Potion

Jesse's POV: Drunk in love

Hospitals can become very irritating after the first hour. I stayed there all day.

I'd received no news. Dr. Lance told me he would come out if he had news, and I've gotten zip. I called my mom to let her now where I was, and she told me I needed to call Kristin, Willow's mom. That was one of the hardest calls to make. I tried my best to comfort her. I told her Willow was passed out, and getting treated by Dr. Lance.

She started bawling. The next thing I know, she shows up here 30 minutes later. I hugged her while she sobbed into my shoulder hysterically. She broke out of the embrace and demanded the lady at the front desk to see Willow. The lady shook her head solemnly. "Dr. Lance is still with the patient. We'll let you know when we have a verdict."

Kristin slumped into a waiting room chair, defeated.

I took a seat next to her. The room was cleared out, except for one spare gray haired lady waiting to see her loved one. I pictured one of those sappy old time movies, where an elderly woman awaited the news of her dying husband. I pulled my lips in, like I was about to say the letter M, and looked away.

I placed my head in my hands. Kristin's breathing was uneven and nervous. I shut my eyes and listened to her breath. We waited like that for who knows how long.

The silence was invigorating, but I managed to let my mind wander. I wasn't asleep, but I wasn't awake either. I was drifting. Every thought I had led to Willow.

I looked up after minutes, or even hours later, and saw the white double doors swinging closed. Dr. Lance came to a stop in front of me. Two legs clad in ironed slacks was the only thing I could see. I looked up at him with tired eyes. My heart beat erratically, knowing the verdict was soon to come. Kristin was alert beside me. Her face was worried and creased like paper.

"Well?" She managed to say through clenched teeth. "What's happened to my daughter!?"

Dr. Lance's mouth was smoothed into a firm line. His face was composed and regal.

"She's in a temporary coma."

He paused, whether for dramatic effect or to let the information sink in I didn't know. "Her heart is still beating. A coma is basically a deep sleep, and they are typically very difficult to wake from. There's a very slim chance she could wake up, and to wake up she has to have the cure. Willow's situation is a delicate one." He eyed each of us in turn.

"So we'll wait it out as long as we can. I know how hard this can be, but keep up your faith. You can visit her whenever visitor hours are open."

I swallowed, digesting this information.

Willow's alive. This is good.

We can visit her, which is good too.

She might not ever wake up.

Not good.

Not good at all.

30 minutes later I watched Willow breathe slowly, hooked up to an IV and heart monitor. Kristin had already seen her, and couldn't stop crying. I tried comforting her the best I could. She was talking to Dr. Lance in another room right now, questioning him repeatedly about her daughter. If Willow would remember her, if she would have anything wrong with her, if the cure could come any quicker.

I closed the door to Willow's room and came to the side of her bed in two long strides. It was only me and Willow, her mom was talking to Dr. Lance, and there were no other doctors in the room. My breath caught. She was a sleeping beauty. This was the girl I had spent hours and days with, the girl I had shared my first kiss with. This was the girl that changed my life. And here she was, on the verge of death. Somehow on the edge of death, she looked like a goddess. The crisp white hospital gown she wore made her look like a foreign princess coated in snow. Willow's raven hair spilled carelessly down her shoulders. Her marble skin looked smooth and delicate. Her breathing was so slow I was afraid she might not take another. My heart contracted and burned.