The Come Up

Chapter 39 - Alive

I am by my Mother in the blink of an eye. Hugging her, crying, crying and hugging her, laughing, apologizing for Trisha's curse words. All of it pouring out of me like an overflowing fountain. 

I kiss her cheeks and hand a dozen times and she weakly rubs my face with her thumb. 

"I almost thought I lost you." I say, my face buried into her neck. 

I laugh and sniffle then wipe away the water running from my eyes. 

"You know I ain't goin nowhere baby." Ma attempts to laugh but it sounds strained. She winces slightly and moves her shoulder up. She looks around briefly. 

"Hm, hospital?" She ponders. 

"Yea, you were rushed here after things went down back at the house." Trisha says as she holds Ma's other hand. 

Mom looks to Trisha then to me, a completely confused stare on her face and crinkles on her forehead. 

"Back at the house?" She questions, but with every passing word her voice grows weaker. 

Did she not remember what happened? 

They said she hit her head. Were pieces of the puzzle missing? 

Nurse Wallace enters the room after knocking twice. No one responded to her so she came in and when she saw Mom was awake she smiled sweetly. She seemed truly happy that Mom was alright. Everything about Ms. Wallace was very genuine. 

"Ahh, Ms. Ingo, great to have you back. How are you feeling?" Ms. Wallace questions. She walks closer to Ma and begins examining the bandages around her head and the point of entry of the bullets. 

"Fine." Mom tries to respond. 

Ms. Wallace watches my Mother carefully, a crinkle in her own forehead. 

"Don't speak dear. Nod or shake your head for me. Do you know why you are here?" She asks. 

Ma waits for a moment as if she is really trying to think. As if she is trying hard to recall the events that happened the last time she was awake but then after a few moments, Ma shakes her head and suddenly seems upset with herself. Worry crosses her eyes and she begins to panic. 

Secretly, I begin to panic.

She opens her mouth to speak but Nurse Wallace stops her. 

"It's okay. You just woke up. Give your voice some time to adjust, I will bring you water and some pain killers. The good thing is that you are here, conscious and able to recognize your loved ones." Nurse Wallace lifts her hands from my Mother's shoulder. 

She walks up to me by the door and whispers. 

"Don't remind her of anything that happened. This is very common, especially if the incident was traumatic. Let her be happy and relaxed for now. Her body can't handle too much stress." Nurse Wallace orders. 

I nod.

As she walks out, I follow her and close Ma's door behind me. 

"What does this mean about the head injury? Is it serious?" I ask. 

Nurse Wallace looks down the hallway and then back at me. 

"Sweetie, I don't have the knowledge or experience to answer these questions as I should. Wait for Dr. Ben. He will be here early in the morning." She wonders off a different room and I am left in the hallway to have the voices in my head get to me. I shake them out and go back to Ma. 

Trisha is rubbing her hand and Ma is laughing. There is a wide smile on her face and I don't know the story Trisha is telling her but she is very amused by it.