Start Loving Me

Chapter Four: Room 79

The elevator opened and she rushed out looking at the door numbers searching for the number the receptionist told her,it was 79,she saw 78 from where she was standing and just as she was about to rush to the room beside 78. A nurse pulled her "Are you Ariel?" She asked
"Yes" Ariel answered crying and not caring about her appearance
Your parents said to send you over, please follow me" Ariel looked back to the door when the Nurse begged that she follows "please come with me "
Soon they reached a door she had passed by earlier on, she opened the door and walked in hoping to hear it wasn't her Adara.

In the quiet room, Ariel's mother was sitting in a chair, her face tear-stained. Her father was pacing back and forth, his hands clenched in fists.
The room was quiet,too quiet, and the air felt heavy. Ariel stood there, frozen, as her parents looked at her with sorrowful eyes. She felt her stomach twisting into knots, and she could barely breathe.

"Please, don't... don't." she said, her voice barely a whisper,she didn't know what to say.
Her father looked at her, his eyes filled with grief. "It's... it's your sister," he said, his voice trembling.
Ariel felt her heart stop. "Adara,no she can't be the one.....no...no...no" she says, her voice shaking. "Please, tell me it was planned,it's all acting,it's not Adara in that room"
Her mother turned to her, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "I'm so sorry, honey," she said, her voice breaking. "We... we don't...it wasn't planned... She... she was hit by a truck."

Tears welled up in Ariel's eyes as the reality of the situation sank in. "What... what do you mean?" she stammered. "How... how could it be her....who drove the truck?"
Her father took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. "We don't know all the details yet," he said, his voice shaking. "The police are investigating."
"But....but how is she?" Ariel asked, her voice pleading. "Is she... is she okay?"
Her mother shook her head, and fresh tears began to fall. "I'm so sorry honey" she said.
"What do you mean you're sorry? What happened?!" She asked as she got on her feet
"We haven't...we haven't.... checked on her..it's... it's my fault...I can't watch her...I don't want to see the doctor...I..I... I'm scared"

Ariel watched her mum utter the words while sobbing, she wanted to yell,curse and cry hard but she couldn't,she fell to the floor with a thud and pulled her legs to her chest thinking. The door swung open,Ama and Ana appeared,they looked around the room and ran to Ariel's side pulling her into a hug. Finally, Ariel couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She sobbed into their shoulders, trying to make sense of what was happening. "How is she?" Ama asked, in a voice like a whisper.
"We don't know" Ariel said, her voice breaking.

Ama and Ana hugged her while she sobbed,the door opened and the doctor was the one who appeared this time.

The doctor enters the quiet room, carrying a clipboard in his hand. Ariel's mother looks up at the doctor, her eyes swollen "What's wrong with her?" she asks, her voice trembling.
The doctor clears his throat and gestures to the door. "If you'd like to follow me to your daughter's ward, I can answer all of your questions," he says.
Ariel's mother stands up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She takes a deep breath and nods. "Lead the way," she says, her voice shaky but determined.
They follow the doctor down the hallway, passing by other patients and their families. They reach Ward 79, and the doctor opens the door for them. They enter the room, and Adara is lying on the bed, her eyes closed.

The room is quiet, except for the beeping of the heart monitor next to the bed. The doctor approaches the bed and gently places his hand on Adara's wrist, checking her pulse. After a moment, he looks up at everyone present. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but her condition is critical. We've done everything we can, but it's out of our hands now. It's up to her."
Ariel's mother gasps, her hand flying to her mouth. "What do you mean?" she asks, her voice shaky
A chill runs down Ariel's father's spine. He looks at the doctor, his eyes stern, trying to control his emotions. "How... how long does she have?" He asks, his voice crooked.
The doctor hesitates, his expression grim. "It's hard to say. We can't predict these things with certainty.

As the doctor speaks, Ariel's friends are silent, their faces pale and drawn. They exchange glances, their eyes full of fear and sadness. Ama reaches for Ariel's hand  squeezing it tightly Ana and Ama's eyes are brimming with tears,but they do their best to keep it at bay.
Ariel walks towards Adara, placing her palm on Adara's pale face, she leans to kiss her forehead and the tears she had been holding back when the doctor was talking let loose,she cried silently watching Adara, she looked at Adara's body that had bruises,this skin was once as smooth as butter, bright and free of marks.

She hugs Adara lightly when she hears a mumbling sound,she and everyone's head snapped towards Adara,her eyes were open,she looked lifeless, she looked sad, she looked like she already knew she was going to die,a tear fell from her left eye, Ariel caught it and said to Adara "Don't cry,see I won't cry anymore,okay? I won't cry, mum and dad won't cry, Ama and Ana won't cry, please don't cry" she said looking at every one of them,but her act made all of them burst into tears. She held back the tears coming and faced Adara, Adara looked at her with love and smiled,she was crying but she still looked cute,she was pretty,she tried to talk but she couldn't,she couldn't move her hands either.

As if Ariel could hear her thoughts, she grabbed Adara's hand, motioned for everyone to come and hold her,she smiles at Adara while singing her favorite lullaby, she tried dancing with tears falling down her face. Adara stared with a light smile on her face,she looked happy seeing her sister being ridiculous while crying. Soon her parents,Ama and Ana joined in on the song,the once gloomy environment turned somewhat happy. The song died down when they noticed Adara had closed her eyes, they all smiled feeling light before heading out,Ariel was the last to leave,but unlike everyone she wasn't smiling.

They made their way downstairs all lost in their own thoughts, as they approached the hospital's gate and Ariel was about sending her friends off,a nurse cried out to them panting heavily.
"The doctor said to call you,she moved " The nurse said with a smile.
They all rushed into the hospital and towards the elevator to ward 79 when they flung the door open a stretcher was about to be pushed outside and the body underneath was covered with the white wrapper.
Ariel's mother walked unsteadily towards the stretcher crying and murmuring "Adara...no...no...it's not her" she pulled off the cover and there she was. Adara was lying there with a faint smile plastered on her face.