Meant to Be (22 page)

Mark pulled up in front of the emergency
room. Sam and I jumped out while Mark and Shawn went to park the
car.

I hurried toward the admissions desk.

“My mom was brought in a little while ago,
can you tell me where I can find her?” I asked with a small quiver
in my voice.

“Her name dear?” The woman asked.

“Cindy Miller.”

The women typed her name in the computer and
scrolled down.

“She’s in the ICU, which is on the second
floor. If you follow the signs it will lead you up there,” she said
handing Sam and I a badge.

I thanked her and turned to Sam. Sam knew
what I needed. “I’ll wait here for the guys. You go check on your
mom. We’ll meet there.”

I walked down the hall and took the elevator
up to the second floor. I felt a strange sense of déjà- vu. I was
reminded of when my mom and I had made a similar journey when we
arrived at the hospital after my dad’s heart attack. I felt the
emotions approach, but once again I fought them back, at least I
was getting stronger at doing that.

I showed my badge to the woman at the desk in
the ICU. She typed my mom’s name into the computer.

“Okay dear, your mom is being checked over by
her doctors right now, as soon as they know something they will
come out to see you. You can wait in the ICU waiting lounge which
is two doors down on the left.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled heading out the door.

The ICU lounge was empty except for one
elderly woman who sat in the corner silently crying while she
shredded a tissue in her wrinkled hands. She wore a flowered
housedress and bright pink Crocs. Her gray hair was gathered at the
nape of her neck in a tight bun. I felt instantly bad for her and
wanted to offer some kind of comfort, but I felt my own sanity was
hanging by a thread.

Mark, Shawn, and Sam found me five minutes
later sitting on the edge of one of the cushioned seats.

“They haven’t told me anything,” I said
before they could ask. “The doctor is supposed to come out when
they’re done with her.”

Mark and Sam sat at my sides holding my
hands. Shawn paced back and forth while we waited. If I wasn’t so
anxious I would have been touched at his brotherly attitude.

The waiting room door opened and we all
looked up to see a harassed looking doctor enter. “Ms. Miller?” He
asked glancing at Sam and me.

“That’s me,” I said standing up. Mark and Sam
followed lending their silent support.

“Your mom was brought in at approximately
7:20 pm, tonight with multiple injuries. She is in surgery right
now; we had to rush her in to remove her spleen. Our best surgeon
is with her now. She broke her leg and multiple ribs on the left
side of her body. One of the jagged edges of the rib bone pierced
her spleen, which is why we had to remove it. She also suffered a
concussion and was unconscious when she was brought in. As soon as
we know more we will let you know,” he said, edging out the door
before I could even get a word in.

“Wait,” I said.

He paused in the doorway. “How did it
happen?”

“We heard it was a hit and run. Whoever hit
her rammed into the driver’s side and then fled the scene. The
police will be in soon to talk to you,” he said sympathetically as
he left the room.

I sunk into the seat and felt my emotions
beginning to take over.

“Krista, don’t let them do it,” I heard Sam
say from far off.

The waves were building momentum.

“Mark you have to help her. She needs to be
here for her mom.”

“Krista, you have to fight it,” Sam begged me
as Mark rained kisses all over my face and rubbed my back.

I swallowed back bile as I fought with the
nausea and focused my breathing. The roaring of the waves in my
ears was painful. I can’t do it, I thought helplessly.

“You can do it,” Sam said as if she could
read my inner turmoil. She tightly gripped my hand as Mark
continued to sooth me.

Mark finally took matters into his own hands
and leaned in to kiss me on the lips.

I tried to pull back; I didn’t want to make
matters worse by being sick all over us.

Mark was having none of that running his hand
up firmly behind my head and fastened his lips on mine. The effect
was instantaneous, like the lull before a storm, yet the storm
seemed to be gone as his kiss worked its magic throughout my body.
Who needed breathing tricks when you had kisses like this?

My eyes fluttered open as Mark pulled back.
He looked smug and knew that his kiss had worked.

