It was three in the morning on Monday when I got a call back from Gabby. Or, at least, who I thought was Gabby. After getting over my initial shock, I'd immediately picked up.
But it wasn't Gabby on the other side of the line.
Jenny, her mother, was struggling to breathe as I heard her sobs coming through the phone. And I was immediately alert, the sleep no longer weighing down my eyelids. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me Gabby was taken into the ICU. I told her I would be there in a minute. I stumbled on my own feet as I ran to my father's room, panicking, telling him to wake up. When he saw my panic, he didn't even ask me why I was frantically putting on my shoes while still in my pajama pants and shirtless. He simply got up, got dressed and tossed me a hoodie.
And that's why, right now, I'm in the waiting room of the nearest hospital to Hethwood, my dad and Jenny Anderson sitting on either side of me, at four-thirty in the morning on a Monday. My knee's bouncing up and down furiously; I've never exactly been a fan of hospitals—especially this damned hospital—and this whole situation has set me on edge a lot more. I can see Maverick Anderson, Gabby's father, from a distance, cups of coffee in his hands as he heads towards us.
"Thank you, Rick," Dad says when Maverick hands him a coffee. He turns to me, and I silently shake my head. He then moves to sit next to his wife, handing her a coffee then taking his own in his hands.
More time passes, and I'm starting to feel more and more restless by the second. The clock opposite me shows that it's now five-twenty-six, and the doctors haven't said anything about Gabby yet. My heart has never beaten so fast, my head has never hurt this much. I start to feel constricted, and any shock I've been in has suddenly ended.
It dawns on me that I lost Gabby three months ago, that I never thought twice about why she possibly left me like she did, that—among my devastation—I never thought about how she felt after it all happened, thinking that she didn't care, thinking that she hated me, that she was happy with me out of her life. It dawns on me that I've been so caught up in my own pain that I never considered if she was in pain, too.
It dawns on me that Gabriella Anderson is in the ICU, fighting for her life, and, while I could've helped her, I didn't. I didn't take my instincts seriously when it felt like Gabby wasn't okay. Gabby is now between life and death, and I can't help but feel like part of it was because of me.
Oxygen leaves my lungs, and suddenly, I'm drowning. My eyes burn with unshed tears, as I finally realize exactly why she's in the ICU, and I can't even be around anyone anymore. I abruptly get out of my chair, barely keeping in a sob from escaping, and I break out into a run to the doors of the hospital. I hear my name being called and pay it no mind, and I don't stop until I'm outside, until I've run to the end of the parking lot and into the trees.
My legs don't hold me up anymore, and I collapse right beside a big tree. Sobs escape my mouth and tears run down my face. I'm drowning, but nobody's here to save me, just like I wasn't there to save Gabby.
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a little later than usual but still on time pls appreciate me being on time thank u
so. heavy stuff. i cried writing this chapter (and the one after. and also the one after that). get ready for h e a v y stuff!!
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Loving You (Loving #1) | ✓
Short Story[SHORT CHAPTERS] * falling in love with you was the best thing that has ever happened to me. but the process of loving you has been the worst thing i've ever been through. * In which a boy with a broken heart writes letters to the girl h...
