Numb[l.r.h]

16.

"Mom!" She was over her mother on the ground.

"Pamela..."

"Help her!" No one seemed to be listening.

"She's dead."

She couldn't be dead. She's my mother. She can't be dead. She's my everything. She isn't dead.

"The infection had already spread to her kidney, which failed to..."

She isn't dead.

She isn't dead.

His eyes were remorseful, swirling in her head like a hurricane.

She's dead.

"Pamela!"

Her whole body was wrapped in warm arms. Tears were all over her cheeks as she looked around frantically trying to find the doctor who delivered the news in the dark corners of the rooms.

"It's okay, Pamela. It's okay." Luke whispered into her ear as she realized her whole body was shaking.

"Luke... Where is he?"She gasped breathless from all the panting she had done, but her heart was still ice cold from being so petrified.

"No one is here. It's okay." Her body relaxed slightly into Luke's arms as she closed her eyes, wanting the images to get out of her head.

Her hands gripped Luke's shirt to try to bring him closer to her.

"He was... She..." Pamela wanted to scream, but she didn't know why. Her arm found its way around Luke's body as she pulled him closer. Her breathing began to calm down as she rested her head against his chest.

"Are you okay?" Luke asked softly.

"No." Pamela said, feeling like she wasn't even capable of lying. Her whole body felt weak and covered in sweat. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, no... Don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about. It's okay." Luke's words echoed in her head as she felt her heart beat slow down to normal. He rubbed his fingers in circular motions on the skin under her shirt. The tingles all over her back almost made her feel like she was okay.

"Thank you." She whispered, finding it hard to lift her eyes and meet his.

She felt him smile back. They kept holding each other in silence. Holding him so close made her feel like the whole world was in her hands, well, her whole world at least. She felt his back move with his breath, giving her something to focus on.

"The- um... nightmare was..." Pamela began, but she didn't know where she was going with it. She just had a feeling like he needed to know what had happened.

"Was it your mother?" He asked quietly, trying to help her out.

"Yeah... How'd you know?" She responded back in a whisper.

"You started yelling about her... I just..." He stopped talking because she had begun to snuggle into him. He moved his position so his arm was around her shoulders, and she could be more comfortable. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, thank you." Pamela said softly. Her mind couldn't help but wander to the nightmare she had. "Sometimes I still wake up thinking she's here, but then reality crashes into me as if to remind me that my life still sucks."

"Don't you have your dad?" Luke asked, trying to cheer her up. It didn't work, though, because memories of the past flooded her mind.

"Yeah." Pamela's voice was strained as she thought about how he was anything but a father to her. Lucky for her- her voice was already strained, so he didn't seem to take much notice.