That Summer

Falling Apart

When I finally made it into the room my mom was in, I freaked. It was obvious she'd been in a bad accident. Her face and arms were badly cut and bruised, both her arms had IV needles sticking out. She was pale and she looked quite frail. Currently, she was sleeping. I figured it was morphine induced, since my mom would NEVER sleep after something so serious. She'd be talking a mile a minute, trying to arrange all the details of suing the drunk driver, putting me into private school, etc etc.

I sighed, deeply, and took a seat across the room. A few moments later, Izzy walked in, looking just as shell-shocked as I felt.

"Oh my goodness, Sam. Is she okay?" She asked, her voice quiet. Soft.

"I.. I think so. I mean, the doctors didn't tell me anything, except that she'd been hit by a drunk driver who ran a red light."

"Wow. I am so sorry, sweetie." Izzy came and sat with me, hugging me tight. It was then I realized I was crying.

"I just.. What if she'd died? The last thing we talked about was how selfish and lazy she thought I was, and how bitchy and overbearing I thought she was. If she didn't wake up.. I don't think I could live with myself."

"Samantha! Don't you DARE think like that! She DID wake up then, and she's gonna wake up now. She's bruised and banged up, but she is going to be okay."

"I hope so, Izzy, I hope so."

We sat there for a while, in total silence. Izzy couldn't think of any more things to say to comfort me, and I didn't want to hear them anyway. I only wanted my mom to wake up so I could hug her and apologize. I mentally promised her that I would stop being such a brat, and that I would just quietly work.

Though it was only late afternoon, I was exhausted. I guess I dozed off a couple times, because before I know it, Izzy is standing in front of me with a hot coffee.

"Thanks." I said, weakly. Izzy nodded and smiled at me a little.

About halfway through my coffee, I heard my mom rustle a little. And a small moan escaped her lips. I set the coffee down and jumped up, running to her bed.

"Mom! Are you okay?" The words all seemed to rush out of my lips, before I knew I was saying them.

She looked confused for a moment. "Sam. When did you get here? And why is it so dark?"

"Mom. They knocked you out on morphine. I got here probably a couple of hours ago. They called me when you got admitted."

Now, she flipped.

"What the hell do you mean admitted?! What happened? Why are there all these needles in me??" She was practically screaming.

"Mom, mom. Relax, I'll tell you what I know. You were on your way to lunch, I think. Some idiot was already drunk, and when you were halfway through an intersection, he ran a red light, slamming into the side of your car."

"Oh my goodness! Wait until I find out who that little bas-"

"Mom, don't. Atleast, not right now."

"Oh, and why not?"

"Because I have to talk to you." Until this moment, I had never seen my mom look so confused in her life.

"What about?" She was exceedingly skeptical about what I had to say.

"I'm sorry. I should've just listened to you when you said I needed to go get a job. And you're right, you DO sacrifice a lot for me." She studied me a moment before replying.

"Honey, its not your fault. You're a responsible young lady, and I should've let you take this day off, instead of pressuring you to go out and work."

After that, neither of us had anything to say. The silence got awkward, so I was almost grateful for the doctor who walked in, then.

"Excuse me ladies. But, visting hours are over, so I have to ask you to leave."

I nodded quietly and picked up all my things. I quickly followed Izzy out the door. Once we got close to the car, I tossed her the keys. I was not in any state to drive, and I knew it. Izzy drove right to my house, taking me up to my room. She let me change in to my PJs and made me dinner. I idly watched TV, starting to feel a bit better. Once it started getting a little late, I curled up on my bed next to her and fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up to the smell of pancakes and bacon. I smiled for a moment, knowing it was Izzy, still taking care of me. I tied my hair up and headed into the kitchen. She looked like she was almost finished cooking, so I sat quitely at the table, since she hated to be disturbed while cooking. Only moments later, she set in front of me two pancakes and a plate full of bacon.

"Thanks, Iz."

"Don't worry about it, Sam. You are in distress. Consider me your knight in shining armor." This made me laugh.

"Well then, Sir Isabelle, I dub thee the best friend ever." She smiled wide at me.

We ate breakfast like that. We joked and talked, not once mentioning my mother or her accident. It was nice, especially after the night I had last night.

After breakfast, we took turns showering and getting dressed. She took from the endless pile of clothes she's left here. I took a deep breath as we headed to my car, getting ready to go to the hospital. The drive, though short, seemed like it stretched on forever. When I finally reached St. Ivan's, I parked and shut off the car, and sat there.

"You getting out anytime soon, Sam...?" Izzy asked.

I sighed quietly at my steering wheel. "Yeah." I got out of the car, locking it before I headed into the hospital. I walked up to my mom's room, nearly running into her doctor. He chuckled, and then informed me that they just gave her morphine, so she was asleep.

I headed into the room, taking a seat. Once Izzy sat, she handed me a book that she'd grabbed for me. I thanked her, and opened it up, instantly diving into this alternate world.

Izzy and I had sat like that for probably two hours when the beeping of her heart monitor changed. It suddenly got really fast and loud. Doctors came running in, yelling things at each other. Finally, one noticed us. But when I asked for help, she only shuffled me out of the room, muttering something about kids these days.

I stood outside the room, trying to peek in. I couldn't see anything except a bunch of people, looking at each other and my mom, talking. Working, Moving. I couldn't tell what was going on, but I knew it wasn't good. Tears came streaming down my face, and I sat against the wall for what seemed like forever.