Dark Before Dawn

M a k i n g i t W o r k

Lauren's POV
I walked briskly through the trauma unit at North Beach Children's with Taylor in tow. Part of me was excited, another part was terrified, another was relieved and the last part was worried.

This mixture of emotions wasn't normal. I'm the type of person who can really work within myself and keep calm. But then again, nights like this are a rare occurrence.

I approached the desk only to have the nurse point us in the direction of Sonia's room. Taylor and I jogged towards the room, nearly running into a doctor and two residents in the process. As I approached the door, I picked up speed a bit, checking to make sure that Taylor was close.

We stepped into the room and I stood at the door to take in the scene. Sonia was sitting up, channel surfing and shifting uncomfortably. I couldn't even fathom the pain that was running through her right now.

I slowly approached her bedside and sat down next to her, being cautious of the chords she was hooked up to.

I gently placed my hand on her back. "Hola mi amor. How ya doin' kiddo?"

She shut off the tv and stared at her hands for a few seconds. She looked up at me and my heart shattered into a thousand pieces. Her face was lined with a large bruise and was covered by white gauze.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she collapsed into my arms. I held her tightly and gently stroked her hair as she sobbed into my lap. I glanced up at Taylor and motioned for her to come towards me. She slowly walked over and sat down in the chair next to Sonia's bed. Not a second later her phone was out. Typical.

I looked back down to Sonia. She had begun to calm down and her sobs had formed into sparse sniffles.

After a few more minutes, she looked up at me. I smiled as I stared into her shattered irises. "It's okay baby, you're safe with us now. Nothing's gonna happen to you," I cooed stroking her hair.

She nodded and took a few deep breathes. "T-t-thanks L-l-lauren," she muttered.

I smiled and nodded. This whole situation has totally beaten her in every way possible. Even some of the strongest people I know wouldn't have made it as far as she has. That's how you know someone's truly strong, has the will to fight; when they plough through life's toughest battles irregardless of how much it scares them.

"Todo está bien, todo está bien, ahora descansar con seguridad su mente maravillosa," I said, stroking her hair.

Taylor looked up from her phone and smiled widely. Dad always says that to us when we have trouble falling asleep or when we're anxious about something. In English, it directly translates to all is well, all is fine, now safely rest your beautiful mind. I always took it to mean that everything will always work out in the end so worrying is a deadly trend (fire Lauren you're spitting absolute fire).

I smiled and shot my baby sis a wink. For the first time in six months, I saw her beautiful off-white teeth that lit up a room like Audi headlights on a dark road.

Things were okay again after I saw that smile. It gave me faith that we could make it all work.

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Hey y'all I'm back!!!

Kay I'm so sorry for the delayed (and short) update but I'm taking university chemistry and math and I'm literally swamped. Also, soccer's high key intense right now so my life is literally school, soccer and the occasional breath. But I'm gonna try my bet to get updates out there!

Also, how's school going for y'all? Have you done anything tubular yet? Lemme knoe in the comments below 👐🏽

Hang Loose
-JJ 💜