Lauren Sanders is struggling to rebuild her life with her aunt and cousin after her family's tragic death. But what no one knows is the truth about two things: how her parents really died and her battle with schizophrenia.
One day, Lauren stumbles...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It's been three days since I have tried talking to Lauren. I was aware that the truth would ultimately surface, but I didn't anticipate that she would discover it in that manner. I was aware that I had missed my chance since I had backed down each time I had wanted to tell her.
"Jonathan, let's go!" I shouted from my bedroom as I grabbed the car keys that I left on my bedside table before walking out of the room.
Jonathan rushes down the stairs ahead of me after bursting out of his room. He left the house first, and I followed after I immediately shut the front door. I opened the car door and hopped inside, fastening my seatbelt. I turn the key in the ignition and the engine roars. I backed out of the driveway and start driving back to the hospital.
Christopher had just finished his lunch when we arrived at the hospital, and Mom was watching TV as she rested on her bed. I entered their room by myself while Jonathan left to get food from the hospital cafeteria.
I pulled the chair beside my mom's bed, "How are you? How's school?" Mom asks as she grabs the remote, changing the channel of the TV.
I shrugged, "I can't say I'm fine because I'm not, but school's fine."
Mom placed the remote down, took my hand, and looked at me, "She'll come around, eventually," she says, talking about Lauren.
Before I could even enter the hospital room that day after school, my mother observed that I had red eyes from crying, so I immediately informed her what had happened.
"She has every right to be mad at me," I told mom as I looked down at our hands, "I should've mustered up the courage to tell her the truth."
Dr. Fhassan enters the room, accompanied by a nurse beside him who was clutching onto a clipboard. As he approached me, I got up from the chair next to my mom.
"We have to run a renal and CT scan for both of your parents," Dr. Fhassan says, "We'll bring your mom first and then your dad."
I nodded my head as I looked at mom, "Should I come with?"
Mom pats my hand, "No need," she says as she leans forward and starts whispering in my ear, "I think this is a good chance to talk to your father and make amends?"
I look at her, "Mom," I said as she smiles cheekily at me. I sighed defeatedly as I thought about it, nodding my head eventually.
My mom needs to leave the room for her renal and CT scan, so the nurse sprints out of the room to get a wheelchair. When the nurse finally shows over after a short wait, she maneuvers the wheelchair next to my mother's bed. Both Dr. Fhassan and the nurse assist my mom to get her to sit comfortably in the wheelchair.
I stood up and followed them out of the room, "We'll be back soon," mom says, "Now, go and talk to your father."
I watched them leave with rolling eyes and a silent nod after hearing my mom speak. I took a long breath before entering the room again and dragging a chair over to Christopher's bed. He promptly straightened himself up and put the empty pudding back on his meal plate while turning his body slightly to the side to face me.
