Show me love.

Five

When I was four, Flo and I were chasing each other through the backyard when I tripped over the garden hose and broke my arm. 

When I was eight, I had slipped in the playground at school and earned a gash above my right eyebrow that required six stitches. 

When I was fourteen I sat in a cold, ivory coloured room with my parents as they broke the news to my sister and I that my mom had developed cancer. 

When I was nineteen we all sat in the same hospital, around an uncomfortable looking bed as my mom took her last breath. 

Now at twenty-five I stood at the bottom of the horrific hospital bed staring at the body of my unconscious father. My only parent. 

My eyes were burning and I wasn't quite sure if it was because of the stream of tears that left me in the past eight hours, or the strong smell of disinfectant that hovers in the air. 

"I don't understand." The croke of my voice was strained and dry. Paul rubs my shoulders sympathetically, squeezing me in reassurance. "He's never had an accident before. He's always been so careful."

Flo sniffles, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her cardigan. "They think he hit a pothole a bit further up the road. He must've tried to regain control before he crashed."

"When will they find out the damage?" 

"His scan is scheduled for nine-am." She replies. It was early hours and my body was aching with exhaustion. Once the nurse had ended our call, things became a blur until Julian's frantic voice coaxed me to calm down in the back of Tony's car. 

Fortunately, like my mom knew the urgency, we got the last two seats on the next flight to New York an hour after arriving at the airport like hot messes and it became the longest journey of my life. Julian shoved me towards Paul and assured me he would make his own way home, and I still felt guilty for the sudden abandonment. 

"Have you told Jason?" Flo asks. 

I shake my head. "He doesn't know I'm back in the states. I tried calling him before we left London, then again before the flight took off but his phone rung out."

"What would he be doing?" 

That's what I want to know. 

"You guys should go home and get showered." I tell them, sitting down on the purple leather chair. "Be there for Viv when she wakes up, she'll only worry if she sees Mandy and not you guys." 

Mandy was Paul's mom and thankfully she only lived a block away from them. 

"We'll come back before his scan." She assures me. I nod, my eyes never faltering from my father.

The tubes and wires, the bleeping from dozens of machines and even the dripping of fluid that ran from the hanging bags into his veins was haunting. It brought back as rush of bad memories that made my chest cave. 

I needed Jason. 

I dialled his number multiple times that night and even until seven-am. I had passed worrying now. Where was he and why wasn't he answering? 

"Hello?" A croaky cough greets me. I frown, my bottom lip quivering. 

"David?" 

"Frankie?" His tone was much more alert now. "What's going on, are you crying? Where's Julian?"

I could hear Georgia's panicked and groggy voice as David hushes her gently. 

I sniffle. "David, I'm back in New York. Its my dad, he had an accident."