Me before you

chapter 27

Sana couldn't think.

Her heart was pounding hard in her chest, her head was spinning, her mouth was dry. Vaguely, she could remember calling Chaeyoung and waiting with Louis until she showed up, but she couldn't seem to recall any of the drive to the hospital, or how she ended up running down too-clean corridors under glaring fluorescent lights until she was completely breathless.

They told her on the phone where she needed to go, they said - they said, she just couldn't think. Down another corridor. Through a hallway. It all looked the same. She couldn't think and she couldn't breathe, and Y/n was somewhere and something was wrong and she wasn't there and there was nothing she could do and -

Sana somehow managed to turn a corner the right way, half-undone trench coat flapping against her slacks. She'd gotten dressed after the call, somehow. Her fingers shook so hard she'd struggled to button up her shirt. She didn't really remember. Her heart was thumping, pounding a mad tattoo against the inside of her chest. She felt dizzy. The bright white lights overhead and the sharp clinical smell of cleaning products and lingering sickness weren't helping. God. God.

Somehow, she found her way to a reception. Her hand was nervously twisting the material of her shirt over her stomach. Through another set of double doors, there was a mostly deserted waiting area, and a woman sitting behind a desk clicking away at a computer. Sana stumbled to a stop - literally stumbled. She was wearing flats, but it was like she was in a bad dream and her body couldn't move properly.

Sana grasped the desk to steady herself, struggling to pull coherent words out of thin air as the receptionist glanced up at her. "This is..." Sana swallowed hard around the lump in her throat, trying to think back to what they said on the phone. "Is this the - green ward - I -"

"This is the green ward, ma'am." The receptionist confirmed. She was wearing glasses. She was so calm. How could she be so calm? "Are you visiting family? Who are you here for?"

"Y/n," Sana managed, breathless. It was all she could think, the name running through her mind over and over again. Suddenly she felt like she was about to cry. "Y/n Y/l/n."

"Ah." The woman's face fell, lips pinching into a thin line. "And are you family?"

Sana's heart plummeted into her stomach like lead through water. "No," She heard herself saying, voice distant and faraway. "No, I'm -" She faltered, swallowing again. She blinked hard, trying to clear the tears gathering in her eyes so she could see more clearly - there was a door behind the corner from the receptionists desk, around the corner. She couldn't quite make out the patients name written on the board there - was that where - could that be...

"Ma'am, I'm afraid nobody but immediate family -"

"She was the carer, let her in."

Sana stared hopelessly down the corridor - Sarah Park was standing outside the farthest door on the left, staring down at them. A rush of relief washed over her. She felt like a lost child who'd just found their mother. For some reason that made her want to cry even more.

Sarah jogged down the hall towards them, arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her shoes clacked against the floor. Her short dark hair was a mess, and there were dark circles around her eyes. Her pale face was red and puffy, as if she'd just been crying.

When she drew to a stop, Sana fought the sudden urge to throw herself into a tight hug. She was so lost in staring at the ward and staring at Sarah she barely even registered the receptionist's apologetic voice rising.

"Mrs Park, I am afraid I can't allow -"

"I am sorry miss, but my daughter is in serious emotional and physical turmoil right now!" Sana snapped back to reality, turning to stare at Sarah in shock: the older woman was staring the receptionist down with steel in her red-rimmed eyes, usually soft voice strong and unwavering. Fierce. Her pale hands gripped the desk tight. "If you refuse to let her see her girlfriend, the one ray of hope left in her life, I promise you will be looking for another job by the end of the week! So as your mayor and a fellow human being I am telling you that you are going to let that woman in!"