Waiting (David Schmitt Fan Fiction)

Chapter Eight

I grew up without a dad, he and my mom got married straight out of high school and he left us when I was three. I was never too bothered by this. Being raised by my mom was perfectly fine with me, and unlike a lot of other kids at school who talked about being in similar situations, I had never really felt any longing for it to be any other way.

My mother and I had always been incredibly close. She was very young and thin, her hair the same fair brown as mine. My whole life I had thought she was beautiful. My mom made a fair amount of money from her job owning a local coffe shop and my Aunt Lily, her sister, visited often and pitched in a whole lot when my dad left.

We lived in a nice, normal suburbain house in Maryland, my mom and I, and growing up, I couldn't think of any better lifestyle than that. I went to school, met Jack and the guys along with other friends, and things were going pretty well for me. I soon discovered a passion in me to travel and learn new things, I guess that's why I love the job I have now so much. Looking back, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

In high school I played in some (terrible) bands, dabbled in theater a bit, hung out with friends, and my mom was always there supporting me, no matter what it was.

You know when you're playing a video game and things are going great, then your character starts to fall, or you can't pick up an object or something fast enough, and you're sitting there, pounding on the buttons and shouting, "No, no, no, no, no," along with every curse word in the book but it's too late and the words game over flash across the screen? That's what my junior year of high school was like.

No matter what I did, there was nothing in my power to prevent my mom from getting in a car wreck the winter I was seventeen. It was snowing, it was dark, the other driver was drunk, and my mom was unfortunately the only other car on the road.

She had left at around seven at night to pick up some ingredients at the store to make breakfast the next morning, since we were all out. Two hours passed and she wasn't back yet. I was growing concerned, it didn't take that long to pick up a few things. I tried calling, but she wouldn't pick up. At this point I was panicing. I took a shower, got ready for bed, and she still wasn't home. I had no idea what had happened, and I tried to tell myself that she just got hung up at the store, but deep inside I was very scared.

And then Aunt Lily called.

She was crying on the phone, Aunt Lily never cried. Even on her worst days, my aunt would smile and crack a joke. She said it was an emergency and she was on her way to my house to pick me up. I felt my heart drop to my stoamch and fought back tears that threatened to grace my skin. I was terrified and shaking as I changed into a sweater, pulled on a pair of boots, and sat in the chair beside the front door to wait for Aunt Lily. I had absolutly no idea what was happening, but I knew something was terribly wrong with my mother, the person I loved most.

Was she leaving like my father? No, she wouldn't do that. Was she hurt? Was she dead? Was she okay? Maybe this has nothing to do with Mom. Yeah, it's probably Aunt Lily's emergency. Mom is okay. Mom is okay.

Aunt Lily explained what had happened on the drive to the hospital. My mom had been hit after a drunk driver sweved in the middle of the road. The nurse who called said she was still conscious, but in bad condition. They didn't know if she was going to be okay. I started crying and Aunt Lily kept quiet the rest of the ride, the radio turned off. Aunt Lily never turned the radio off.

Arriving at the hospital, I was still in tears. A nurse led Aunt Lily and I to my mom's room. She warned me that we could only go in for a few minutes because they had to take her in for surgury. I nodded that I understood and we entered. 

I was taken aback by the sight before me. My mom was laying in the hospital bed, tubes and IV's sticking out of her arms. Her face was badly scratched up and her hand was in stitches. I had never been more scared in my life, and I'm sure I could say the same for her, but still I was met with her familiar, warm smile. I collapsed at her bedside, crying, and she ran through my hair with her fingers.

"Mom, don't leave me," I managed to get out. I felt embarassed to be crying like this, I was seventeen.

My mom looked up at Aunt Lily, "Thank you, Lily," she said. 

"No, Mom, no," I said. I kept repeating "No, no, no. Don't leave me."

"Valerie, Valerie, listen to me," my mom said, her hand still on my head. I couldn't imagine life without my mother.

"But-"

"Don't cry, Valerie, don't cry". My mom reached down and wiped the tears from my cheek. Her hand was sickly pale and shaking.

"Mom, I love you, please don't leave me."

"I'm not leaving you, honey."

I looked up at her and she was smiling at me despite how weak she looked.

"Don't cry, Valerie, don't cry. It's all going to be okay."

"It's not, I can't, I-" I still felt a bit embarassed on the floor, crying, stuttering.

"Shhh, hush. I love you. I'll always love you."

Eventually they made us leave to perform surgery on my mom. Aunt Lily offered to mke me to her house to get some sleep, but I knew I would just toss and turn all night. We stayed in the waiting room until hours later, when a nurse had me wake up Aunt Lily, who had fallen asleep in her chair.

The nurse was there to tell us that my mom had passed away during the surgery. She was gone.

The only thing I remember after that was a nurse trying to comfort me, giving me a hug and saying, "Do you want a teddy bear to hold? I know you may feel childish but we have a lot of people your age who use them. Sometimes you just need something to hold on to. No? Okay then, suit yourself, but if you want one, just ask. It'll be okay hun."

That was the worst night of my life, that was the most heart-shattering, earth-shaking moment I had ever experienced. My mother was everything to me and now she was gone. That was the night that, to this day, haunts my dreams every night.