Meant to Be (The Saving Angels 1)

“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. >So the day wasn’t a complete loss, we decided to scrap our plans of heading back to the Boardwalk and go to my house instead to surf the web.

My mom came out of her studio as we all stampeded into the house.

“Is it okay if we do some research up in my sitting room?” I asked.

“Sure, I’m finishing up my project. Why don’t you guy’s grab a snack and I’ll grab a couple buckets of chicken later for dinner. I’m assuming all of you want to eat dinner together?”

“That would be great,” we all seemed to say in unison.

“But I can go get it,” Mark volunteered.

“That’s okay. I have a couple of other errands to run anyway,” she said as she headed back to her studio.

Mark and I grabbed chips and salsa while Sam and Shawn grabbed sodas for everyone. I snagged a handful of wrapped chocolates out of the dish on the counter on our way out of the kitchen. Mark smiled when he saw me pocketing the candies.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t get my candy fix at school anymore. I have to take the chocolate where I can get it,” I said.

We spent the afternoon searching the web. It was tedious work to go from one site to the next. Without knowing where the last two kids had been abandoned, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The afternoon slipped away and soon my mom called up the stairs to tell us that she was on her way out. We continued to search for a while longer and I soon got sick of following endless rabbit trails that led to nothing. I switched off the computer feeling a little frustrated.

I stood up and turned on the stereo. I cranked the volume up when I heard the new Katy Perry song playing.

Mark pulled me to my feet and took me in his arms. You couldn’t call what we were doing dancing, but more like swaying to the music. Whatever it was, it was enough for me. I loved every moment that I was in his arms. I knew that it was important that we find the others, but at times I wished we could be like any other ordinary couple. I rested my head on his shoulder as we danced to the music.