Saving Emily

Miracle 8

~ Miracle 8 ~

Hannah

   When I opened my eyes, I was staring right into Greyson’s.  My head was facing him, and I found myself lying in a hospital bed with a heart monitor strapped to my chest. 

   He gasped when he noticed I was awake, and he fell to his knees beside of the bed.  “Oh, thank goodness, Phoebe.  The doctors… they thought…”

   He stopped and looked away from me.  I lied still, for the very reason that it hurt to move.  But I managed to whisper, “What happened?”

   He closed his eyes gently as if the thought pained him.  Then he finally spoke. 

   “Phoebe, you’ve been asleep for five days.  You slipped into a coma, and the doctor’s… they thought you weren’t going to make it.  But I didn’t want to see you die.  No one deserves that,” he said quietly. 

   I tried to sit up but felt a sharp pain shooting through my ribs.  Greyson rushed to ease me back down, and said, “Whoa, hold on.  I wouldn’t do that if I were you.  You took quite a fall in that room.  You broke some ribs and managed to get a nasty cut on your forehead.  They patched it up nicely.”

   I nodded slowly.  Suddenly, I gasped, “Noah!  Where’s Noah?”

   Greyson said, “He’s perfectly fine, Phoebe.  We took him to the daycare on the main floor.  It will cost nothing.  It’s on the house for patients.”

   I was silent for a moment, and then I asked, “When can I go?”

   “I doubt they’ll discharge you for a while.  You were pretty beat up,” he said.  I cringed at the words beat up.  He must have seen the disappointment on my face because he added, “I’m sorry, Phoebe.”

   “It’s okay,” I said. 

   Greyson informed me that he had to back to school, and he said he’d alert a nurse on the way out that I had woken up.  I smiled to him.  “If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to call,” he said.  I thanked him, and he was gone. 

   The nurses piled in within seconds.  They were drawing blood, taking my vitals, and trying to comfort me in any way possible.  They told me they would keep a very close watch on me, and that I’d be just fine.

   I thought of Cameron.  He was going to come looking.  But that’s when I realized that if I was on constant surveillance under the nurses, I wouldn’t have to worry about it. 

   I’d be safe here.

***

   One of the nurses brought Noah up to see me on Friday.  There was still no sign of Cameron. 

   Maybe he was busy and he didn’t have time to worry about my whereabouts. 

   No.  I’ll never be that lucky.

   When I held my baby for the first time in a week, I felt peace wash over me.  He smiled up at me, his eyes bright.  I held him close to me, taking in the feeling of the moment, and reminding myself that this was what I had to live for. 

   If I were to hold on for any period of time, it was going to be for this little boy. 

   I heard a knock on my door and looked up to see Greyson. 

   “Hey,” he smiled to me. “Feeling better?”

   I nodded.  “Still far from being discharged, but I’m well enough to see this little guy.”

   I motioned to the baby in my arms and Greyson’s face lit up at the sight of him.  “You get to hold him!  That’s great, Phoebe.  That means you’re one step closer to recovering.”

   “One step closer to going home, I hope.” I said.  Then I remembered the ugly truth.

   Hannah, you have no home.

   Greyson sat down in the chair beside of the bed.  He gasped suddenly and reached down into his bag for school.  “I almost forgot,” he said. “I brought you something.”

   He held out a copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  I took it in my hand and gazed at the cover.  A picture of a little girl staring up at a caterpillar on a mushroom.  I chuckled.  “What’s this?” I said. 

   “It’s yours now,” he said, smiling. “It reminded me of you.  So curious and intelligent.  But not exactly sure of where she’s going.  I thought maybe it could help.”

   I shook my head as I laughed, “How in the world is a rabbit hole, a talking caterpillar, a quirky Cheshire-Cat, and an angry Queen going to help me find where I’m going?”

   Greyson smiled as he said, “You’d be surprised.”

   Then he added, “It’s tough to accept, and even tougher to figure out, but sometimes, the best parts of us can come from inside of us.  But on the other hand, sometimes the most important parts are what have been on the surface all along.”

   “How do you expect me to find them?” I asked.  He motioned to the mirror across the room sitting on the wall. 

   “Look.”