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.