Be Alright: Somebody To Love #6

8

Pattie’s POV

            I walked into Madelyn’s hospital room and nearly fainted at the sight of her. Tubes were coming out of her mouth. Several machines were connected to her. One was making her breath. Another was monitoring her heart. They had several wires on her head, monitoring any brain activity.

            Justin had a chair pulled up to her bed. He was in such a daze, he didn’t even notice I had walked in.

            “Hey baby.” I kissed the top of his head. As soon as he realized I was there he stood up and embraced me. It didn’t take long for the tears to start. I rubbed his back as he cried on my shoulder. I hadn’t ever seen him like this. Sure, whenever Madelyn was in the hospital he got a little on edge, but nothing like this.

            “What if she doesn’t wake up, Mom?” He was sobbing now. I had no response for him. I knew I was supposed to make him feel better, but I didn’t know what to say. There was a big chance that Madelyn wasn’t going to make it. I couldn’t lie to him. He knew the odds just as well as I did.

            “Shh.” I just tried to calm him down. “It’ll be okay. Everything will be alright.” As the words left my mouth, I tried my best to believe that. But I didn’t know how things would ever be alright without Madelyn. I knew Justin would be heartbroken. He wouldn’t be able to function. The kids would be just as bad. I wouldn’t be much better.

            Thinking about the possibilities, I just prayed Madelyn would miraculously make it out of this alive.

            “Have you eaten? Or slept?”

            “No. I don’t want to leave her.”

            “I’m going to go get you something to eat and then I’ll ask them to bring you a cot in so you can sleep in here. I’ll stay up with her.”

            “Okay.” He agreed.

Justin’s POV

            The next few days were the same. My mom was the one who would run any errands that needed to be done so I didn’t have to leave. She would bring me fresh clothes and dinner at night. And when she wasn’t running errands, she sat with me. The only thing that seemed to change were the colors of Madelyn’s bruises. They began fading from blue and black to purple, which I thought was progress. I only hoped her brain was healing just as much.

            I tried to talk to the kids at least once a day, but it was getting harder each day. They wanted to come home. They wanted to be in Los Angeles. But most of all, they wanted Madelyn. They tried to get more information about what was wrong with her, but I just kept saying she was sick. Lying to them, especially to Aniston and Stella, was getting more and more difficult as each day Madelyn’s outcome was looking more and more grim.

            “Can’t I just talk to her?” Aniston was trying her best not to cry. I could hear her choking back her tears, even over the phone. Just like Madelyn, she was always holding back her emotions, trying so hard not to let out any tears.

            “She’s asleep, baby.” I said, just like I did every time the kids asked to talk to her.

            “Why is she always asleep when we call? Why can’t you just wake her up?”

            “It’s not that easy, Annie. I’ll try to explain it to you when you get home.”

            “When is that going to be? I want to come home now.”