XXXVI. Mending-1

Chapter XXXVI – Mending Dad threw his car in park when we got to the hospital, and as we were right outside the emergency doors, I was sure his park wasn't legal. He wrenched open the back door of his truck and pulled me out, carrying me towards the ER. I could hear commotion around me, and I was soon placed on a gurney. I could hear my mom spouting medical jargon at the ER doctors. As soon as I was in an emergency bay, I felt my shirt being lifted and my bandages being removed. I immediately started to feel pricks as all sorts of shots started to be pumped into me. A nurse put an oxygen mask on me. I closed my eyes, trying to solely focus on Mom and Dad's voices. I tried to block out the pain. Pain from my wound, and pain from what the doctors were doing. If I was going to die, I wanted to only hear their voices. I didn't feel the adrenaline like I had in the clearing. Maybe you were only allotted a certain amount of adrenaline for one lifetime, and I had certainly eclipsed mine in my short time in Providence. My body was used to near death experiences. Or real death experiences. My mind went to Shea. Shea. I loved him. Fiercely. I hoped that he knew that. Then it was quiet. I opened my eyes and realised that I wasn't in emergency anymore. I was in a ward. Clearly something had knocked me out. I was connected to a heart monitor again, and I had an IV in my arm with a steady flow of liquid and medication coming into me. I felt a hell of a lot better. My stomach wasn't burning anymore. I didn't feel cold. I felt okay. That was when I noticed my parents speaking over by the door of my room. They hadn't noticed that I had woken up, and they looked to be having a quiet argument. I knew I should have let them know I was awake, but I wanted to listen. I closed my eyes and began to eavesdrop. Mom was crying. I could hear her tears in her voice. "But seriously, Ronan. What kind of a mother am I? I didn't notice my own kid was in pain because I was too preoccupied with myself." "Amanda –" "I was so nervous about you coming over that I spent hours making myself look prettier and skinnier than I really am, all the while my baby has a life-threatening infection! You've messed up my priorities!" she accused emotionally. "I knew this was a bad idea. This is a sign. I can't do this." I was a millisecond away from sitting up in bed and shouting to them both that I was fine, but my dad responded in an oddly calm voice. "Do you want to know what I think?" he asked but didn't wait for an answer. "I think Saraphine is her mother's daughter. She's inherited your knack of not letting the people who love her know that something is wrong until it's too late." Okay, he hit the nail on the head with that one there. "You're not hearing me," Mom said exasperatedly. "That's your problem, Ronan. You always thought that you knew me so much better than you did. You think I didn't say anything?" Mom was pissed off at herself. I could hear it in her tone. She was angry with herself, and she was scared, and she was taking it out on Dad. "I do know you, Amanda," he retorted. "I knew you then, and I know you now. I know you so much that I know you aren't angry at me right now." "Don't you psychoanalyse me," she snapped. Dad sucked in a breath. "Understanding you is not psychoanalysing," he shot back. "Just means you've got someone in your corner who gets you." Mom huffed. "Stop trying to make me feel better." I heard Dad let out a breathy chuckle. "What do you want then?" "What do I want?" she repeated. "I want my baby to be okay. And I want her to forgive me for trying to make myself look not thirty-seven and ten pounds lighter when she was in pain the whole time." Mom let out a sob. "Amanda," my dad said soothingly. Okay, I had to peek. I opened my right eye a slit and I saw that my dad's arms were around Mom. She was resting her head on his chest. Oh my God, they looked like a real married couple. "Saraphine is going to be fine," he assured her. Dad kissed the top of her head. "And you are as beautiful as the day I first saw you. You have always been the most beautiful woman in the world to me." "Oh, you're a liar," Mom whispered. But she tilted her head up, and stood up on her toes, and she kissed him. I thought that it would be super awkward to watch your parents kiss, but they just looked so perfect together! Like they were meant to be. They only kissed for a second, but they stood there for a moment looking at each other afterward, like it had been a long time coming. I feigned my eyes fluttering open, as I mumbled, "Mom," to get their attention. Mom practically pounced on me. Dad was not far behind her as they both started to fuss all over me. "Sara, oh Sara, how do you feel?" Mom asked desperately. "I'm okay," I said as I started to sit up in the bed. Dad helped by propping my pillows behind me. "I feel a lot better." That was an understatement. Mom pressed the call button on my hospital remote to summon someone. Then she went back to fussing over me. "Mom, I'm fine, I promise!" I said, swatting away her hand which subsequently pulled on my IV. I noticed the saline bag was nearly empty and I really had to pee all of a sudden. I was glad that meant I didn't have a catheter this time. "No fever?" she checked, feeling my forehead. "How's your pain levels?" "I'm better," I insisted. "No pain, no fever." I wondered what time it was, and I wondered where my phone was. I needed to call Shea. I knew that he would be here if he knew I was here. I noticed my clothes were folded in a pile on a storage cabinet and my phone, which had been in my pocket, was lying on top. "Daddy, could you hand me my phone?" I asked, pointing to it. He immediately went to my phone and handed it to me. Pressing the home button, I saw that I had a dozen missed calls, and several text messages, all from Shea. "I need to call Shea," I told them, pressing his number and bringing my phone up to my ear. He answered on the first ring. "Are you okay?" he asked anxiously. "Don't freak out," I said in a warning tone. "Too late." "I'm in the hospital," I told him, to which I heard his car keys jingling as though he was racing to his car. "I'm okay! Drive safely!" "I'm already here, I'm in the lobby," he told me. "I went to your house, and when there was no answer, and both your cars were there, I assumed you'd be at the hospital if you weren't answering the phone. They told me that you had been admitted but they won't tell me anything about your condition because I'm not family. I hate that freakin' rule."