Catching the Hero

Chapter Twenty-Two: Toxic

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Chapter Twenty-Two: Toxic

“She’s on the second floor, Miss. We usually don’t let anyone but family visit the ICU …”

I’m sure the look on my face was the reason the older woman drifted off.  My paling complexion and watering eyes took her off guard; she guiltily looked back at her computer screen before holding out a small yellow slip to me, pity showing through her features.

“Tell them you have a special pass, and head for Room 263.”

She said more, but I only nodded in acknowledgment before turning to walk to the elevator.

I hadn’t expected this; they all had seemed so fine when they left, she being no different. I’d watched her walk away with a smile on her face, but now, Jamie was in Intensive Care, and they weren’t sure what her symptoms were. She just wouldn’t wake up.

The whiteness of the walls blinded me as I exited the cold lift and walked down the hall. The usually dull brown doors appeared so much more daunting than before, and felt heavier when I placed my palms outward and pushed them open. The people who passed me in the passage all had the same look on their faces, and probably looked the same as I did. Upset, confused.

A middle-aged nurse took the yellow paper from my hand and showed me to another brown door. It clicked shut softly behind me as she left, and I waited in silence for a few moments before I looked up.

My first observation, which was obviously misleading, was that Jamie looked absolutely fine. A little tired and ragged, but simply sleeping after a long week. In fact, there was color in her cheeks, as if she’d been laughing and smiling minutes before, and her breathing was normal. She didn’t look like someone who might’ve been in a coma. I sat beside her in the chair, but didn’t come in contact with her. I didn’t want to disturb or somehow injure her further, especially since even the doctors had no idea of what was happening.

The door knob turned, and a pair of doctors walked into the hospital room. Both female, the first smiled gently at me as the other quickly began checking over the machinery Jamie was hooked to.

“Hi,” she approached me with her hand held out.  “I’m Dr. Phillips, and this is Dr. Collins.”

It took me a moment to clear my throat before I could speak. “My name is Layla Hardgens, I’m… Jamie’s friend,” I said, reaching out to shake her hand. “How—What happened?”

Her smile stayed strong, even though I could see the small twinge of pity that entered her eyes. “We’re doing the best we can, Layla. Friday night, she passed out during testing, and we’ve kept as close an eye on her as we can. Her vitals are in perfect condition, and there’s nothing physically wrong. We believe her body is still in shock from the past week, and she’ll come out of it when she’d recovered.”

Her voice had adopted the soothing tone of a doctor speaking to a patient’s family member. Though I knew she only tried to console me, I wished she’d tell me the truth: that they didn’t know what was wrong, she had just gone under and never woken.

Instead of voicing my thoughts, I replied, “Thank you, Dr. Phillips.”

She nodded with another comforting smile, and for another ten minutes they stayed in the room, testing Jamie with small devices and physical tests. I curled into a loveseat in the corner, silently watching as the two conversed in low tones they didn’t know I could hear, and I understood that they were as confused as I was, I only prayed they’d figure it out soon. They left soon after with more uplifting words, and the door shut with another click.