sleeping beauty ♕ mnz • EDITING

nine

[the next chapter is the final chapter!]

⠀⠀⠀maddie

⠀

⠀A few more weeks passed; it had now been two months since the accident. I went through physical therapy to get my knee better, my stitches were removed, and my ribs healed. I was finally released from the hospital, and went back to life as it was.

⠀⠀⠀It was pretty normal now; heavy loads of homework, hanging out with my friends, dates with Levi. My moms birthday had passed, which we had celebrated together. But there was something that wasn't normal; Mackenzie.

⠀⠀⠀Mackenzie was still in her coma. It had been two months. Two months of therapy to get her to wake up, two months of feeding tubes and countless medical machines, two months of pushy nurses giving her medication and checking to see if she needed new blankets every five seconds. Two months without talking. Two months without my sister.

⠀⠀⠀Of course my mom missed her, and she expressed that daily, but by now she had given up any small hope she had left of Mackenzie coming back. On the contrary, I still had hope. Everyone had told me many, many times that Mackenzie wasn't coming back. Being the headstrong girl I was, I didn't believe them. I knew Mackenzie would pull through.

⠀⠀⠀"Bye, mom. I love you," I called out.

⠀⠀⠀"Maddie, please be careful," my mom yelled back.

⠀⠀⠀"I will, I promise."

⠀⠀⠀I was still afraid to drive, even though the crash was over two months ago, so I called Levi to take me to the hospital. I went to visit Mackenzie as often as I could, but Levi had to drive me since I wouldn't. I wasn't going to make my mom go see Kenzie, since she was basically in a mental breakdown about it.

⠀⠀⠀"Thanks, Levi." I hugged him and opened the passenger door to get out once we got to the hospital.

⠀⠀⠀"Are you sure you don't want me to go in with you?" He asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, I'm sure," I answered. He nodded, hugging me again before I got out for real this time.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, Doctor Reynolds." I waved at the man wearing scrubs, who was behind the front desk.

⠀⠀⠀"Maddie! How have you been? Is your knee doing better?" He smiled at me.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, my knee's better. And I would be doing great, except for..." I trailed off.

⠀⠀⠀"Mackenzie?" He finished for me. I responded by nodding. "Well, how about we get you up there to see her?" He asked.

⠀⠀⠀"That would be great," I responded with a smile. He talked to the receptionist, and another nurse led me up to her room.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll give you too some time," she said.

⠀⠀⠀"Thank you," I nodded.

⠀⠀⠀I walked over to Mackenzie; her minor cuts and bruises were gone, and her major injuries had faded. Her nails and the hair she usually plucked had grown out from being unkempt for the past two months, but she looked a lot better than she had first looked after the crash.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, Kenzie," I started. I sat on a chair by her bed, stroking her hair. "I wish you'd come back."