Forward

Hospital beds

Chapter 5

My head started spinning as I tried to understand what one of my sisters had just said.

'Moms dead'

The two words rung in my head and they wouldn't go away.

Dead?

No, that's impossible. My mother was the strongest woman I had ever met, there was no way she was dead.

Apparently Harry had heard the screaming, because he sat up, wide-eyed.

"What's going on?", he said, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

I was speechless. And I literally could not move. I wanted to run to my mother, but I simply was paralyzed.

"Alex?", Harry shook my shoulders, "Alex, what's wrong?"

I still didn't say anything, I just stared at the door with my mouth wide open.

My mom could not be dead.

"Alex!", Harry shouted, "Alex talk to me! Say something, anything!"

I wanted to scream, to cry, to do anything. But I was in shock, and I had no control over my body. I wanted to tell Harry I was fine, I wanted to cry over his shoulder, I wanted to tell him my mom might be dead, but I couldn't.

Again, one of my sisters scream, the other 2 cried.

Why couldn't I move?

Or speak?

"Alex!", he shouted, "What's happening?"

Just then, the oldest of my younger siblings rushed through my bedroom door. It was Emma.

Her face was stained with tears and her eyes were full of panic.

"Mom..", she cried, "She's not moving, Alex please help me!"

I sat there, still. I desperately wanted to go help, to call an ambulance, but I couldn't move!

"I'll help," Harry got up and grabbed his phone. I wanted to thank him for taking charge.

"..Hello? Yes, we need immediate emergency care. A mother, she's not moving, please send help..."

And that's all I heard, before the world turned black.

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"She's waking up," a faint voice said, I could barely recognize it.

My eyes slowly blinked, as my vision came into focus.

I was in a white room.

No, it was a hospital room.

What happened? Was it another suicide attempt?

"Alex!", a now familiar British accent said, "I'm so glad you're awake! You scared me half to death!"

Harry hugged me and stood by my side. He looked tired and exhausted, I wondered how long he's been here.

"How long was I out?", I croaked.

"About 5 days," Harry yawned, "and I haven't slept since."

"What?", I almost shouted.

"Yeah," he said, "it's been a rough couple of days."

He say down on a chair beside the hospital bed, why was I at the hospital anyway?

"Why am I here?", I asked.

"Well," he said, "you're mother..she was unconscious and you're sisters were scared. And you, you wouldn't move. At all. You wouldn't speak either. You're eyes were lifeless and it was quite scary. A little bit before the ambulance came, you blacked out. You've been asleep for 5 days, Alex, and no one knows why."