right?" Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. 

I nodded, and she walked out into the hallway with the doctor.

I went to Adrianne's bedside and picked up her left hand. It was unmangled, unlike her right, and still perfectly manicured. I bent down and cried as I grasped her fingers. The machines around us beeped and wheezed, buzzed and clacked. I kissed her nails. "Please fight," I whispered. "Please stay with me." 

A moment later, a nurse bustled into the room, and I straightened and wiped my eyes on the back of my sleeve again. "How is she?" I asked.

The small framed woman made some notes on a piece of paper and checked the readout on the machine that was beeping in rhythm with Adrianne's heart. "Her heart rate is increasing. That's a good sign," she said. 

I rubbed my best friend's cool fingers as they laid lifeless in my hand. "She's going to beat this." I sniffed. "She's going to come through."

"We're all pulling for her and praying," the nurse said with a sympathetic smile.

Praying,
I thought. I had never been much of a praying type of girl, mainly because I had big doubts about a god that could be in control over the entire universe and allow some of the wickedness I had seen and felt in people. If a deity did exist, I wasn't even sure how to pray to him—or her. But for Adrianne, I would try anything. I pressed my eyes closed.
God, if you're listening. I need a favor...

For a long time, I watched the changing numbers on the machines around the room. I didn't know much about blood pressure, but I knew that numbers like 56/40 weren't good. Slowly, the numbers inched up and with each minute increase, I nearly broke out in cheers. When the nurses came in to check her vitals again, I trudged back to the waiting room. 

Warren was sitting with our little group, slowly swinging the backpack I had carried on our hiking trip between his knees. He stood up when he saw me, and I walked into his arms and buried my face in his chest. "Shh…" he said as I began to sob. He tucked me under his arm and turned me toward to the door. "Come on. Let's take a walk."

We stepped out of the waiting room into the hallway. Once we were away from Adrianne's family, he pulled me back in close and let me weep in his arms. "She looks so bad," I cried.

He kissed the top of my head. "You heard the doctor. There's still a chance. Don't give up on her just yet."

I gathered the fabric of his shirt in my fists and cried until I ran out of tears. When the sobbing subsided he nodded back toward the door. "I brought you some clothes and a couple of pillows. Why don't you change and get more comfortable? This is going to be a long night."

I wiped my nose on my sleeve and nodded. I followed him back inside, and he handed me the backpack. "Thank you," I said.

He nodded toward the bathroom and nudged my elbow. "Go change." 

The single bathroom was empty when I walked in and locked the door. It was the same bathroom where I had changed after bringing Kayleigh Neeland to the hospital. I splashed water on my face before stripping off my sweater and reaching into the bag. I pulled out my blue Victoria's Secret sweatpants and a black S.W.A.T. hoodie that I had never even washed.

* * *

The next morning, I awoke in a puddle of my own drool on Warren's lap. I had been up and down all night checking on Adrianne but had slept for a couple of hours stretched out across him and three of the plastic chairs in the waiting room. 

"Morning," he said as I sat up and wiped the drool off my chin. He was grinning.

If I hadn't been so exhausted, I would have been mortified. "Good morning. Did you sleep at all?" I asked through a yawn.

He gave a weak smile. "A little."

"Have you heard any updates?" I looked down at the time on my phone. It was just after eight in the morning.

He straightened in his seat. "They said she steadily improved overnight and that the swelling has decreased significantly. Her mom said you can go back and see her whenever you wake up."

"Do you want to come with me?" I asked.

He frowned and shook his head. "It's not a good idea for me to be around critical people. They always seem to get worse."

"Really?" I asked.

He nodded. "Unfortunately," he said. "You go back and see her, and I'll go get us some breakfast."

He started to get up, but I stopped him and put my arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry that, once again, our time together hasn't worked out." 

He laughed. "Shut up. I'm here. That's all I need. Go see your friend. I'll be here when you get back."

I kissed him and walked toward the ICU.

Mrs. Marx went with me into the ICU room, but stayed to the side so I could get close to Adrianne. I traced my finger along her hand, careful to not disrupt her I.V. "She looks the same." 

"They say the worst of it is over," Mrs. Marx said. "The swelling has gone down and her vitals look much better than they did last night."

I let out a deep breath and kissed her hand again. Her fingers flinched under my lips. I sat up and looked at her face. Her eyes were fluttering. Her left eye, that wasn't as swollen as the right, flickered open briefly. "Adrianne?" I leaned down close to her face.

Her mother stepped close to the other side of her bed.

Adrianne's eye flickered again, and I could see a hint of hazel. "Adrianne?" I repeated.

Her fingers slightly curved around mine, and for an instant, she looked at me. I cried again and looked up at her mom. "Gloria, did you see that?" 

"I did. Adrianne, can you hear us?" she asked.

Adrianne's fingers bent slightly again. 

"She's trying to squeeze my hand," I said. "Come here!"

I stepped back and let her mother take hold of her fingers. Her eye opened again and she looked at her mother. Gloria began to cry and I covered my mouth with my hands. Another nurse, a male one, came into the room. "What's going on?" he asked.

"She's waking up," I said.

He shook his head and stepped to her bedside. "That's impossible. It's probably just nerve endings firing at rand—"

He stopped in the middle of his sentence when he checked her eyes and Adrianne looked right at him. Without thought, I grabbed his shoulder and almost shook his arm from the socket. "Did you see that?" I shouted.

He leaned closer to her. "Adrianne, if you can hear me, I want you to try and blink."

I leaned in close behind him. Adrienne forced her eye closed and then reopened it.

"I'll be damned," he said.