Chapter 13- Welcome Back

287 20 16
                                    

Chapter 13- Welcome Back

A piercing monotone beep, shook Rhea from her exhausted sleep, wincing as she tried to take stock of her surroundings. The noise didn't stop, like a siren, it bored its way right into her skull with its steady, piercing tone. 'Wait? That's the...' She whipped her head around to glance at Chris. Her heart dropped like a stone in water as a single flat, red line burned into her honey eyes from the heart monitor. 'No...' Suddenly, the door burst open, and several doctors rushed in, babbling urgently as they surrounded the bed and blocked the boy from view.

"I've got no pulse!" One of the doctors cried out.

'Chris!' Rhea shot out of her wheelchair, ignoring the searing pain in her knee as she tried to hobble over to the bed. "Chris!"

A doctor turned around and grabbed Rhea, holding her back to prevent her from interfering with their efforts and tried to sit her back down, but she wouldn't let him. "No, let go of me! Chris!" Rhea cried. 'No, please! Please don't do this to me! Don't leave me!'

"CHRIS!" Rhea screamed as she shot wide awake, tears streaming down her face as she realized that it was just a dream.

There was the reassuring beep of the monitor and there was the peaceful face of her lover. Rhea collapsed into her chair and sobbed quietly as the sun slowly rose over the horizon, bringing small rays of light through the curtains.

The bright, early morning sunshine did absolutely nothing to lift Rhea's spirits as it blared arrogantly in through large windows on opposite wall. To her, it was only a reminder of what she was missing, what was currently lying, unconscious on the bed next to her. She didn't care how cliché it sounded, because it was true. Without Chris, her world felt cold and dark. Looking over at the boy on the bed, her heart fluttered as she noticed that some of the color had returned to Chris's face. She reached out and gently stroked his cheek, smiling slightly when she was no longer met with the alarmingly cold flesh from the night before. As she enjoyed the silence while watching Chris, the phone rang. Rhea reached over to the desk and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"This is the front office calling for Rhea Jackson."

"Speaking."

"We got a call on hold for you from Mrs. Knight."

Rhea gulped, afraid to hear what Mrs. Knight have to say. She was suppose to watch over Chris and now he was in a hospital. "Put her on."

The line went silent for a bit, then it was replaced by a woman's voice. "Rhea?"

Rhea took a deep breath and replied, "H-hi Mrs. Knight."

"Are with Chris right now?"

"Y-yeah, I'm sitting right beside him."

"How is he?"

"He's um... he's still unconscious."

"I see... Is he getting any better?"

Rhea's voice cracked. "Y-yes. Some color had returned to his skin and... he's not as cold as before."

"That's good to hear. Now down to business..." Mrs. Knight's voice turned to a stern tone. "How did this happen?"

Somehow the room felt colder. Rhea shivered and tried to compose herself before explaining. "We were in the park last night. We were being followed by my father. He... He had a gun." Rhea felt this twisted pain in her stomach as the event replayed in mind. He lower lip quiver as she continued. "H-he shot Chris i-in the shoulder, he even tried to..." Rhea's voice hitched making her pause.
"Rhea, take a deep breath," Mrs. Knight said.

Right NowWhere stories live. Discover now