Façade

Chapter 5

Back again. Back to a hospital. Wretched place. Only this time, there was no uncertainty. Well, not really. Just a different kind.

During their previous excursion to the hospital, the ambiguity lay with why she was there. However on this occasion, they knew very well why they were there. They'd witnessed first hand the horrific event that had brought them there. They just didn't yet know the outcome of the situation they faced.

Emily and Daniel sat, fingers intertwined, waiting for news. A doctor approached, and called out 'Family of Ms. Grayson?' Daniel, Emily, Conrad and Victoria rushed over to the doctor. 'How is my daughter?!' Victoria probed. 'Charlotte sustained serious head injuries. She has a punctured lung, and some cracked ribs. She's unconscious and in a critical condition. It doesn't look good. She might not pull through. If you'd like to say your goodbyes' the doctor gave them a slight nod and beckoned towards a room around the corner. Victoria fell to her knees and burst into tears. Conrad helped her up and kissed her head affectionately.

They entered the room, and Victoria was brought to tears yet again. 'No. No. Not my little baby girl!' She knelt beside the bed, took Charlotte's hand, and wept. Conrad moped around to the other side of the bed, took Charlotte's other hand, and began to tear up himself.

A flatline sang out above the noise and confusion. Everyone in the room had tears in their eyes. Each, absorbed in their own emotions.

Daniel stood by the window next to the doorway, and with sudden and unexpected ferocity, punched through the window. His wrist began to pump blood, and Emily screamed and ran out of the door. 'Doctor! Please! My Husband is badly hurt!'

Daniel's eyes snapped open and he gasped for air. 'Where am I? What's going on?' The tables had turned. Now, Emily was sitting, nerve wracked aside a hospital bed. As she heard Daniel's voice, her head rose from her hands, and she rushed over to him. 'Daniel? Honey? Are you ok?' she said, rubbing his arm, with a look of concern on her tear-stained face. 'Daniel, don't you remember? Charlotte threw herself off of the balcony, and... well... Daniel, she's dead. You punched through a window' Daniel gazed down at his right arm. His forearm was tightly bandaged, and he had an IV. He began to cry hysterically. Emily's eyes grew misty once more, as she stroked the back of the now doubled-over Daniel.

Quiet was once more brought to the room, not peace. There was no peace. Only sadness. A once joyous Daniel had been reduced to tears by misfortune and fate.

What had once been a strong, confident man, had been beaten down to an empty wreck. He bore wounds that only time could heal.

It hurt Emily to see him this way. It hurt her to see him pained at all, but she had to stay strong. For him. For love. For what she was when she was with him. For all the good in the world that he helped her see. For the best part of her that he brought out in her when they were together.

She came close to him and whispered 'You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have'

© Sarah Egan 2013 - 2014 This story is subject to copyright and may not be copied or reproduced without the express permission of the author.