All the Things I Didn't See by Cindy Sutherland Page B

into the room looking worried, then smiling when she saw Sam looking at her.
“Well, look who’s awake! It’s about time, Mr. Peterson. You’ve been causing quite a stir around here.”
    Sam started to panic again, fighting against the ventilator. Josh put a calming hand on his shoulder and spoke to Nicole.
“What’s going on? Why is it bothering him so much?” Nicole pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed for help. When it was answered, she started to speak.
    “Could you please inform Dr. Harris that Mr. Peterson is awake?” She paused to listen before responding. “Thank you.” She hung up the phone and made her way back to the two men.
    “Mr. Peterson, I know this must be very frightening.” She touched his hand to make sure she had his attention. “The doctor will be here to remove the ventilator shortly, but for now it’s really important that you don’t fight it. Do you understand me?”
A small nod, and then Sam’s eyes were back on Josh.
    “I’ll let your parents know that you’re awake.” Sam’s eyes snapped back to Nicole as she spoke, gratitude shining from his eyes.
    “Thanks, Nicole.” Josh smiled at her, his hands never leaving Sam.
“No problem, Josh.” She went to the door, turning for a second. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Josh turned back to Sam after she left. The hand on Sam’s shoulder went back to his hair, carding through it, scratching at Sam’s scalp, smiling at the look of bliss on his friend’s face.
“Sam, I….” Those beautiful hazel eyes were looking at him.
Josh jolted inwardly . Wait, beautiful?
At that moment, Dr. Harris entered the room, followed by Nicole and another nurse.
    The doctor looked at Sam as she spoke. “Mr. Peterson, I’m Dr. Harris. I’m the surgeon who operated on you a few days ago. Let’s see how you’re doing, shall we?”
She took her stethoscope from around her neck before looking up.
     
“Josh, could you step out for a second so we can examine Mr. Peterson?”
    He stood to go, but the hand he was holding suddenly held his in a death grip. The monitors started beeping as Sam’s heart sped up, and when Josh looked at his friend, there was pure panic in his eyes.
    They looked at each other for a second, a whole silent conversation happening in that moment, and Josh looked back at the doctor.
“Um, he really wants me to stay.”
     
The doctor looked first at Josh, then Sam before breaking into a broad smile.
    “I’ve heard that you’re quite used to getting your own way, Mr. Peterson. I’d hate to ruin that reputation now. Just let Josh move when I need him to, all right?”
Sam nodded and Josh just waited.
    “Mr. Peterson, I’m going to remove this from the machine first, all right?” She waited for a nod and disconnected the tube from the machine. She adjusted the bed so that Sam was lying at an angle while the nurse gently removed the tape attached to the mouthpiece.
    “Now, just relax. I’m going to slowly pull this out of your throat. The more relaxed you are, the easier it will be.”
Sam’s fingers tightened around Josh’s, but he lay perfectly still, letting the doctor work.
He gagged as the end of the tube slithered from his throat, and then it was done. Of course, the first thing he did was try to talk, but all that came out was a raspy moan.
“I think some cool water would be in order, and then you might have an easier time of it.” She reached over, patting his forearm. “You’ll be hoarse and have a sore throat for a while. Let your body rest, Mr. Peterson. It’s been through a lot.”
She turned to the computer monitor and printed off some information, looking it over thoroughly before addressing Sam again.
“Do you know why you’re here, Mr. Peterson?” Sam nodded, an annoyed look on his face. He looked at Josh, gesturing weakly for a pen and paper.
    Josh looked around and spotted the notebook that Sam’s father had been writing music in. He grabbed it, flipped to a fresh page, and picked