Its A Kind Of Magic (Previously 'Deciding')

Chapter 17: True Pain

I was curled up in bed, all nice and peaceful, expecting no distractions or disturbances until at least 2pm! When I woke up due to my phone sending out a piercing noise, I looked at the time and saw it was 4am! Whoever was calling me this time in the morning must have a death wish and should probably start writing their will before I find them to strangle them! I answered the phone "What?" I demand down the phone.

"Hello this is Nurse Hale from Clear View Hospital. Is this Miss Jess Cooper?"

I instantly feel bad for yelling at her. "Sorry about a minute ago and yes this is Jess. Is something wrong?"

"Don't worry about that, I understand it is early, but there is something I need to tell you"

"Ok" I said quietly. Fear rose in my stomach, unaware of what she was about to tell me.

"Well as you may know your parents were on a flight into the airport last night" Nurse Hale said.

"No I did not know that"

"Oh. Well as I was saying, they were and when they landed and got into a taxi to bring them back to your residence, they were involved in a serious collision between them, a bus and a motorbike" I gasped and my heart sunk. Why hadn't they told me they were coming back? I could have picked them up and avoided this! "They are in a quite a critical condition at the moment and if possible, we need you to come down to the hospital to fill some forms out"

"Uumm yeah sure. I will be about half an hour"

"That is absolutely fine. Take all the time you need. They are in the emergency ward. So make your way there and ask for me. Ok?" She said. She sounded kind and sweet.

"Yeah"

"Ok bye"

"...Bye" I said and she hung up. Hesitantly I put the phone down on my bedside cabinet and tried to gather all my thoughts on the word bomb that literally just blew up in my face! I pulled on a thick wooly jumper, some socks an my ugg boots and grabbed my car keys and phone. I drove to the hospital and when I arrived the sky had turned into a glowing ombre of pink, orange and yellow. Normally I would have stopped to admire the beautiful scene, but with the shadow of hurt looming over me, I overlooked it and walked straight to the emergency room. I walked through the doors and was hit by the powerful scent of antiseptic cleaner, bleach and other hospital smells. I headed over to the desk and stood there waiting for someone to acknowledge me.

"Hello I'm looking for Nurse Hale" I said to the middle aged, slightly fat reveltionist.

"Thats me" a familiar voice said coming from behind me. I turned around and saw a petite woman with brown hair scraped back into a pony tail with her nurses uniform on. "You must be Miss Cooper?" She said offering a smile.

"Yes but call me Jess, please"

"Of course. Would you like some water or a tea or coffee?" She said politely.

"Can I have a cup of coffee please, one sugar"

"Yes you can" she nodded and turned around and walked over to a coffee machine behind the desk. I waited and she handed me my coffee when she got back. She led me over to a seating area and we sat down in silence.

"What happened to my parents?" I said quietly, looking down at my drink which was letting off a lot of steam.

"Well, your Dad is in surgery. He got a couple of broken ribs, a broken shoulder and a fractured wrist and a few cuts and bruises but other than that he is doing fine. Your mom on the other hand hasn't been so fortunate. She lost a lot of blood and is currently in theatre as well. She suffered from a broken leg and a couple of the vertebrae in her back have fractured slightly. She is quite critical and when she gets out of the surgery, she will be put into a medical induced coma so she doesn't interrupt the healing process. Now I know thats a lot to take in, in a short space of time but do you have an questions?" Only one sprung to mind at this point in time.

"Will they survive?"

"I cannot be certain but there is a good chance that they will survive. I'm afraid thats all I can say without compromising my position and also it wouldn't be fair on you if I gave you false hope".

"I understand and thank you. Is it ok if I call a couple of my friends to come and sit with me?"

"Of course. You can go and sit in the family and friends waiting room when they get here so you can be alone"

"Thank you Nurse Hale"

"It is absolutely fine, and please, call me Alice" I nodded and smiled as she walked off. I rang Beth, Tom, Jack and Danny and they all had the same reaction at first when they saw the time, but when they heard the news, they were more than happy to come down here.

About 20 minutes passed and then eventually they got here. Tom ran in first and swept me up into a big hug spinning me around. He put me down and Beth ran up to me and hugged me. Then Jack and Danny did the same. Just like Alice had told me, I went into the family waiting room with them and we sat while I explained what happened.

"Well shit" Danny said. I nodded.

"Are you ok babe?" Tom said sitting next to me while rubbing my back in a soothing motion. I nodded again. Then all the emotion building inside of me, anger, sadness, shock, burst out in the form of tears. I broke down and couldn't stop the river of tears from flowing. Beth started to cry with me aswell. After knowing my parents from the age of 2, they were like her second parents. It was understandable that she was crying. Tom scooped me onto his lap and cradled me while I sobbed into his chest. Then I started to fall asleep because of how tired I was. We all started to drop off, but I slept in a different way. I cried and cried, even in my sleep. This is what true pain felt like, and knowing the fact that my parents were in a lot more pain, truly broke my heart...