See you again

Chapter 18

I felt my heart drop to my stomach as tears instantly pooled in my eyes. I fell to the ground as I let out the loudest shriek my lungs could possible force out of my throat. This wasn't happening, I thought as I struggled to my feet and ran into my room grabbing my phone with shaky hands. I hastily dialed 911 and impatiently waited for the paramedic's arrival as I stayed by my grandmother's side.

"Please be okay," I said as tears quickly fell down my face. "Please be okay." The paramedics arrived exactly 4 minutes after I called which practically seemed like 4 centuries. They transferred her onto a gurney and moved her into the ambulance. They guided me inside and I sat right beside her with her hand in mine. The sirens turned on and the ambulance sped off as the paramedics frantically tried to get her heart to start again.

They tore her sweater off and quickly placed the defibrillator paddles on her chest. "Ma'am you're going to have to let go of her hand," the paramedic told me. I unwillingly let go of her hand. "Clear!" My grandmother didn't seem to respond to the shock.

"Charge to 300. Clear!" Once again, there was no response. I sat there still, almost paralyzed, as I watched them try to revive my grandmother. "Sir, we're here," the other told him. "Alright let's get her to the ER." The driver of the ambulance led me out of the car and to the waiting room as he assured me that everything would be okay. When I saw a doctor walk out of the hallway, I immediately stood up.

"Well, good news. Her heart's beating again," he said. The weight on my shoulders lifted and I was finally able to breathe and think properly again. "If you called any later, she might've not made it. Her current condition is critical, but she's stable for now. "

"Can I see her?" I asked. "Ah, yes of course," he said turning around and leading me down the hallway. "We'll have to keep her here for a few days to run some tests." I nodded in understanding. Her health had always been impeccable. I didn't understand what could have been wrong. I opened the door to see her lying in bed. She was hooked up to a heart monitor and an IV. The monitor beeped at a slow pace, but at least it was beeping.

I scooted the chair closer to her bed and intently watched her. I didn't know what I would have done if she would have died. She was my only family. I was already 18, so it would be legal for me to be on my own, but that definitely wasn't something I wanted. "Ma'am it's getting late. You should head home," a nurse said as she walked into the room to check on my grandmother. She could probably see the hesitation on my face and said,

"Don't worry, she'll be fine here. Go home and get some rest." I unwillingly got up and kissed my grandmother on the forehead before going home. Walking inside my house was much harder than I thought it would be. It seemed so much emptier that it ever had before.

Living in a house made for 5 people, but only having 2 people living in it was hard, but I couldn't even imagine what living in it alone would be like. The house was so quiet that I could hear every little creak the floor made and each breath sounded like I was screaming. Every sound echoed off the walls and taunted my presence. I've never felt so intimidated in my own home.

***
The house was so quiet that I could hear every little creak the floor made and each breath sounded like I was screaming. Every sound echoed off the walls and taunted my presence. I've never felt so intimidated in my own home. I walked into my room, my phone was glowing on my bed. 27 missed calls. 44 unread messages. I wasn't really surprised. News did spread quickly in town and I was sure most of them were from my friends and my grandmother's friends. I was too tired to even bother looking through all of them, so I just tossed my phone onto my nightstand and passed out on my bed. The next morning I woke up with pounding temples and an empty stomach.

I hadn't eaten anything at all the day before. As soon as I stood up, I felt light headed and I started seeing colors. Once my eyes finally adjusted, I made my way into the kitchen. I drank a glass of water and immediately felt better as the cool liquid poured down my dry throat. I almost spit out the water in my mouth when I saw the time on the microwave. 11:39 am I sighed, knowing that I wasn't going to even bother going to school.

I figured it would be okay to miss a day to stay with my grandmother. I was sure that the news had probably spread through the school by then so my teachers would understand my absence. revisit the hospital again. I never liked hospitals.

Every time I was in a hospital someone ended up being declared dead. I guess I was lucky that my grandmother was still alive, but I'd prefer it if she weren't in a coma. I stepped out the door to see someone sitting on my front porch. His head turned around as soon as the door opened and my breath was caught in my throat. "You haven't been answering my calls," he said standing up and meeting eyes with me.