Goodness!!! it has been soooo long since i have uploaded and i'm really sorry!!! i actually have a plan for the next chapter, so hopefully it will be up soon. If it isn't feel free to message me nonstop until i do post it, if you actually care XD anyways, enjoy!

“When is she going to wake up?” a familiar voice asked impatiently.

“We don’t know. Her body needs to rest, she’s been through a lot.”

“But it’s been four days!”

     I could tell it was my son and the doctor that was talking on the opposite side of the room.

“You need to calm down, I’m sure she’ll wake up soon.” The doctor said trying to reassure Carter.

“Calm down? You want me to calm down? I’m 13 and my dad’s dead, my mom is dying and I’m pretty sure that we can’t pay for the huge fluffing medical bill we’re going to get.”

I heard the doctor sigh, “You need to trust in your mom. I can tell that she’s a fighter and she can handle whatever she’s going through.” And at that he shuffled out the door.

     I could hear my son crying and sniffling. Come on Aubree, I thought to myself. Your son needs you. He’s crying for your safety. It should be the other way around, you have to protect him. I willed my eyes to open and finally saw him. He was sitting in a love seat across the room. His head was angled down so I couldn’t see his face, but his hands were rubbing at his eyes and every few seconds a tear would splash down from his knuckles onto his lap.

“Carter, sweetie, what are you doing? Honey, why are you crying?” I asked, my voice cracking every few words.

     His head whipped up and he stared at me. His face was puffy and red from crying. Tears were streaming down his face as he rushed over to my bedside.

“There is nothing to cry about sweetie. We’ll get out of this place soon, ok? You just need to be a strong soldier, like your dad was.” As soon as I said the word ‘dad’ I got a lump in my throat. Toughen up Aubree, I thought to myself. You can’t let him go through his life crying like you did. “If you let your eyes be blurred by tears because of what has happened in the past, you’ll never have clear enough vision to see what is in front of you. Your whole life could pass by while your head is down. You have to dry your tears and persevere.”

     Carter wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded. “You can’t even tell I’m holding your hand, though, can you?” he asked. I looked down at the hand he was sitting by, and sure enough he was grasping it so tightly the tips of his fingertips had turned white. My heart skipped a beat and I could feel my eyes getting blurry but quickly blinked away the tears. Geez, take your own advice.

“Well, the only thing that matter’s is that you are alright and I’m alive.” I said with a smile.

“I see that you are finally awake.” Dr. Plunter said walking through the doorway. He sat on his stool and wheeled over and took the clipboard off again and began to read the stats that were messily scribbled on the sheets of paper.

“Doctor, what happened to me?”

He sighed and looked at me. “You had internal bleeding that we were un-aware about. We went in surgically to fix the damage. We are not sure what caused the bleeding to trigger, but we now have you under strict watch to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“That’s fine, but how long am I going to be in this hospital?” I asked.

“That’s hard to say. We don’t want you going home and having something happen without immediate medical help available. But it is going to be a while.” He said looking down.

     I looked at Carter and I could tell he was mad. He was gripping the side of the bed tightly and staring intently at the other side of the room.

“Carter,” I said and he instantly loosened his grip and looked at me. “Honey, it’s all going to be ok.” I said and smiled. He just nodded and looked down. “Well thank you doctor. Is there anything else that I should be aware of?”

     He finished reading the charts before he lifted his head and smiled, “Everything is fine and you are in stable condition. If you have any more questions or concerns, don’t be afraid to ask.”

“Thank you.” I said and then he took his leave.

     Carter yawned and rubbed his eyes. I looked at him and realized just how tired he looked. “Carter, why don’t you take a nap? You look like you need it.” he just nodded and dragged his feet across the room, settling into a couch under a window. In a matter of minutes his breathing slowed until it was at a slow even pace.

     I sighed and looked around the room until my eyes rested on my unmoving body. I tried to move my fingers or toes, but they remained still.

     I couldn’t believe that it had already been two weeks since I first came to the hospital. Without realizing it, I had become used to the now familiar smell of latex gloves and the squeaking of the nurse’s shoes walking up and down the hall. The small room I laid in now became my home. Carter was living with a close friend of mine and visited me everyday after school. He was slowly but surly getting back into his regular routine.

     One day my friend that had been looking over Carter, Elaine, came to visit before he was let out of school. She hauled a big box into my room and finally dropped it onto the table next to my bed, still popping her bubble gum like she always did.

“What’s that?” I asked, trying to peer into the contents of the box.

“Just some things I picked up from your house. This dull room needs some personality.” She stated and began to rummage through the things until she produced a picture frame.  

     In the picture I was hugging Carter, my son; at the local park I took him to when he was a toddler. We were both laughing. Elaine set the picture on the table next to my bed. After that she pulled out a few of my favorite books that I always brought with me on trips in case I got bored. Eventually the room was filled with my own personal touches.

I turned my head towards Elaine, who was straightening a poster on the wall, and said, “Thank you so much, Elaine. You have no idea what this means to me.”

“Wait a second, I’m not done. There is still one thing that needs to be here.” She said, smiling. However there was a twinge of pain in her eyes as she said this.

     I was about to ask what when she pulled out a small, plastic tiara from the bottom of the box. That single thing sent shivers coursing within my body. The small object she held in her hand was the second most valuable thing in my life, my son Carter being the first. The memory of the night I got it danced on the edge of my mind. But of course I couldn’t drift off into dream land in front of my friend.

     She saw the sadness in my eyes, but proceeded anyway. She delicately set the tiara on my head and stepped back.

“You look just as beautiful as the first time you wore it.” She said.

     I gave a small chuckle, “Oh, I bet. Hospital gown so beats out prom dress any day.” We both burst out laughing, and for the first time in a while I felt as if I wasn’t crippled. I was just another woman hanging out with her friend. There was no car accident or hospital or pain. Only love and happiness.

     But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. We eventually quieted down and remained in silence for a couple of minutes.

“He isn’t really gone, you know. He still lives on in all of the things you hold dear. The tiara, the dead, crinkled rose, Carter.” Elaine finally said. I instantly knew she was talking about my husband.

“I know. I just wish he was here, helping out my son. I can’t even imagine how he must be feeling. Too many things have gone wrong for him.”

“I know. Which is why I am here. I will always be here for you and him. No matter how screwed up life will get, don’t forget that you have someone to lean on. I will always be there for you.” As soon as she said that, pain racked my heart until I almost gave out a small cry. However, I held it in, “I know. And don’t think I won’t take you up on that offer.” I said, smiling.

     She just returned my smile and grabbed my hand. And that’s all I needed to feel. With that slight touch, I felt as though she understood. I felt as though she really would be with me all the way to the end.