“Well that worked,” Sam muttered dryly next
to me.

Shawn stifled a chuckle.

I felt my senses returning, I may not have
stopped it the way I was supposed to, but we had fought the storm
together and won. I felt slightly off. Instead of the lethargic
feeling I was used to, I felt oddly strong like I was riding an
adrenaline wave. I looked around and would have chuckled at the old
woman’s face if it were different circumstance. I could only guess
at what she was thinking about the way we seemed to handle our
grief.

“I’m better,” I said meeting the concerned
eyes of my friends. “I’m worried about my mom, but I feel much
better,” I continued quietly keeping my voice down.

We were interrupted when two policemen walked
into the room. Neither of them could give us any new information.
It seemed like no one had seen anything. The only lead they had was
the paint scrapings on the side of my mom’s focus.

I thanked them for their help and sat back
down when they left.

“I’m going to stay here at the hospital
tonight.”

“I’m staying with you,” Mark said putting his
arm around me.

“I can stay too,” Sam said.

“No, there’s no need for all of us to stay,
but you and Shawn can crash at my house,” Mark told her. “Maybe you
can stop off at Krista’s and pick up a change of clothes for
her.”

“Can you feed my cat too?” I asked.

Sam and Shawn hugged me goodbye and headed
out. I was amazed when I looked at my watch and discovered it was
almost midnight. I felt bad that Mark was stuck in a waiting room
all night, but I was grateful to have him with me.

The doctor came in shortly after 1:00 am and
told me that my mom had made it through the surgery okay and was
resting now. She still hadn’t regained consciousness, but he said
rest was the best thing for her body right now anyway.

Mark and I moved to the loveseat in the
corner. I snuggled against his side while we watched infomercials
on the television that was mounted on the wall. We had the lounge
to ourselves. The elderly woman was picked up by her family shortly
after Sam and Shawn left. We talked for awhile until I drifted
off.

I woke the next morning with a kink in my
back and a stiff neck. Mark and the Boardwalk were once again
absent from my dreams, but at least I had gotten a little sleep. I
missed the dreams, but had more pressing matters on my mind. I was
anxious to see my mom and hoped she regained consciousness
today.

Mark was still dozing when I sat up straight.
I rubbed the back of my neck to help work out the kink and then
stood up, my back groaned from the new position. I went searching
for a bathroom. I took a mock sponge bath in the sink and scrubbed
the last traces of sleep from my face. By the time I made it back
to the waiting room with two steaming cups of hot chocolate, Mark
was up and alert.

“I was just on my way to look for you.”

“Sorry, I felt so grimy I decided to wash up
a little. Here, I brought you a hot chocolate, the breakfast of
champions,” I said with a small smile.

Sensing my stress, Mark led me back to the
loveseat and draped his arm around me while we watched television.
We sat quietly sipping our hot chocolate. His presence once again
offered the comfort I needed. When our cups were empty, Mark stood
up and tossed them in the recyclable bin.

“I’m going to go check on my mom,” I said
standing. “The waiting is killing me.”

Mark snagged my wrist as I was heading out
the door. He pulled me gently in his arms and wrapped his hand
around the nape of my neck securing it into place. He leaned in and
gave me a kiss that would rival the one from the previous night.
The warmth of the kiss spread through every limb in my body and
made my toes curl in anticipation. I knew I should be worried about
morning breath, but I couldn’t seem to be able to pull up one ounce
of embarrassment.

Mark pulled back and I took a small stumbling
step backward as all my other senses came back into focus.

“Um, Ms. Miller,” An aggravated voice said
behind me. I flushed slightly turning around to face my mom’s
doctor. I could tell by his expression that it was not the first
time he had called my name. I can just imagine what he was
thinking. I was some shallow teenager who makes out in a waiting
room while her mom is laid up in the hospital.

Instead of being embarrassed, I felt a small
surge of anger inside. He had no idea what I have to deal with and
he definitely didn’t spend the night on a small uncomfortable
sofa.

