My Purgatory Hell

Chapter 12

"And then I heard the angel say, 'She's with you every day.'"

– Author Unknown

My childhood sanctuary dissipated, and the hospital room materialized before my eyes.

The daughter of the relative was waiting patiently beside her father, sitting on the navy blue fabric lined chair sittinig a few feet from the bed. I could tell she was nervous from the way she fidgeted with her hands, and anxiety seemed to radiate from her body, as well as starting to seep into my own body.

Mr. Green started to stir and open his groggy eyes, blinking and looking around as if he was trying to assess where he was.

"Dad," the daughter exhaled in relief. "I'm so glad you are okay." She put on a brave face for her father, but I could tell she was still stressing about his condition. She stood up and closed the distance between the chair and the hospital bed.

The man's eyes took in his daughter and scanned the room, still trying to figure out his location. "Am I in the hospital?" Mr. Green inquired. Absentmindedly, he put his hand on one of the many cords connecting him to the machines, as if he were going to tear them away from him.

"Yes, Dad. You had a terrible accident," Miss Green informed her muddled father. She grabbed his hands to prevent them from ripping the cords away. "I'm going to get the doctor," she informed him, pivoting on her heels to retrieve the doctor.

A flicker of realization hit Mr. Green as the last twelve hours must have replayed in his head. His eyes widened and he looked into his daughter's eyes in a panic. "The girl. Is she okay?"

The girl--he was certainly referring to me. It broke me a little to see the concern for this gentleman when my ridiculous choices put him in the hospital with temporary, maybe even permanent, brain damage. And who knows what else? Plus, Mr. Green didn't even know me. I was a stranger on his radar, and his concern clearly shook me.

"What girl?" The daughter did not know the specifics of the crash. At least from what I could gleam off of her features.

"The other driver. The girl." Mr. Green was very persistent in his inquiries of my outcome.

Miss Green looked at her father with a frown on her face. She stood up from her chair and touched her father's cheek gently. "Please sit tight. I'll go ask and get the doctor."

"Thank you, Elizabeth," Mr. Green thanked his daughter as she left to retrieve her father's doctor.

When Mr. Green was left alone, he looked out the window. Worry was still etched in his expression, and he was twiddling his thumbs as he waited for his daughter to return with answers. His daughter only took a few minutes and returned with a nurse in tow.

"How are you doing David?" she asked her patient. She immediately went to check his vitals, checking the stats on the machine Mr. Green was hooked up to.

Mr. Green took a moment to process the nurse's words before he nodded slightly and responded with "Good, I think." Seeming to struggle with some inner battle, he frowned. "What happened to the other driver?" My fate seemed to irk Mr. Green, and he seemed to keep pushing for informaton.

The nurse seemed to know the answer to that question, because she momentarily froze before continuing to check his vitals. She was wary to respond to his question. "I am not able to disclose that information, Mr. Green." The nurse gave her patient a warm smile. "Vitals look good," the nurse muttered to herself before stating, "I'll go get the doctor." Giving Mr. Green a warm smile, the nurse turned on her heels and left to get the doctor. Elizabeth made her way around the hospital bed to the chair she was sitting in before.