She's Got It Bad

Chapter 10

                                                       "The Hospital"

Noah’s POV:

        I was watching her sleep. She had already been in a coma for three days. She had tubes and needles hooked up all over her. At least she looked serene. I could see the bruises that covered her face and body. Her arm was in a cast and so was her left leg.

            I was starting to worry. The one question that was running through my head was, will she wake up at all? I felt so guilty. She told me she needed to go home and I ignored her! That’s why he did this! We couldn’t find Dennis. We looked but he was gone. Her mother was here though. She checked in a lot.

            I couldn’t stand to look at her. She had let this happen and now she was hiding the bastard that did it. At least she cried. She looked sad most of the time. She would come in sometimes and look at Paige. Just stare at her. Then she would cry. She would just break down in the middle of the room.

            I haven’t left since I first stepped through the doors. My parents bring me clothes and I shower here. I’ve been sleeping in the chair beside Paige’s bed. I wouldn’t even leave to eat. I didn’t want to leave her. Most of the time my mom would bring me something. It wasn’t like I ate it though.

            I could hear her monitors working. They drove me crazy. Her heart beat was steady but I was so scared that it would stop. It was also regulating her breathing and making sure her lungs didn’t fill up again. One of her broken ribs had punctured it and blood filled it when she got here.

            I remember walking in right after they pulled her out of the ambulance. I remember that her mom nor Dennis was there. Her friend Maggie was in the ambulance and Jamie pulled in right after them. My whole family came though. Apparently Jonah told them and they followed us to the hospital. I remember being so scared as I looked at her broken body. She was already knocked out. I thought she was dead. I had been crying as I walked into the building.

            We spent six agonizing hours waiting for them to stabilize her. When they finally did the doctor came out and told us she was stable but that she was in a coma. It had destroyed me but lifted my spirits all at once. I didn’t know how to feel. Her friends saw her for a minute before they had to leave. They had been here at least an hour every day. They tried to stay as long as they could.

            “Noah,” I heard a soft voice call out. I looked up to see my mom looking at Paige.

            “What,” I croaked. My throat felt raw.

            “Do you want something to eat,” she asked.

            “Sure,” I said knowing that I wouldn’t eat it.

            “Don’t you think you should go home,” she asked as she touched my shoulder.

            “No,” I said forcefully.

            “There’s no telling when she’s gonna wake up. You need some rest,” she begged.

            “I won’t leave her,” I said as I touched Paige’s face.

            “I’ll stay with her,” she promised.

            “No. I want to be here when she opens her eyes,” I said.