Saving Rose

Chapter Eighteen

The room was silent. All I could hear was Rose's ragged breathing and my own sobs.

Her hands were lukewarm, but they didn't feel like they were getting any warmer. I couldn't lose her like I lost her mother. I just couldn't.

Sydney was next to me, her eyes closed. We had been sitting beside Rose in the hospital room all night, I had yet to get a wink of sleep.

My eyes were getting tired, but I knew that I couldn't close them because I would fall asleep. And I had to be awake when Rose woke up.

As soon as Sydney was done telling us what happened, Jacob and I ran to his car, and he drove me to the hospital. Sydney said that she was reading Harry Potter to Rose, when all of the sudden, she collapsed. She was hardly breathing. I had nine missed calls from her.

She called 911 as fast as she could, then after the ambulance came and got her, she drove over to Jacob's.

Jacob was down in the cafeteria getting us all some food.

The doctors had came in to tell us what they thought had happened. Rose was anemic, her iron and ferritin levels were extremely low. It was from internal bleeding. She would be going into surgery in just a few hours to try and find what area was bleeding, and stop it.

They didn't know why she hadn't woken up yet, but it normally wasn't a good sign.

I heard the door squeak open and I glanced over. Jacob. He was juggling two huge plate fulls of food.

He gave me a faint smile that I didn't even try to return.

Sydney woke up when she heard the door open, and grabbed one of the plates that Jacob was offering her.

"You need to eat something," Jacob told me, sitting in the chair next to me.

I shook my head. I couldn't eat while my baby, Rose, was suffering. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep anything down.

"How about an apple? Just a slice or two." Jacob held out his hand where he had a few slices of apples.

I reached out, grabbed one, and began to nibble on it.

"Have the doctors said anything else?" Sydney asked me.

"No, just that the surgery is going to be later today. Actually," I glanced down at my watch, "in a few minutes." As soon as I said that a nurse came into the room.

"Hello." He began to check Rose's vitals, and left soon after. A split second later, he came back in with the doctor in tow.

"As you know, it's time for Rose's surgery. My name is Roger. I promise that she'll be in good hands. The surgery should be a little over two hours."

They started to wheel Rose out of the room. I stood up and walked over to her, and grabbed her hand again.

I leaned down so I was whispering in her ear. "Rose, you are one of the strongest little girls I know." My voice started to get thick with tears, "I'll be here for you when you wake up." She was wheeled out of the room, and I sat down, hard, on the seat next to Jacob.

I grabbed his hand suddenly, and squeezed. I was clenching my jaw so that I wouldn't cry. But, as soon as I glanced over to see tears in both Sydney and Jacob's eyes, the dam broke.

My body shook, and I leaned into Jacob. My head buried in his shoulder, and I could feel his breath speed up. I assumed that he was crying along with Sydney and I. I knew that he and Rose had a special connection. Even though, he knocked into her the first time they met.

Sydney handed us a box of tissues, and I used one to wipe the tears from my face. I glanced over at where my head was on Jacob's shoulder to find it completely soaked. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. He looked down at me.