Beat Of My Heart

Chapter Twenty Four: Goodbyes

I watched from the couch as the nurses replaced my bedding with new sheets, pillowcases, and comforters. They were preparing the room for the next person to arrive, because the room was now vacant and available.

Nate had been busy all day throughout the hospital, but he promised me he would be there for a goodbye. Although, I hardly think it will be goodbye for us, just from the hospital.

I started feeling guilty watching the nurses do all the work, so I got up to go help spread the blankets across the matress.

"Charlie!" I heard the voice from behind me.

I half expected Lizzie, until I turned around and saw who was in front of me.

What urked me the most, was that she was smiling. Like nothing had happened! Like she hadn't just abandoned me for two months, and everything was okay and dandy.

"Mom?" I asked, almost as if I was unsure it was her. First of all, I was highly confused on why she had a sudden comeback. Secondly, the woman in front of me was completely transformed. The same light brown hair, which I inherited from her, was replaced by a striking platinum blonde. Her usual pony-tail, was taken out, and now a satin smooth straight hairystyle. And I'm almost one hundred percent sure she did some type of plastic surgery.

"Did you get a nose job?" I asked, enormously appalled.

She smiled, and was now flaunting her new nose. "You noticed! So how do you like it? It makes my face look slimmer, don't you agree?"

I ignored the question, while forming one of my own. "So you abandoned me because you couldn't possibly finance my life or death surgery, and you return with a cosmetic surgery done on yourself!?"

"I did not abandon you! Didn't you get my postcard from Puerto Rico in the mail?"

I couldn't recall recieving anything. "No.."

She frowned for a moment, "Must have forgot to send that one out. My bad! Anways, this nose was free. I met a surgeon in Texas who had it done for me."

"Texas and Puerto Rico? Where else have you been?"

She thought about it for a minute, probably counting the places in her head.

"Rome, Fiji, Colorado, and Las Vegas. I had the best time ever. Want to see pictures?" She got a small digital camera from the pocket of her shiny new purse.

"No! I don't want to see your pictures! I want to know why you left, and now you think you can come back and everything is going to be fine?"

She faked another frown, before sitting down beside me on the couch.

"Honey, I didn't want to leave you, but I'm single, turning 40 years old soon. I've never seen the world, and I wanted to do something adventurous, meet new people. I totally would have taken you with me, but I knew the hospital wouldn't let you out early-"

"Of course they wouldn't have let me out early! I had a concussion!" I almost yelled. Her presence was making me more and more angrier by the second.

"Sheesh, calm down and let me finish. Anyway, after I left and saw a things, met some guys, I started to feel really bad, and so that's why I'm here! They'll let you out now, and I can take you home!" She smiled, as if that was supposed to be comforting. 

"After an entire two months of traveling, you just now started to feel bad about me being left here. Did I mention, all alone?"  

"Well, I was just a tad bit busy. But what does it matter? I'm here now aren't I?"