Affinity (RDJ)

Chapter 9 - Hold you

The shrill sound of screaming pins you to your bed.

Your eyes are open but nothing else seems to move. You struggle against your invisible tethers, desperately heaving your body to escape, but you can't.

The screaming stops and you're left panting in the wake of its passing.

'You should get up.'

You turn your head to see your sister standing next to your bed glaring forwards into the blackness of your room, eyes black and dead.

As her eyes lower to look at you, you catch sight of her head. Where it once was whole and round and identical to yours, the right half is now missing as if blown away by a machine gun.

The blood begins to pour as you scream.

You jolt awake, breathing heavily. You're drenched in sweat and your heart pounds in your chest. You blink, trying to forget the sight of Robyn's broken skull.

Flicking on your table lamp, you shuffle up in bed, hugging the duvet to you as a form of protection. It had taken you over 2 hours to fall asleep last night, mind numb with unrelenting thoughts spinning around your head.

Friends... drinks... dancing... Robyn...

Robert.

You sigh, running a hand through your hair. You need to occupy your mind. Give it no room to replay the embarrassment that was last night. Throwing the covers off you, you slide out of bed and pad across the cold wooden floor to your closet. You remember that it's your day to visit mom, although it's the last thing you want to be doing right now. You sigh, pulling open the wooden doors and find something to throw on.

You walk through the hospital car park after getting off the bus and head inside. The automatic doors swoosh open in front of you and you walk up to the receptionist. 'I'm here to see Laura Boden,' you manage, emotionless. Your dad got special permission to stay over last night so he's already with her.

'Sure, head on up!' she replies, smiling. You head to the lift and jab at the button. An 'out of order' sign flashes red at you, so you head to the stairs and begin climbing to the third floor.

As you reach her room, you hear muffled voices coming from behind the door. You enter and see a man who you don't recognise stood talking to your dad. They're deep in conversation, your dad's fingers curled on his chin as he listens to the doctor's words. He notices you and stops the doctor mid-sentence.

'Hey, Rem. This is Doctor Shepherd, your mom's neurosurgeon.' You extend your hand for him to shake, and he does so.

'Pleasure to meet you, Remy. I've heard a lot about you,' he smiles.

'He was just talking to me about his new clinical trial. It's research into why coma patients don't always wake up and he thinks he's found a... something or other that could help your mom. That could... wake her up. Right?' your dad says nervously. You look at the doctor expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate.

'Well... we think we've found a drug, still in its experimental phase, that could improve your mother's condition. I hear you're a med student so I won't sugar coat it. It reactivates the neurone pathways in the brain after brain damage and rebuilds the connections, thereby eventually building enough connections to possibly reawaken the patient. Well, in theory. It takes a few rounds of the medication for it to start having an effect and your mom is a prime candidate what with her being comatose for so long now.'

Your dad interrupts. 'It's a really long shot, but it could be the only chance she has. The doctor says the hospital will apply for an FDA approval, but that could take years.' Your brain is reeling with all of this information, and you can't really process it properly with the lack of sleep you've had.