Chapter 48

• Parker's injuries were worse than we thought. He had a concussion according to the doctor. He had to stay in the ICU for a few days before he was finally transferred to a private room. The bandage around his head was removed a few minutes before Ava and I arrived. We were asked to wait outside for a few minutes. We were his first visitors since his parents were abroad but would immediately return as soon as they were able.
• Now as I sat on the chair next to his bed and was looking at him, I felt something touched my heart. The lively Parker I remembered was lying with his eyes closed looking helpless. Ava who was standing on the other side of the hospital bed , petted his forehead. I swallowed a sob as a feeling of sympathy came to me. The worst was over but he appeared to be lifeless if it were not for the slow up and down movements of his chest. I had no idea yet what happened exactly because I was hesitant to ask about the details. I didn't want to imagine graphic images of the accident.
• "One of the things he was really afraid of was being alone. I'm sure he never told you that because he was very insecure of that weakness," she said as if to herself as she now removed an imaginary dirt on the white sheet covering the lower body of Parker.