The Love That Wasn't Enough | PEDRI

23

A few minutes later
~

The doctor walked out of Nailea's room and looked at all of us. Mrs. Ortega immediately walked up to the doctor, her eyes filled with worry.

"What happened? Is my daughter okay?" She asked.

The doctor took a deep breath and looked at her. "I'm sorry to say that your daughter suffered from respiratory failure," he said.

Mrs. Ortega's face fell, and tears welled up in her eyes. "What does that mean?" she asked.

"It means that her lungs were not able to function properly, and she was not getting enough oxygen," the doctor said.

I looked at the doctor in shock. I couldn't believe that Nailea was in such a critical condition.

"What can we do to help her?" Victoria asked.

"We're doing everything we can to stabilize her," the doctor said. "We've put her on a ventilator to help her breathe, and we're monitoring her closely."

Mrs. Ortega and Victoria nodded. "Can we see her?" Mrs. Ortega asked.

"Yes, you can," the doctor said. "But please keep in mind that she is still under critical condition."

The doctor led them to Nailea's room. They walked in quietly, and Mrs. Ortega took Nailea's hand.

"We love you so much," she whispered.

I stood there, staring at Victoria and her mom sitting on each side of Nailea's hospital bed, crying. I was still processing everything that had happened, and I didn't know what to do.

As I stood there, feeling lost and alone, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Sophia standing there, looking at me with concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

I shook my head, unable to speak. I felt like my world had been turned upside down, and I didn't know how to cope with the pain and sadness I was feeling.

"I know this is hard," Sophia said. "But you're not alone."

I nodded, grateful for her words. I knew that I needed to be strong for Nailea, but I didn't know if I had it in me.

"I don't know if I can do this," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Sophia put her arm around me and pulled me close. "You don't have to do this alone," she said. "We're all here for you, and we'll get through this together."

Suddenly, we heard a voice behind us."What did the doctor say?" the voice asked.

We quickly pulled away from each other and turned around, only to see Nailea's dad standing there, looking at them with concern.

"Oh, Mr. Ortega," Sophia said, loooking a bit embarrassed. "We didn't see you there."

"It's okay," he said. "I just wanted to know what the doctor said." he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"They said she suffered from respiratory failure," Sophia said. "They've put her on a ventilator to help her breathe."

Mr. Ortega took a deep breath and nodded, his eyes filled with worry. "And how is she doing now?" he asked.

"They're monitoring her closely," I said. "But she's stable for now."

Mr. Ortega looked at both of us. "Thank you," he said.

Me and Sophia both nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. Mr. Ortega took a deep breath and walked into Nailea's hospital room.

Sophia turned to look at me with a concerned look on her face. "Did you smell that?" she asked.

I nodded. "He smelled like alcohol," she said.

I sighed, feeling worried. "I don't know what to do," I said. "Should we say something?"

Sophia shook her head. "I don't think that would be a good idea," she said. "Everyone copes with things differently."

I nodded, understanding what she was saying. I knew that sometimes people turned to alcohol to deal with their problems, but I also knew that it wasn't a healthy way to cope.

"I'm just worried about him," I said. "I hope he's okay."