Fool's Gold • rewritten

4

As I pushed through the door frame I ran into someone. I stopped in my tracks and made eye contact with them. It was Nick's mother. I examined her body. There were heavy bags beneath her eyes that were red from the tears of misery that she had been crying. Her hands were shaking slightly and a frown was plastered across her face. Other than this, nothing seemed to be wrong with her. Without giving it a second thought, I embraced her in a hug. The immediate embrace made both of us start to sob uncontrollably but our moment was interrupted by nurses and doctors pushing past us,

"We have to perform a surgery on Nick. You won't be able to see him until later on tonight. The surgery will take a couple of hours. I will have to ask you to sit out here patiently until we are done with the surgery," A tall male doctor told Nick's mum and I as he gestured to a long row of pale green chairs. With both of us being shaken up and uneasy, we guided each other to the chairs before taking a seat. Nick's mother's name was Jane and she was one of the sweetest people that I have met. No matter what happened, she always put everyone before herself and for that, I admired her. We didn't have any words to say to each other so we sat in deafening silence. I looked around the room and saw how long the row of chairs was. It almost seemed never ending. It crosses my mind that many people have been sitting in each of these chairs before, crying over their loved ones and praying to God that they will be okay. Although, it doesn't always work out. These walls have witnessed the breakdown of people once they have found out their loved ones are dead. They have witnessed the breaking of hearts and souls numerous times and this haunts me.

Heartbreak. Despair. Isolation. I'm sitting here surrounded by white. White walls, white roof, white furniture. A puddle of tears is forming on the floor beneath me, my breath hitching at each sob that escapes my mouth. How did this happen? What will I do? A dense rock is growing within my stomach and a small lump forming in my throat, making it harder and harder to suck in oxygen . If only time travel was real. I could flash back to the past and redo this whole experience. My mind escapes my surroundings thinking of the perfectness that would occur if time travel was real. Suddenly, I was snapped back to reality and was reminded of my surroundings. My life was unpredictable lately, leaving me to wonder what was going to happen next. After the passing of Sam, these surroundings were all too familiar and the fact that I may never see Nick again made me sob harder. Nick's mother was still sitting next to me. She didn't have the courage to call Nick's father because she knew that it would only break his heart and it would also break hers further.

Hours pass and I've almost gone insane by the time the doctors approach Nick's mother and I. The tall male doctor from before comes to us wearing a long white coat with a mask over his mouth. He removes the mask from his mouth before speaking,

"The surgery was successful but only family can see Nick at the moment. Mrs Campbell, will you please follow me?" My heart sunk at the doctor's bitter sweet words. I was ecstatic that the surgery went well but I wasn't able to see Nick. Jane looked at me as if to ask if I was okay if she went to see her son. I nodded my head and she stood up from her seat to follow the doctor down the haunting corridor. The reassurance that Nick was somewhat improving made my thoughts of fear disappear.

Another hour had passed before Jane started to walk down the corridor towards me. I stood up and raced towards her,

"Is he okay?" The question blurted out of my mouth so quickly that it was barely understandable. Jane took one of my hands in both of hers and we sat down in the pale green chairs again. Her sorrowful eyes met mine,

"Nick is doing much better than what the doctors thought he would do. He has been put into an induced coma so that his condition is stable and can be monitored. You know that when we were going to the shops Nick was going to get something for you. He said he wanted to get you something that showed how much he loved you, but Grace, I think that what is going on right now is going to show how much you love Nick. Please don't give up on him in this tough situation because I know that if you do, he will give up his fight and become lifeless. You mean the world to him so I need you to be here for him, okay?" Jane's heartwarming words brought tears to my eyes. I never was going to give up on Nick,

"Jane, I will never give up on your son. Everyone tells me that when you are young you always think that you find love but it all just ends in heartbreak but the truth is that I think Nick and I prove this wrong. Ever since I said goodbye to Nick two years ago, he has never left my mind. I never want to see him get hurt and when I was on the phone to him today, I thought he was dead. If he was I wouldn't be able to live because a world without Nick is a world without laughter, happiness, romance and love. No matter what happens to him, I will always love him. I promise you Jane, I will never give up on Nick," The words had left my mouth and a sudden urge of rebellion and defiance had taken over me. I wanted to see Nick more than anything. Before I even had time to decide what to do, I found myself outside of Nick's door with my hand on the cold handle. The turn of this handle would decide the fate of Nick and I's relationship.