Slipping Away

Chapter 5

Just after the doctors left, Liam came in. He sat down next to me and reached out and held my hand. “Hello, Molly,” he said in a hushed tone. I could tell he was still really upset and shocked. After all, his girlfriend had just been nearly killed in a car accident. I hoped he wouldn’t cry this time. It made me so sad. The doctors had told him that I could hear him and understand him, and that he should talk to me like I was awake. He tried to, and I think he believed that I could hear, but he was so upset that after a bit he would just sink into silence. He told me about what had been happening, and how his family said get well soon. He had brought some cards from his sisters and his older brother. He read them to me and then put them on the little table by my bed. There were also some flowers, pink roses, my favourite. They were from Liam. He wafted them under my nose and I smelt their sweet scent. He put them in the vase on my bedside table. Then he rubbed my hand and begged me to wake up. I could tell he was on the verge of tears. Please Liam, don’t cry. It was only 3 days after the accident, and judging by what the doctors said, I wasn’t going to wake up for a long time. If I ever woke up . . . no, I mustn’t think like that. I will wake up. But it was going to be hard both for me and for Liam and my parents, I knew that. Don’t cry Liam, don’t cry. I knew he wasn’t going to be happy, but I didn’t want him to cry.

The silence was broken by a rustling sound and then a clatter like lots of little beads falling onto the floor and rolling around. There was the sound of a chair scraping along the floor, and then “Oh no, now I’m going to have to pick them all up!” I had no idea what Liam was talking about. Then he seemed to realise that he had just said that out loud. “Sorry Molly, I just dropped a whole bag of dog treats all over the floor. What were they doing in there? I thought it smelt a bit funny. Oh no, they’ve all gone under the bed as well. Bother!” I wanted to giggle. He was being so comical. I could just imagine him on his hands and knees on the floor, trying to pick up all those little dogs treats. I wished I could actually see him, but if I could, I wouldn’t be lying here in this bed. I mentally sighed. I could still hear scrabbling noises and the occasional “Bother!” or “Bum!” from Liam. I guessed he was trying to retrieve the dog treats that had escaped under the bed. Finally, the noises stopped and he sighed with relief. He sat down next to me again. “Well that was interesting,” he said. He let out a small chuckle, the first time I had heard him laugh in three days. But it didn’t last long. He sunk back down into silence. I wondered what he was thinking about. Was he thinking about me, and whether I was ever going to wake up? Was he thinking about whether I was going to – No, Molly, no, don’t let yourself think like that. Liam knows just as well as you do that you’re going to get through this just fine, even if it does take a long time. Think positively. Whilst I was thinking, I heard Liam start to cry again. He was trying to conceal it, but he was failing. Soon he launched into full on sobbing. He must have been leaning over me, because I could feel the hot tears falling onto my face, thick and fast. Liam ... Liam ... Liam ... I wanted to stay awake, but I was drifting into dreams again. I fought to try and stay awake, but sleep was so warm and soft and inviting. Liam ...