Ex-Husband's Regret

Chapter 0527

I pull myself up straight, my back ramrod, as I try to give myself some false bravado. I try to get the words out. To tell her that I am okay, but my tongue is heavy, and the words refuse to leave my mouth.

She gently pats my shoulders. "I understand. Go and take a seat. It looks like your son needs a shoulder to lean on right now. You can be each other's anchor."

I do the only thing I can. I nod my head before leaving. I get to Gunner and sit next to him before pulling him onto my lap. We hug each other, holding on to one another.

I don't know how long it is when I feel someone shaking me. I focus on the person only to find Ava staring at me. Her brows pulled down, her mouth turned down, and her eyes full of worry.

"We are all here," she mumbles softly before sitting next to me. "Is she still in surgery?"

"Yes," I croak out the word that feels to have been pulled from deep down.

"What happened?" Travis asks, holding their mother, who seems last in his hands.

She seems like she has checked out. Or maybe she's also remembering. So far, three of her family members have been in the hospital. One of them never came out alive, the other one was a close call, and now Emma.

Everyone who knows her is here. Travis, their mom, Ava and Rowan, Connier and Reaper, Letty, Gabriel, and his wife. Rowan and Gabriel's parents too. The only one missing is Molly. I wonder if anyone has informed her about her best friend.

"It was my fault," Gunner whispers. "We were in the garden when I heard Rex from across the street. She wanted to get him, but I insisted that I should get him. I didn't see the car. She pushed me out of the way, and she got hit instead."

I rub his back, trying to comfort him. Emma saved our son, but got hurt in the process. I don't know what to do with that knowledge.

"It's my fault," Gunner cries brokenly, his pain shattering my heart to pieces.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

I hate seeing him like this. I hate seeing him broken. I hate seeing him blame himself. Seeing the broken look in his eyes is killing me. Destroying me from the inside out.

Kate kneels down and takes his hand before kissing the back of it. "It's not your fault and don't you ever think like that, okay?"

He nods his head, but I can see it in his eyes. He is still blaming himself, and he'll continue doing that for some time.

From there we are quiet. Time flies by but no one notices. No one cares when we are all so worried about Emma. We were all beginning to get agitated by the lack of communication and information from the doctor when the doors to the operating room opened after what seemed like forever.

*Emma's family?"

I didn't like the look on the doctor's face, and I didn't want Gunner hearing what he had to say in case it's bad news. Let's be honest, doctors don't really know how to break off bad news to patients' families. Some of them often come off as unfeeling.

"Connie, would you mind taking Gunner to get a snack?" I request turning to her.

*Sure"

"But I don't want to go," Gunner protests, his brows furrowed stubbornly.

"Please..."

He must have seen something in my eyes because he agrees. He takes Connie's hand and they leave. The moment they are out of earshot, I turn back to her doctor.

*I am just going to be blunt; she died twice while we were operating," he says, staring at each one of us in the eyes. "She suffered a skull fracture, and we had to drain the blood from her brain. Apart from that, both her legs are broken, and she also suffered a spinal cord injury."

Kate's heart wrenching sobs fill the space as the news shatters her and robs her of her ability to stand. Travis and Ava hold her between them. Each one holding one of her hands as they support her.

"Will she be okay?" I ask, afraid of the answer.

"I can't answer that; we'll just have to wait. My main worry is the swelling in her brain and her spine injury, I have to warn you though. Due to the spinal cord injury, she may end up disabled and stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of her life."