My eyes widened out, my eyebrows shooting slightly up "Really?"
Calum comfirmed with a steady nod. But Jenna seemed to be in disbelief "What about your manager?"
"I guess they were able to convince him." he shrugged casually "It doesn't even matter, the point is they're coming and will be here soon."
The sound of someone firmly clearing their throat behind us made me flinch. There we found the already familiar kind face of Sam's doctor. He informed us that we could now visit her, but no more then two at a time. Since it was evident how eager Calum was to see her, we let him go first with Jenna. They patiently followed the doctor out of the waiting area, leaving me and Julie to ourselves. By now, my coffee had run cold, so I gulped the rest of it down in one sip and threw away the empty plastic cup. Julie was no longer planted in her chair. Instead, she paced around a bit, streching out her back and limbs. I too began to feel how stiff my body was, a sideaffect from all those hours in uncomfortable chairs. I've had enough hospitals for one lifetime, I thought.
"Do you think she's okay?" Julie asked, massaging her neck.
I shrugged "We'll get to see for ourselves...Although I suppose her state isn't as critical anymore, provided they're letting us see her in the first place." Julie nodded. After that, we just waited in silence for Calum and Jen to return. When they did, no one spoke a word. I didn't dare examin their expressions either, as I wanted nothing to tell me how she was before I see for myself. So I took a deep breath and I did so.
The door opened before the doctor, slowly and quietly, before crying out a slight shreek. He mumbled something under his breath and I wasn't sure if he was directing it at us or just talking to himself. Never the less, I payed almost no attention to him as I forced myself to slowly walk further into the room. The mixed smells of different kinds of medicine and drugs hit me, along with an occassional beep that indicated Sam's heartbeat. The first thing my eyes registered through the blurry mess that was my mind were these machines around Sam's bed. I recognised them to be there before her operation as well, but they were always off and aside. Now they were all up and running. Some attached to her forearm, others just signaling repetitive beeps that drive you insane if you listen for too long.
"Hey Sam." Julie croaked out and I stole a glance at her as she tried to put together a smile. I could feel no one knew quite what to say.
The pale girl smiled back weakly, adjusting her elbows to her sides. She tried to push herself up, but we were quick to stop her when it became clear movement was still too painful for her. In the first few minutes after I walked in here, I wasn't able to recognise my once healthy and cheerful best friend. All of the surrounding was hitting me, but no emotion was registered. Now that the numbness has wearing off, it was becoming harder to keep calm. Reality was inescapable.
"You're okay. Everything's gonna be okay." Julie cooed as her fingers gently ran across Samantha's messy hair.
Sam sighed, sliding a weight off of her chest "The doctors said the moment after the operation was critical. They told me I almost died. You can't imagine the way I felt after I woke up this morning. I felt pain all over my body, everything hurt so much I couldn't move. But at the same time I never felt better. I'm alive and they said my chances of recovery are looking good now. I never knew how lucky I was to be alive until I almost died."
Her last few words sliced through the silence, left to ring in our ears as we took them in. And truly, you never know what you have until it's gone, or, if you're lucky, almost gone. Sam now values her life much more than she probably did just a couple of weeks ago. And I'm positive we value her much more as well.
Without warning, the door flew open and three familiar faces stood there with smug expressions. Julie didn't hesitate a single second, before jumping from where she sat next to Sam and practically flying to the door "Ashton!" she crashed into his arms and the two of them exchanged heartfelt hello's.
It took me a moment to take in the fact that Luke, Michael and Ashton were standing there. After I composed myself, I smiled awkwardly, grabbing Julie's wrist and dragging her out of the room. There will a time for reuniting, but first comes the guys' turn to see Sam. Julie understood and spoke no argument as she followed me back to the dreaded waiting area. I realised how sick of this place I've become. If I recall correctly, this is the third time I've been here since meeting these wonderful people, who've changed my life in more ways than one over the years. In fact, it was the first time we were here that we unofficially became best friends. To think just a month before that I wouldn't trust anyone but Jenna. So much was happening right now and so many old memories were triggered that my head literally started spinning and I had to sit down. Well, at least Sam's okay.
~~~~~~~
hey guys
thank you all for the wonderful comments on the last chapter, I've decided to finish this book after all :)
love you xx
