Rebuilding
“Elyssa!” Howie screamed.
I
was severely jolted out of my slumber. My door was flung open and there stood
Howie.
“What?”
I asked grumpily.
I
had actually gotten some sleep that had not been interrupted by
nightmares. So I wasn’t happy he’d awakened me.
“Anita’s
awake,” he said grinning uncontrollably.
“What
did you just say?” I asked now fully awake.
“You
heard me,” he said still grinning like an idiot.
I
jumped out of bed.
“So
you're serious?” I asked my excitement rising.
“Totally
serious.”
I
screamed and threw my arms around Howie.
“She’s
going to live?” I asked hopefully still strangling Howie.
“The
doctor’s think so. They are calling it a miracle.”
“Oh
my God!!” I squealed and released Howie from my death grip.
I
began dancing around the room like a moron, but I didn’t care. It was the
best news I had received in a long time.
“What
is going on?” a sleepy Michaela asked from the doorway.
I
started babbling something that didn’t make any sense so Howie filled her
in. In a matter of minutes we were in his convertible on the way to the
hospital. By the time we got there everyone had already visited
Anita. She was still very weak and couldn’t really talk much. But
she was on the road to recovery.
After
a brief visit with Anita I decided that I should go and see Brian. I
hadn’t been to see him in two days with everything else that had been going
on. So I left the Emergency bay and took the elevator up to ICU.
Visiting hours had not yet begun but the nurse let me see him anyway.
I
walked down the white hallway into Brian’s room. He lay there looking
exactly the same as the last time I’d seen him. As every time I went to
see him I felt scared, anxious and depressed at the fact that he may never wake
up. I sat down beside him and gently stroked his arm.
“Oh
Brian,” I began. “How did things get like this? Only a little over
a week ago life was so perfect. All my friends were alive and well.
You and I had the most wonderful relationship. Now all of that seems so
far away, like it was last year instead of last week. How could our lives
change so much in a week? They’ll never be anywhere near the same. Now
everything seems to be in ruins. I don’t want to lose you Bri. You
are the most incredible thing that ever happened to me.”
For
awhile I just laid my head down beside him and sat there in silence. I
never knew if it might be one of the last times I may get to be with him.
I just enjoyed his presence no matter how faint it was. The feeling of
being close to him. I looked at his face and wished he would open his
beautiful blue eyes and look into mine. That he would smile that adorable
smile of his and tell me everything was going to be fine. But his eyes
remained closed and his mouth unsmiling.
Suddenly
the sound from one of Brian’s machines changed. The beep went
solid. I looked over at the heart monitor the line went flat. I
froze for an instant not being able to do anything then I let out a gut
wrenching cry. I flew from the room.
“Somebody
HELP!!!!” I shrieked out into the seemingly empty hallway.
Almost
immediately several doctors and nurses flew past me into Brian’s room.
Frantically they scurried around trying to save Brian. But nothing was
changing. The solid line continued, the steady beep droned on in my ear.
“Damn
it we’re losing him!” one of the doctors called out.
“But
there is nothing else we can do!” another shouted back.
“Brian,
no!” I choked out my sobs took over.
A
nurse came over and tried to help me but I shook out of her grasp and began to
run down the hallway.
I
surpassed the elevator and dashed madly down the stairs. I tripped down
the last few, but uninjured I picked myself up and kept on running. As I
passed through the waiting room I could hear my friends call out to me.
But I ignored them and kept going. Brian was dying. My love was
dying. I could almost see my world fall apart right in front of my
eyes. It was over. Nothing was left. I ran screaming and
sobbing in the rain.
The
rain pounded against my body but I barely even noticed it. Within moments
I was soaked. But I kept running. I had absolutely no idea where I
was going. I just kept running. My feet flew beneath my body eating
up the cement.
“Brian,”
I cried out repeatedly. “Why?”
After
that I had no sense of anything. I lost all touch. I didn't see the
houses as I passed by. I ran into several people without even noticing
them. My whole world had turned upside down. Nothing felt real.
Nothing felt normal. A dream, it all felt like a dream. I kept on
running. I had no idea for how long I ran but I kept going. My body
didn’t seem to tire and the tears didn’t stop.
Suddenly
I felt someone grab hold of me.
“Hello
Elyssa,” a deep voice said to me.
I
looked at his face and suddenly my crashing world stopped. It was Rick.
***
