The Singer's Girl

Chapter 31

CAROLINE'S POV

"Where's my mom?" Was the first thing I remember asking upon realizing I was in a hospital room.

"She's coming, honey." Said a voice I didn't recognize. I looked over and a nurse was at my bedside, filling out my chart.

"Wha- what?" I stammered, analyzing my situation. I was wearing no shirt, just a sports bra. There were a few machines hooked up to my body, monitoring my heart rate and my breathing. I was alone here with this nurse. I didn't even know how I got here in the first place or what put me here. I started to become worried until I saw Taylor's familiar face in the doorway. She looked like she'd been crying.

"Mom." I sighed with relief as soon as she came up and embraced me. I hugged her back and noticed how shaky I was. When she pulled away tears were forming in her eyes. I didn't want to ask what happened because it seemed like it was bad if she was this fragile right now.

But I didn't have to ask, after having Taylor in the room for only a minute, my doctor called Taylor out into the hall to ask her some questions.

"I'll be right back, babe." She told me before kissing me and getting up to leave. When she left my nurse came back in to check on me, and that's when the whole situation was explained to me. The anxiety, the puke, the airplane, the ambulance, everything. And then Taylor wasn't the only one crying, I started too.

As soon as the tears started to form in my eyes my nurse told me that I had to calm down because they didn't want my heart rate getting above a certain level. She said that this was because the last time my body was put through rough breathing patterns and a rapid heartbeat I went unconscious.

That made me afraid, so I did as she told and kept my cool. Which might've been easier if Taylor was in the room.

TAYLOR'S POV

"How long has this been going on?" Caroline's doctor asked me out in the hallway.

"Well they started not long after her dad died last year, so since last summer? 10 or so months?" I said, she wanted to know about Caroline's anxiety. She had me describe the panic attack she had on the plane and she had me tell her what usually brought them on. She told me that she was asking me and not Caroline because they didn't want to upset her in case it put her body through more stress. She took notes on everything I said.

"Okay now can I just get you to sign off on this sheet so we can perform a complete physical exam?" She asked and I signed my name.

"Also- we want to test her on a few other things so by signing on this page you are giving us permission to do blood tests, because problems with thyroid can resemble panic symptoms. You would also be signing for us to do an EKG, because heart problems can also resemble panic symptoms." She told me, pulling out another piece of paper. I signed to get her tested for these things because the possibility of heart or thyroid problems concerned me.

Her doctor thanked me and said that they would run the tests later today. I walked back into Caroline's room and saw her there again, lying in the bed. I hadn't got to spend much time with her since everything happened. I think she was tired, we were on the plane for 14 hours and she didn't sleep, now it was morning in Nashville and she looked wiped out.

I pulled a chair up to her bed and sat with her. The peacefulness of the room was quite a contrast from the loud ambulance. Now the only thing I could hear was the beep of her heart monitor.

"Are you tired?" I asked her softly, striking the top of her head with my hand.

"Where's my shirt?" She asked.

"Hmm?" I said back, thinking she was out of it still, but she pulled the sheets off of her and she was only in a sports bra. Suddenly I remembered what happened in the ambulance.