Wheelchair Accessible

Part Fourteen

 I was trapped.

I wanted desperately to run, to leave this ugly room behind me and pretend I hadn't seen what I knew I had. Yet at the same time, I wanted to go to her, to make sure it was really her, to see if this was really happening.

But my feet were glued to the floor.

Shawna. Shawna. Shawna.

My sunshine. 

"Mark," a soft voice broke me from my frozen state. It was Jessica, Shawna's mom. I hadn't realized her and Thomas were in two chairs next to the bed, looking worn.

This was wrong. Everything was out of place. Today was Wednesday. I was supposed to go over to their house for dinner and family game night. We were supposed to be playing Uno and yelling at each other when he had to pick up cards. Laughing. Smiling.

We weren't supposed to be here. This was wrong. 

I took one robotic step forward, then another, feeling my heart lurch with each one. Eventually, I had reached the bed, looking down at Shawna's face. She looked okay. A bandage on one cheek, and on the side of her jaw, and a little too pale underneath the already pale blue hospital gown. Tubes were hooked up to her nose and she had an IV attached to her hand, but that beeping monitor stayed steady. She was okay.

I swallowed. "What happened?"

"We were driving," Thomas began, his wife reaching over to hold onto his arm. "We came to an intersection and the other driver wasn't paying attention... " he cleared his throat once. "Ran the red light. He h-hit us on the passenger side. Shawna -- I," he cut himself off, blinking hard. "I couldn't do anything." 

My mind immediately conjured up images, scenes from movies, that I wished it hadn't.

I gave my head a small shake. "How is... is she--" 

"She's alright, Mark," Jessica answered. "Really. They have to do some x-rays and things still, but for now, she seems to be in alright condition. Mostly some cuts from the glass. But they want to keep an eye on her brain activity, she... hit her head pretty hard."

I sucked in a breath and nodded. Okay. I glanced towards Thomas, looking him over. "You're okay, right?"

                "Yeah," he said, almost shamefully, "I'm okay. They did a checkup and everything. Maybe a little whiplash is all."

"Ty, Cynthia, and Evan?" I forced out.

"They were at their Grandma's. They're okay, too."

Swallowing, I nodded again, that's all I seemed to be able to do. "That's good." 

Jessica's eyes softened in a way that made me have to look away from them. I stared at the papers taped to the wall, not really reading them, barely seeing them, until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"We're all okay," Jessica repeated, having come close. "Are you?"

How did she expect me to answer that?

"Y-yeah, I'm... yeah." 

Her arms wrapped around me tightly in a motherly hug, comforting but strong. I squeezed her back, knowing she'd need it just as much.

"She'll be happy you're here," she promised with a soft smile as she let me go. Her eyes caught something over my shoulder and her smile faded slightly, before she moved back to her spot next to her husband. 

Glancing over my shoulder, I remembered my own mom was still here, watching from the doorway. Her expression was sad, and tired, but her eyes almost looked... hurt?