All Because Of her || A WenRene Novel

Don't Leave Me - [Irene]

"What?" I ask.

Wendy hangs up and stares at me with a worried expression. My smile fades. "What happened?"

"It's your mom," she says.

"What?" I ask. "What happened to her? Is she okay?"

She shakes her head. "She's having a stroke."

I open my mouth but nothing comes out. This can't be happening. My mother's side of the family has a history of dying from strokes. Both my grandparents died from strokes, and so did their parents. She can't leave me, especially not now. She can't.

I feel tears well up in my eyes as I stare at Wendy, hoping I misheard her. "W-What?" I ask, barely audible.

"We have to go," Wendy says. "We won't make it back in time if we walk. We need to take a taxi."

I'm still in shock. My mother can't die. She's only in her late 30s. She can't. Wendy grabs my hand and I get up. We begin walking and she takes me to one of the busier streets so we can find a taxi. 

"Stay here," she says, letting go of my hand. "I'm going to find a taxi."

I don't say anything. I don't want Wendy to go. I want her to stay. She glances at me as she walks away to a group of people who are waiting for taxis. I keep my eyes fixed on her. If there's one thing that can help me stay calm in this situation, it's her.

She goes too deep into the crowd and I can't see her anymore. My stomach is in knots as my eyes scramble around, looking for her. "Wendy...?"

A few people walking by notice my expression and ask me if I'm okay. I just nod without looking at them as I stand on my toes, trying to find her head in the crowd. 

"Irene!" I hear Wendy's voice. I search frantically until I find her face. I run over to her and grab her hand as she leads me to a taxi. We get in and Wendy tells the driver her address.

"Might take some time," he says. "Traffic's horrible today because of the first snowfall. Everyone's trying to book dates."

"You need to hurry," Wendy says. "Someone we know is in trouble. The Seoul Hospital, please."

"What's happening?" he asks.

"Can you just drive?" I finally say, my voice cracking. "Please."

The driver gives me a look as he presses on the pedal. "Must be serious."

Neither of us says anything. He manages to make it out of the busy intersection and onto the open road. I hadn't realized how far we'd walked until now. I'm gripping Wendy's hand so tightly but she isn't moving at all. She looks at me and gives me a smile which calms me down a little bit.

My mother can't leave me. I can't lose someone else. I want to start crying then and there, but I try to keep myself together. "It'll be okay," Wendy whispers. "I promise."

I don't say anything, but I want to just dig my head into her shoulder and hug her. I can't, since we're in a car, so the best I can do is grip her hand tightly.

We arrive at the hospital in what seems like an eternity. Wendy gives the driver some cash as I get out of the car and sprint to the hospital doors. I run to the person at the desk. "Seri Bae, please," I say quickly.

The secretary types into her computer. "Fourth floor, room 13."

"Thank you," I mutter as I run to the elevator. I press the button.

"Irene!" Wendy yells from behind me. She runs to me and grabs my arm. "Where is she?"

"Fourth floor, room 13," I swallow. The elevator arrives and we go in with a family that must be taking one of their children to get a cast removed.

The elevator arrives on the fourth floor and I drag Wendy outside, scanning for room 13. "There!" Wendy says, pointing to a door.

I'm not allowed to go in. I can only see through the small window in the door. I grip Wendy's hand with all my might as I watch. I see the doctors pull out the charge machine they use when someone isn't responding.

It's at that moment when I begin to cry.

I pull Wendy into a hug as I cry into her shoulder. I can't even go inside and see my mother. I don't know if she's okay or not. I just want to go back to before any of this happened, back when my father was still with us, back when he was happy with us, back before he left us. 

Wendy takes me to a seat across from the hospital room so we can sit down. I don't let go of her. I hug her harder. 

"It'll be okay," she whispers. "I promise. She'll be fine. Nothing bad happened."

"Wendy?" I say.

"Yes?" she asks, stroking my hair.

"I love you," I say. 

"What?" she asks.

"I love you," I repeat, gripping her harder. "I love you."

Wendy swallows. She doesn't say anything. I don't care if she doesn't say it back. I don't know what I'm saying right now. I just want her to keep hugging me and telling me that everything will be okay even when I know it won't be okay.

I hear Wendy say something but I'm beginning to fall asleep. 

***

I wake up. I don't know how long it's been, but Wendy and I are in the same spot. She rests her head on mine. She must be asleep as well. I reach into my pocket and take out my phone and check the time. It's 6:30 pm. We've been here for that long? How come my mom didn't come out? Is she okay?

I slowly get up and take off my sweater so Wendy can use it as a pillow. I peek inside the window. A nurse sees me and opens the door. "Are you her daughter?"

I nod. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course," she says. She lets me in and heads back to my mother, tweaking something on the monitor.

"Is she okay?" I ask. "What happened to her?"

"She just suffered from a stroke," the nurse says. "She's okay now. The doctors had to charge her so she could breathe again. She almost died."

I swallow. "She's okay now, though?"

The nurse nods. "Yes. Would you like anything? Water?"

"Water, please," I say, sitting down on a chair next to the hospital bed. I grip my mother's hand. The steady beeping from the monitor calms me down as I rest my head on the bed. 

I'm tired. I want to go to sleep. Everything has been too much, lately. I lost my apartment, then I found out Jennie was the reason I lost it, I told Wendy I liked her and she liked me back, and now this. Too many things are happening. 

I want to go back.