Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 142764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
As if someone up there can hear my unspoken prayer, I watch as Mom’s eyes flutter and slowly open. She looks right at me, her blue eyes shining like sapphires. "Drew? Is that you?"
I nod and lean down to kiss her cold, dry knuckles. "Yeah. Hi, Mom."
She tries to smile, but it's more of a wince. "Hi," she breathes.
I swallow a hard lump in my throat. "I have never been happier to see your face. I know things have been hard, and I’ve been gone a lot, but I want you to know that I’m here now. I'm not going anywhere until we get you feeling better."
She shifts her hand to pat my cheek, which is still near her fingers. "You have school and football. Don't worry about me, sweetie. This is nothing but a hiccup in the road."
I eye the doctor on the other side of the bed. He gives me a little shake of the head almost like he knows what I’m going to ask him. Why haven’t they told her what’s going on? If it were me, I’d want to know what the hell people were doing to me. My guess is the fear and her reaction, and what it might do to her body. Anything not to make it worse, right?
"Football is over Mom, and my classes are pretty flexible. I’m stubborn, you know that. The more you tell me not to worry, the more I’ll worry. All I want is for you to know I’m not going anywhere, okay?" I don't add what I want to.
As long as my father isn't here.
She tries to smile again, but her lips slip down as if she can’t gather the strength to smile, and then she sucks a shallow breath into her lungs. The doctor steps closer and checks her vitals on the monitor stationed at her bedside.
"Try to relax, Victoria. We don't want your blood pressure to go up again."
I’m so confused right now. Since when are the doctors on a first-name basis with her? I turn my gaze to him and watch him cautiously. Something is wrong here, but I can’t pinpoint it.
Her eyes drift shut, and I gently shake her hand. "Mom?"
She doesn’t respond, and fear kicks me in the chest like a horse. "Mom?"
My heart rate spikes, and I notice the blips on the monitors blink, and the beeping sound speeds up. The doctor jumps into action, lowering her bed to a flat position.
“Scarlett, come here.” Dr. Banks calls for one of the nurses.
I shove out of the chair and move out of their way while they rush around the bed, adjusting her body and grabbing a needle to inject something into her IV. Complete helplessness threatens to suffocate me. I can’t stand here and watch her die, but at the same time, I can’t do a single fucking thing to help her. I’m not a doctor. This is how Bel felt and probably still does. Like a compass with no sense of direction. Lost without a real meaning. I sink deeper into myself, watching with fear as they move around the room.
There’s shouting. “What the fuck are you doing? Call an ambulance for her!” Oh, it takes me a second to realize it’s me.
Then the damn doctor is in my face. “We can’t do that. Not yet. Please understand things are dire, and she should be in the care of a hospital, but I’m not authorized to approve that.” He stares at me meaningfully.
“Then fucking do it. I’m the power of attorney, right? Get her to the hospital!”
After a minute, the screeching of the monitors slows to a more steady beat. The doctor rushed around her bed to check her eyes, pulse, and stats again.
I'm vibrating with tension. Only the steady blip of her heartbeat on the monitor keeps me from splitting down the middle.
"What the hell is going on? What was that?” I pepper him with questions, wondering why this asshole hasn’t pulled his phone out to call the ambulance yet.
He skirts the bed to approach, slipping his pen light into his white coat pocket. "I know I told you earlier that she’s been in and out of it since early this morning, but I believe something else is going on. I’ll need to run some more tests to be sure, but her sleepiness and fatigue are much more than a side effect of the meds."
I wave at the bed. "What does that mean?"
His frown deepens, and I can see the despair in his eyes."She's fallen into a coma, I believe. We need to get these tests done so we can see about helping her recover." He waves me toward a side table. "Let's start with some blood work and go from there."
I strip my jacket as I cross the room and throw myself down in the chair. “Take whatever you need. As long as you can save her life, I don’t give a fuck. I can’t lose her, Doctor. I can’t.”