Sleeping Beauty

Chapter 5

Shawn

I've only eaten two protein bars and bottled water in an effort to forget her. I canceled all shows and meet in greets and claimed that I have the flu. To distract myself, I've played games  on my phone, songs on my guitar, and tried to make cookies which, strangely enough, failed. I ignored every call from the hospital and walked away from my mom every time she tried to talk to me. After all of it, I still thought of her. 

I thought of her deep brown hair and the pale skin on her face that surrounded it. I thought about her leg and tried figure out what happened to her. I imagined what her life was like before all this happened. Was she popular? Did she play sports? Was she happy? And every time I did, I kicked myself for it, but continued to think about her.

At 2:34 on Tuesday, the phone rings. My mom wasn't home and my dad was at work, so I pulled myself off the couch and walked into the kitchen where my phone sat. The hospital.

I thought about answering. What if something had happened to her? A forced voice in my head said it would be good, because then you could stop thinking about her, but I knew that wouldn't be the case. I pushed my fingers through my hair and ignored the call. Eventually the ringing stopped and I collapsed onto the couch again. 

...

She wasn't sleeping. She was there and smiling. Her eyes were this deep blue that you could get lost in and there was color in her face and I just felt so...

happy. 

We talked, and when I sang to her, she tried to sing with me. The problem was, she wasn't very good at singing, but I didn't care. I showed her music videos and we talked about our lives and it would've truly been the best day of my life if I hadn't woke up.

...

I woke up to the doorbell ringing over and over again. I figured if I just pretended I wasn't there, the person would just go away, but it kept ringing. When I rolled off the couch, my knee touched the floor and I pushed myself up that way. I stumbled over to the door. When I turned the lock and opened it, there was a man standing there. He had dark skin and was a lot taller than me. I had to look up at him. I would've invited him inside, but I don't think he would've fit through the doorway. He was wearing a navy blue suit and had a red tie on. 

"Are you Shawn Mendes?"

I rubbed my eyes. "Sure."

"Well then. I work at Springfield Hospital and I was just wondering why you haven't been showing up. The patient you had been working with has suddenly become in critical condition."

My heart stopped beating. The room was spinning and my head was pounding. I had to grab onto the door frame to steady myself. "You mean, you think..."

"Sir-"

"You think America might die soon." 

"In the past two weeks, she has shown a significant decrease in her health and she had an operation last week in which we lost a pulse. It's a miracle she survived. In other words, the possiblility of her passing away in the next few weeks is very high."

I feel beads of sweat drip down my forehead. A big knot appeared in my throat, preventing any air from getting in. 

"Are you okay, son? I think you might need to sit down." The man ducks under the doorway and closes the door behind him. I walk past the couch and sit down at the kitchen table. He sits beside me. The fancy doctor articulation leaves his voice and he starts to talk almost like a father would. "Do you have feelings for this girl, because-"

"NO!" I snap, but I take it back the second I say it. "Maybe."

He laughs. "I knew it."

I shoot him a glare. "You knew what?"

He holds up his hands. "Don't get offended. There's nothing to be offended about."

I simply nod.

"Well, as you may know," he says, getting back into his doctor voice, "coma patients have been proven to be able to hear while they are in there unconscious state." He goes back to his father voice. "I've heard you talk to her. You're not like most of the volunteers. Most of them just play 'You are my Sunshine' or something ridiculous like that, but you- you my son, are dedicated to this girl. You have told her everything she wants to hear and when you sing to her, I can tell that you actually mean the song you are playing. After you stopped coming, she just got worse and worse, like she wanted to know where you went and why you weren't coming back, and it didn't help that her parents had just stopped coming to visit her and she had nobody."

"Wait. Her parents don't visit her anymore." I turn in my chair so my feet aren't under the table and I hunch over and fold my hands so they're sitting by my knees.

"They stopped coming. Left her on her own. I mean, they still pay her bills, but they moved out of the state. Said they would come see her again if she ever woke up. I think they just needed a new start." He leans back in his chair and looks at me for confirmation.

"If you're telling me you want me to start volunteering again, the answer is no. I can't get closer to her, because if I do and she dies..."

"I guarantee she will die if you do not come talk to her. You are her last hope."

I shake my head, but tell him, "Okay."

He laughs again. "I thought so." I walk him to the door. "Hey, why did you stop coming in the first place?"

I look down at my feet. "When I was walking out on the last day, I tripped and the sheets fell off her bed. I noticed her leg was gone and I just felt so scared. I had no idea what had happened to her, and I couldn't think of anything or anyone that would do that to her."

"Go grab your guitar, or whatever you take when you volunteer, and at least go brush your teeth and put some deodorant on in case she can smell. I'll tell you on the way there."

I rush up the stairs and grab everything I need. I walk out the door and lock it behind me. An old white jeep splattered with mud sits in my driveway. The engine roars and the man beeps the horn. I stick my guitar in the back and stuff my ear buds and phone in my pocket. 

He holds his hand out for me and I shake it. "I'm Doctor Allan."

"Shawn."

"I know." The doctor pulls out of the driveway. 

"So..."

"Four months ago, I was working in an ambulance because one of my good friends wanted to go to his daughter's basketball tournament and it was out of state so I told him I would cover his shift. I know doctors don't  usually do that sort of thing, but the man I was talking to was desparate, so I did it for him." He pauses. 

I sit there for a second and wait before I say " And?"

"It was the worst night of my life."