Love, Olivia

The Hospital Room

When Ophelia woke in the hospital bed, she wasn't sure if she was relieved to be alive or sad she was. She blinked in the brightness of the fluorescent lights above her and groggily recognized the sounds of beeping medical machinery. She heard a rustling sound and quiet voices and struggled to sit up. 

  Outside her room stood her father and Olivia, along with Ryan and Veila. Her father ran his hands through his hair and stepped to the side as Olivia came in. Seeing she was awake, Olivia cried out and rushed to her side, her prom dress sweeping across the floor. Her father wasn't far behind when he saw his daughter awake.  Olivia kneeled next to her hospital bed, eyes wet but she managed a shaky smile. 

"What are you doing here?" Ophelia asked, confused. 

Ophelia wiped a tear away from her face.  "I'm right where I should have been. I can't expect you to forgive me for what I've done to you but I don't care anymore about what others think. I want to be with you and hold you when things go wrong. I want to be there for you and make you laugh and hold your hand in the hallway while I walk you to class." 

She took Ophelia's hand in her own and squeezed tightly. Ophelia's eyes were watering.  "If you let me, I'll stay. I'll be with you from dusk to dawn, until you leave this hospital, until you tell me to leave. I'm here, Ophelia. I'm here." 

Ophelia smiled and held onto her hand tightly.  "Okay," she said. "Fuck everybody else?" 

Olivia laughed. "Fuck everybody else. For real this time." 

Ophelia looked over at her father.  "I'm sorry," she said. He gathered her up in a tight hug and let his tears fall with no shame. The pair both shook with sobs until they cried it all out. 

"You're a really good Dad," Ophelia told him.  He choked on the lump in his throat as he laughed. 

"You're the best damn daughter, okay? And not to be selfish, but I need you here, kiddo. Who else will help me paint walls in the house when I get bored? And who else will have the coolest walls in their room, huh? I want to see more poems glued to those walls. Poems about anything."  He gripped her shoulder lovingly.  "We're gonna get through this, okay? You're here, Ophelia and a lot of people care about you." 

They turned to look at Ryan and Veila who were leaning against the wall and a Ms. Heather who had quietly snuck in with some balloons and a journal.  Mr. Bailey stood and thanked her for coming and she smiled softly and handed the balloons and journal to Ophelia. 

"Never stop writing, okay?" she said. "You're too talented."

Ophelia smiled and thanked her; the two adults left the room in search of coffee and a nurse replaced their presence, checking the monitor to ensure everything looked normal. 

"You're doing good, kid," she said. "How are you feeling?" 

"Happier," Ophelia replied. 

"Well, I'd say that's a good response. We're going to keep you overnight and tomorrow ask you some routine questions before you're checked out, okay?" 

Ophelia nodded and the nurse smiled and left the group alone. 

"Hey guys," she said, finally addressing Ryan and Veila. They all took seats around her while the two girls held hands tightly.  "I think I'm going to report Emily when I get back in school," she stated suddenly. "I know what you did wasn't you, Olivia. But Emily doesn't have an excuse and this went too far." 

They were all quiet as she said gently, "You know, I really didn't want to die. I like life, I like experiencing things. I just... I wanted it all to stop, you know? I just didn't have the courage to do it the right way. I guess I had to gain it the hard way... I'm sorry I did this to you guys." 

Ryan shushed her. "All that matters is that you're here and that you want to be here."

He reached for Ophelia's hand and she took it gladly, Veila's hand on top. The four friends sat together quietly in the hospital room, taking in the heaviness of the moment and the importance of life. 

Down the hall, Mr. Bailey and Ms. Heather leaned against a window together, overlooking the parking lot while holding their coffee. 

"I told Olivia she needed to fix this," Ms. Heather confessed. "I may have overstepped as a teacher but I told her this could happen, that this whole thing was fucked. I'd like to think my words helped her do what she did tonight." 

"What, come here?" 

She shook her head and took a sip of her coffee. "No, Olivia was named Prom Queen and during her speech, she told everybody off for how their actions affect people, that she was done. I think this might truly be a turning point for her." 

Ophelia's dad sighed. "I hope so, too. Never in my life as a single dad, or a dad at all, really, did I ever imagine this is something I'd have to deal with. My daughter trying to kill herself... I can barely comprehend it." 

"You do know it's not for lack of parenting skills, right? You're one hell of a father, Alex. Your wife would have been proud."

He smiled. "I think she would be, too. I think she'd be impressed I let Ophelia glue poetry onto her walls. Not a lot of dads allow any kind of "defacing" of their walls."

Ms. Heather laughed lightly. "It is impressive." 

"You know, you remind me of her," Alex said. "My wife; the both of you are similar in that you're cultured and structured but carefree enough to be fun." 

"That's a sweet thing of you to say, Alex." 

"I'm glad were on a first name basis, Ilene. It means you like me. It means that maybe, I wouldn't be overstepping if I asked to kiss you?" 

Ilene blushed. "Only if you're using it as a distraction from the current events. I don't do well being a distraction. 

Alex smiled and said, "I'd imagine not," and kissed her softly. "Thank you for being here," he said.  Ilene smiled back and the stress felt by both of them lessened as they knew they could lean on each other. 

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline1-800-273-8255