I sat in the hospital chair feeling sick to my stomach. Everything around me seemed to whizz by in a blur. This couldn’t be happening.
“Can I get you anything?” A nurse’s voice asked me politely.
I looked up at the generic looking nurse, blinked a couple of times and just shook my head. She smiled politely before walking away.
“Rose Parente?” A voice called.
I looked up when I heard them call my name and saw the doctor standing in the doorway. I lunged to my feet and ran up to the balding man, looking at him pleadingly.
“Is she ok?” I choked out.
I could hardly breathe, I was terrified.
“Take a seat, Rose.” The doctor said gently.
“No! Don’t you dare! Tell me she’s ok!” I hissed.
“I’m going to have to ask you to calm down.” He said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I shook his hand off, my irritation flaring.
“Don’t tell me to calm down! Is she ok?!” I yelled.
I wasn’t usually this irritable, I was usually mellow. However, I hadn’t slept the night before since I was out, and upon returning home I had found my mum on the floor in a pool of blood with multiple stab wounds.
I furiously shook my head to get rid of the image but it was no use. It would haunt me forever.
Now, I was at the hospital waiting to see if they had saved my mum’s life.
“We’ll talk about this when we’re sitting down, ok?” The doctor said calmly.
I sighed and nodded before turning and sitting in a seat. The doctor sat next to me and adjusted his white jacket before clearing his throat. I swiped my hands down my face, it was a nervous habit.
I knew what the answer was before he even opened his mouth. I knew the answer the moment I saw her on the floor. I had been in denial, but hearing him say the words was a slap in the face, causing me to wake up and accept it.
“You’re mother passed away. She never made it to the emergency room. I sincerely apologize…” He babbled on.
I zoned out. Shock overtook me. My mum was dead. She was murdered. She was dead. She was gone. It was too much, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I struggled to my feet but was extremely wobbly. My mum was dead. I began heading to the doors the doctor had walked out of. I just wanted to see my mum one last time.
The world was distorted around me, swaying in all different directions. My ears had a permanent ring in them that made everything worse.
I vomited, collapsing to the floor on my knees, before I passed out cold.
“She’s waking up!” I heard a distant voice yell.
“Get Dr Bronski!” Another voice yelled.
However, that voice was louder.
It felt as if I was lying at the bottom of the ocean, but was being pulled up and up through the murky water and closer to the surface.
“Give her some space!” Someone instructed right before I broke through the surface of the water.
I sat upright, gasping and choking. I was shivering like crazy and was sweating an awful lot, too.
“Rose?” Several voices asked at once.
“Ok, you need to all leave the room. I’ll call you back in later.” Someone instructed; I wasn’t paying attention to who it was.
