Trauma of the Forest (Meadema)

~ Chapter 38: Scary Moments ~

It seemed like an eternity before they got back to the ward where Viv was. But finally, that oh so recognizable door to Viv's room was in sight again. Even though she hadn't missed Viv during the conversation, she couldn't wait to see her again. Despite the excitement that was coursing through her body to finally be able to touch Viv again, she knew she had to stay calm and be gentle, with the possibility that Viv had actually fallen asleep.

Beth opened the door very slowly, after which she carefully stuck her head through the door and saw Viv, who was clearly asleep. Renee next to her, in Beth's chair, who was watching his movie so intently that he didn't even notice Beth and Carolien entering the room. They tiptoed in, all to make sure Viv wouldn't be woken up, knowing how tired she still was.

Beth came closer and closer to Viv, somehow it felt like a few hours ago. Viv, in exactly the same position, with exactly the same tubes, with exactly the same devices beeping in her room. For a moment it seemed like last night, when she first saw Viv again after her operation. But this time she had fortunately already woken up, this time she had already shown Beth that there was still plenty of life in her. So now she was happy to see Viv sleeping instead of hoping she would wake up soon.

With that calmness Beth sat down on the folding chair, next to Carolien, who had already sat down on the other folding chair. Renee immediately felt guilty and wanted to get up abruptly. 'Beth, do you want to sit here again?'. A friendly smile appeared on Beth's face. 'No, no. Just stay there. I'm fine here'.

Since Viv continued to sleep peacefully and Carolien could also see from Beth that the conversation had exhausted her quite a bit, Renee and Carolien decided to leave Beth and Viv alone for a little while, to give them a moment to rest together. They carefully stood up, again to do everything they could to keep Viv from waking up. Before they left the room, they gave Beth a hug. 'Try to get some sleep yourself, darling. I know you can do it. And I think sleep will definitely do you good'.

Beth obviously realized that Carolien was referring back to the conversation they had together, in which Beth told about Viv's panic attack that she had experienced in her sleep. But with the reassuring words and especially the ways in which she could reassure Viv, if she had another panic attack, Beth herself knew that she could do it, that she would actually manage to fall asleep.

'I think I'm going to try that, yes'. Carolien placed her hands, which she had placed around Beth in the hug, on her cheeks and let her look into her eyes again. 'I'm proud of you Beth. If anything happens, we're nearby. We're going into town to get something to eat. We'll come by again this afternoon'.

Beth said goodbye to her parents-in-law and despite the fact that she loves them very much, and is very grateful for the way they take care of both Viv and her, she was also happy to be alone with Viv in the room for a moment. Since she wasn't really in the mood to be dressed up this morning, and had therefore just put on a pair of Nike shorts and a t-shirt, she decided to just take off her shirt and go to bed in her shorts and sports bra.

She didn't feel like walking around in jeans with a nice T-shirt on top. Katie had just grabbed the one that was a bit too tight, which she could barely fit into. She wasn't ready to hoist herself into the tight pants that she was almost trapped in, unable to get stuck in something again that she can barely get out of, thinking back to the past few days. And besides, she's a footballer. She loves her sportswear.

But of course she couldn't go to bed without taking a quick look at Viv. She caught a quick glimpse of Viv, who was out for the count. Somewhere, fear shot through her, since Viv also seemed out for the count last night, but she had suddenly had such a panic attack. But she was convinced that if that was about to happen again, she was in a position to help Viv.