“Yes,” I said in a defiant voice.

“How is my mom?” I continued on in a softer
voice that could not disguise the pain I felt over my mom.

His expression softened at my apparent
concern. “She’s better. She is still in a coma, but that is partly
due to the medicine we’re giving her. The less she moves as her
injuries heal the better chance she will have of recovering. We’re
going to be moving her out of ICU and into a regular room later
today. We need to run a number of tests on her this morning, so why
don’t you go a home for a little while and get some rest.”

“Can’t I see her now?” I asked in a pleading
voice.

“She’s having a CT done now and after that
we’re going to do an MRI. Come back after 3:00, she will be in a
room and visiting hours are lot more lenient,” he said leaving the
room.

“He’s right, let’s go home and get refreshed.
That way if your mom does wake up, she won’t stress because you
look worn out.”

“It’s too early to call Sam and Shawn to come
get us,” I said glancing at my watch, trying to come up with a
valid reason to stay.

“They dropped the car off last night after
you fell asleep. Shawn didn’t feel comfortable leaving us stranded.
Come on, we will go home for a little while and be back before you
know it; I promise,” he said, gently leading me toward the bank of
elevators.

I followed along reluctantly, glancing back
at the double doors to the ICU ward one last time before the heavy
elevator doors closed.

Shawn had parked Mark’s SUV on the second
level in the parking garage. Mark was helping me into the vehicle
when an industrial van with tinted windows pulled up behind his
car.

The passenger door opened and a distinguished
gentleman stepped out. He looked vaguely familiar and I tried to
place him.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Mark asked
beside me, clearly confused.

At his words, it came to me how I knew him.
He was much younger in the picture that I had seen, but I could now
clearly tell it was him under the wrinkles and gray hair. I turned
to look at Mark questioningly who was also confused and saw a
hulking shape coming up behind Mark.

I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound
came out as I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head. I was out
before my head hit the ground, and never saw the person who
delivered the blow that knocked me unconscious.

Chapter 12

I woke slowly with my head pounding, feeling
very disoriented. It was pitch black in my room as I opened my
eyes. I reached over to turn on my bedroom lamp, but felt nothing
but open space. Where was my lamp?

And then it all came flooding back to me. My
mom in the hospital and Mark’s dad showing up in the parking
garage, but I didn’t remember anything after that.

I abruptly sat up. Where was Mark?

My sudden movements only accentuated the
painful throbbing, like someone was hitting my head with a
hammer.

“Mark,” I said quietly, feeling around with
my hands. “Mark,” I said much louder, starting to feel panicked. I
climbed off the cot I was laying on, dropping to my knees. “Mark!”
I said again, my voice rising to a near scream.

I crawled around on my knees, holding my
hands in front of me like a blind person. “Mark. Where are you?” I
said choking on a sob. I continued to reach out my hands, finding
nothing but cold hard wall. The darkness was beginning to taunt me
as the sobs ripped out of me. I crawled back over to the cot and
curled up into a ball.

I tried as hard as I could to stay calm, but
the panic was beginning to overwhelm me. I closed my eyes and began
holding my breath.
Smother it out
, I chanted in my head,
smother it out
. The room felt like it was spinning, leaving
me groggy. Unable to keep my eyes open, I drifted back to
sleep.

The second time I woke was less confusing as
I expected the oppressive darkness when I opened my eyes.

I hoped my eyes would adjust to the darkness,
but it was no use. There was not even the slightest bit of light to
help.

I lay on the cot for a few minutes, trying to
figure out why this was happening to us, and why Mark’s dad was
involved.

“Mark,” I said trying one more time to see if
he was with me, but there was no answer.

I cautiously sat up and was relieved that my
head at least felt a little better. I swung my legs off the edge of
the cot and stood up. Reaching my hands out, I took a cautious step
forward encountering the rough bricks of a wall. I trailed my hands
along the wall trying to get a feel of the room and its dimensions.
It felt like it was about the size of my bathroom at home, minus
the fixtures.