Hero

Chapter 17

" . . . and then they all lived happily ever after. The End." A nurse read to Leigh-Anne on Monday night. She smiled as she closed the fairytale book. She pouted. "Didn't you like that one Leigh?"

Leigh-Anne sighed. "It was a good story. I enjoyed it. Thank you for reading to me nurse Nancy." The child gave a small smile to the nurse.

"Then why the long face?" Nurse Nancy had been assigned to Leigh-Anne from the second week of the child's staying. Since then she'd become close to her and knew that Leigh loved to have stories read to her as well as speak of a friend whom she loved called; Jesy. She found Leigh-Anne adorable. It was just sad that the child seemed to become upset whenever she was alone here.

Leigh shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it." She mumbled looking at her sheets.

"Why not? Feeling shy?"

Leigh-Anne's bottom lip began to quiver. She looked up at her nurse with watery eyes. "It's just that . . . Mummy didn't come in today." She wept.

Nurse Nancy pouted then gave her a hug. "I am so sorry. She must have had a long day at work . . . I'm sure she had a reason."

Leigh-Anne was sniffing. "Sh-she was here. A nurse told me that she was with Sairah and that she'd come see me in a bit but . . . she never came . . ." Leigh-Anne felt horrible. Her friends had come in today and that had distracted her from her mother's absence but as soon as they left, she felt terrible again. She felt so alone. Her mother had been visiting for shorter time lapses these days. Leigh understood though. It was because of Sairah who really needed her but she still needed her mother too. "I don't want her to stretch too thin but . . ." She wept onto the nurse's uniform.

Nurse Nancy rubbed Leigh's back. "Do you want anything sweetie? A toy to play with a little before bed? Or perhaps some warm tea?"

Leigh-Anne shook her head as she pulled out of the hug. "No ma'am." She let her nurse wipe her face with a paper towel. "I'll just go to bed now." She said softly.

The nurse sighed. "You sure? I could get my laptop and we could both watch Christmas movies."

Leigh shook her head. The Christmas movies only made her feel sad that her Christmas would be spent here. She envied the children who celebrated the holiday with their fathers and mothers. She almost hated them for smiling so much. It wasn't a good feeling to her; jealousy. "I'm tired." She rolled over to her belly and pulled her sheets over her back.

"Okay Leigh-Anne but if you need something, you should call me right away." She stood then left the room, switching the light off and saying good night before she did so.

Leigh-Anne sighed when she left. She hated the hospital. The nurses and doctors were nice. They really were but she just missed home. The last time she'd been here she had spent six months. That was half a year. She hadn't gotten lonely though. Her mother had practically spent the whole time with her. Her Mum had been amazing. She'd rubbed Leigh's back, tell her stories, show her movies and TV shows on her tablet. Her mother had let her play a lot of games on her devices as well. The hospital wasn't all that bad back then but now it was terrible.

Leigh's mother had not been here as frequently. She did not sleep with her and instead slept with Sairah. When her mother was here she'd speak to her a little, Leigh enjoyed their conversations but she'd soon have to leave for either work or Sairah. Leigh was grateful for it though. She appreciated her mother's efforts but she felt a little jealous of her older sister.

Leigh-Anne sighed where she lay. It was hard to sleep for her these days. She felt so lonely in this big bed. She tried to think of a happy memory. A memory of when Jesy taught her how to ride a bike came to mind. It made her feel warm but that feeling was replaced by a cold one when her eyes opened at the feeling of a nebulizer at her face. It seemed that she'd dozed off and now a doctor was giving her medicine and checking her vitals. When the intruder left she sobbed a bit. She didn't like asthma one bit.