Meant to Marry Me

Bree woke up groggy again, but this time, she knew exactly where she should be. A nurse was there to help her take a few sips of water. Her hand was still fairly numb, but she had some pain in her thigh. "I can give you something for that," the nurse assured her.

A few minutes later, the nurse returned with some medication for her. Bree rested her head back, hoping it started working before the pain got any worse. At least her hand wasn't throbbing. "The doctor will be in to speak to you soon, but she won't mind if I go ahead and let your boyfriend in, assuming you'd like to see him."

"Yes, please," she said, a smile taking over. "Thank you."

"Sure thing. I'll be right back with Mr. Walker." The nurse patted her shoulder, and Bree began to relax. It seemed like the surgery must've gone just fine if they were letting Trent in already.

When he walked in, she sat up, her smile widening. "Hey, beautiful," he said, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. A little tired,” she admitted. "How are you?'

"I'm just fine. Glad you're doing well. These are for you." He set the flowers across her lap, and she breathed in the beautiful floral scents. "How does your hand feel?"

"I can't feel it yet at all," she said, hoping that was normal. He took a seat next to her bed on the side where he could hold her good hand. "But other than that, it's okay. She gave me some pain medicine for my leg." "Is that hurting?"

"A little," she nodded. It was more like an uncomfortable sensation at the moment. "The nurse said the doctor will be in soon."

Trent smiled and said, "Well, I'm sure she'll have nothing but good news to say. It looks like you came through the surgery with flying colors. And it only took a little over two hours, so that's great."

Bree nodded, though she wasn't sure if that was good or not. "Sorry you had to sit there for so long."

He shrugged like it was no big deal, but she knew, if the situation was reversed, she would've been going crazy the whole time.

There was a brisk knock on the door, and then Dr. Rook walked in, smiling. "Bree, you're awake. How is your hand?"

"Numb," she admitted.

Dr. Rook's head rocked back and forth. "That's to be expected for a few more minutes. As the medications wear off, you should start to regain feeling, though. Let's take a look."

Gently, the doctor began to move Bree's fingers around and asked her to do the same. Bree didn't have any trouble moving her fingers, though they were stiff. It was odd not being able to feel everything she was doing, but she was getting some sensation of warmth back.

After several minutes of examining her work, without unwrapping Bree's fingers, Dr. Rook said, "It looks good to me, dear. We'll keep you overnight to make sure there are no complications. The nurses will be in to change the bandages in a few hours, and I will come in tomorrow to check it over once more before we send you home. I think, with some good physical therapy and lots of practice, you will be able to regain at least ninety percent of the movement in your fingers." "Ninety percent?" Bree asked, her eyebrows arching as her mouth hung open. "But... I have to be able to play the guitar."

Dr. Rook's smile was sympathetic. "Hopefully, that will happen, but it will take some hard work and determination on your part. A lot of damage has been done to the nerves in the end of your fingers. Even with the new skin, there's no guarantee of a full recovery. I am certain, though, as long as you have the will to do it, Bree, you will find a way." The doctor patted her reassuringly on the arm and then headed for the door.

Bree didn't tell her thank you or goodbye or anything, she was still too stunned to process what she'd just heard. She turned to Trent. "Ninety percent?"

"That's good, Bree. I'm sure you can play the guitar with ninety percent of your dexterity."

He didn't look that sure, and she didn't feel it. She wanted to cry. How could this have happened to her? At least she could still sing. Still... playing guitar was part of who she was. She couldn't imagine continuing with her career without being able to play. Trent's phone rang, and he acted as if he would ignore it, but when Bree signaled for him to answer it, he pulled it out of his pocket. His forehead crinkled. "It's Zach," he said.

That seemed odd to her. Was Zach just calling to check on her? It was possible, but she got a chill that made her think it was something more.

"Hello?" Trent said. "Yeah, she's awake now. She's doing pretty well. No, I haven't heard anything. Why?"

Bree watched as Trent's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Her blood ran cold. What had Zach called to tell them? Did it have to do with Cat? She prayed Zach was saying Cat had been arrested again, but from the look on Trent's face, she didn't think that was the case.