Total Eclipse of the Hart

My Harto

"Julie?" I asked, running to my kitchen. Still no answer. "JULIE? JU-" I said before seeing her on the couch, sleeping I guess. "Ok...sorry about all that yelling then" I say, smiling.  I start to make waffles with the waffle maker, when I realize that even with all the clanging of the pots she still hasn't woken up. Hmmm. Wasn't she a "light sleeper" as she put it? I walk over to the couch to check, and I see her chest rising and falling slowly and as shallowly as possible. Concerned, I crouch next to her and try to wake her up, to no avail. Was she sleeping or did she-oh no please tell me she didn't faint. Hell no. No. How do I help? "Think Hannah!" I command, pacing. Oh. 911. Of course.  I dial quickly and follow their directions, applying a cool compress to her forehead and stare at my watch nervously, until there's an abrupt knocking on my door. "Hello?" I say, looking at the meds in my doorway. They push me aside and see Julie on the couch. I look over and notice how her chest is barely moving now. One of the meds places a phone call quickly, which I found quite rude given Julie is seriously right there, barely breathing, until I realize he was calling the hospital so she could have the right equipment and machines. The meds are only talking to themselves, and in hushed tones to not disturb her I guess. "Listen, is she ok? Please let me know what's going on" I plead, genuinely scared. The meds just look at each other, scaring the shit out of me. "Listen," the med that looks a little like Gibbs from NCIS says, "We ourselves aren't exactly sure, we only have a few possibilities of what this could be an-" "Like what?" I inquire. "It could be shock, a serious respiratory infection, or other respiratory issues. Or dehydration. " "DEHYDRATION?! GIVE HER WATER THEN JESUS!" I say, losing my calm demeanor. "Ma'am. We appreciate the concern but-" "SHE ISN'T BREATHING! DO SOMETHING! THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND, NOW HELP HER!" Wait-where did that g-word come from? I'm not really one for serious terms with what have been casual relationships, but I guess I want a more serious relationship? Is that what my subconscious was telling me? If so, it had such sucky timing it was almost laughable. Almost.

JULIE'S POV------

"I don't feel... well. Why, Nat?" I ask my sister, leaning against her shoulder. "Shh." Nat says, quieting me. I feel young again, as if I was back in fifth grade, being comforted during the fallout of what had happened. Nat pushes the hair off of my face and kisses my cheek. "You're fine. I promise." She says, caressing my hair and rocking me slowly. "But Nat. What happened? Why aren't I breathing? Nat? NAT?!" I scream, scared as I see her slowly fade, and the floor dissolves. As if in a cartoon that we used to watch, I begin to plummet, once I look at the floor, into an abyss of murky blackness.

HANNAH'S POV------

Gibbs and the other med carry Julie to the ambulance, and I'm close on their heels. There is no shot in hell of her leaving my sight. They have an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth, but she's looking pretty pale and her lips are a little blue. I'm in no way a medic, but I know enough about emergencies to know that shit isn't good. I hoist myself up into the back of the ambulance, when Gibbs tries to stop me. "I'm sorry ma'am, but this is for-" "Yes, family or close relatives. As of right now I'm all she has. Please, I know I yelled at you earlier, and I apologize, but I need to be with her." I say, looking wistfully at Julie. Gibbs sighs and leaves me alone, and I hold onto Julie's hand for dear life as I glance at the heart monitor and see that there is still a pulse. Thank God. The drive is fairly short, but Julie is still as white as the first New York snowfall. I wait for them to take Julie on a stretcher before I leave the ambulance, and these meds had to have been track stars in high school because I need to full out sprint to keep up with the stretcher. Finally, after completing what feels like the gym class mile, Julie is pushed into a room and they insert an IV of fluids into her arm like complete professionals. I sit next to the stretcher and rest my forehead on the cool metal on the side of the stretcher. 

JULIE'S POV------

I'm with Nat again, standing outside of our house. She, being the caring sister she always is, or I guess was, is examining the new bruise forming dangerously near my ribs. She gently touches the area, and I wince in agony. "Damn, he kicked you hard. What happened?" and so I explain. She shakes her head in frustration, and sighs heavily. "I hate hi-" I begin to say, but she shushes me quickly. "Shut up, they'll hear you!" She feverishly whispers into my ear. I sigh, knowing she's right. "Now, to prevent that, learn to shut your mouth. We can figure this out later. Right now we need to-" "Need to what, girls?" The person of my nightmares questions. My mouth goes dry, and I try not to vomit. My hand automatically flies to where my injured ribs are, and Nat watches me out of the corner of her eye. "I was just talking about how we need to help our Mom with dinner," Nat says, and she's always...or was always quick on her feet. The man smiles at us with his perfect teeth and makes the vomit rise. That man has hurt us so badly...and our mom doesn't even notice because she's gone for the entire day except dinner. Satan, or Jay, his "common" name, enters the small ranch house and kisses our mother. Nat looks at me, obviously relieved, and examines my purple and black bruise again. My bruise is nothing compared to what she has to go through though. She has it much worse, but she has never complained to me. A tear rolls down her cheek, and she wipes it away, thinking that I hadn't seen it. I wrap my arms around her waist, before we hear the scream. The memory fuzzes, as it always does, and I grab her hand quickly, before slipping under again. 

HANNAH'S POV-------

I fall asleep on the chair, and when I wake up around 4:00 in the morning, Julie is still in a comatose state but her face is flushed, which is a good sign, and her heart monitor is somewhat stronger. I twist my hands and remain like this for hours to come. There is little activity right now, and I'm scared to leave her side, in case she wakes up. Finally, the need to grab a water bottle overcomes me and I lean over and kiss her quickly, and I smile, realizing we look exactly like Sleeping Beauty and the Prince...in our own way I guess; and then I remember the situation we're in and the smile disappears and I run as fast as I can to grab a water.