Third Time's A Charm...
Continued...
The police had watched the distraught parents of the young girl approach them and shifted from their relaxed position to set down their cups. They ushered them to an isolated area of chairs in the waiting room. The waiting room still gave no real privacy for these types of matters, children were crying from determined fevers, people arguing about family issues over splinted broken bones, and staff were calling out the names of the next in line.
"Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins..." The first officer began the process slowly as the notepad had been opened up. A pen was taken from a shirt pocket and he continued on.
"Your daughter was involved in a car accident this evening on route 135. She was the passenger in the vehicle, the driver..." He gave a pause and cleared his throat. "The driver didn't make it. Do you know where your daughter was at tonight?"
The mother grabbed the wadded up tissue from her husband as she tried to keep her sobbing under control. Everything was happening so fast, and it would take strength to collect her thoughts as well as her recollection of her memory. "She was supposed to be out with her friends Melissa and Emily."
"Do you know where they were going ma'am?" The female officer asked, trying to find out more information.
"No, they just told us they were going to a friends house." The father watched with his eyes showing his mind was elsewhere.
"You had said she was with two other girls?" The first officer started to scribble in the notepad something far from legible.
"Yes." The father reiterated.
"A Miss... " The officer looked back over his notes from the scene of the accident to find the driver's last name. "A Miss Matthews was the only other occupant of the car besides your daughter. Do you know the last name of this Emily?"
"Allen." The mother had said through the now tearing tissue. Her eyes searched over the officers as if they could give her all the answers to the questions that flooded her mind.
"Mrs. Jenkins, do you know if your daughter was or would have been drinking this evening?" The female officer took her turn in asking the parents the needed questions.
The shock of the question brought more tears to her already welled eyes. The question felt more insulting then routine. "I... I, I don't know. Amanda is a good kid." She felt the need to clarify that her daughter wasn't the type to do this sort of thing.
"Do you..." The male officer began his sentence only to be interrupted by the nurse that called out the parents' names from the door that led out into the hallway. They stood up immediately and ceased the interrogation.
The officers didn't try to continue and started to put their pens away. The basic questions were answered, the follow up could be done later. They remained in the waiting room calling into their squad leader to notify him of their update.
The parents had raced over to the nurse that ushered them into the hallway were two surgeons awaited them. The surgeons were covered in sterile scrubs and had grim looks on their faces as they began to address the parents about their daughter.
"Your daughter sustained severe injuries to her abdomen and chest. They were created when she was crushed between the dashboard and her seat. These we were able to get under control." This gave her parents a false sense of hope, but the doctors weren't finished with their update.
"However, on impact your daughter had sustained trauma to her head when it collided with the windshield which created swelling and pressure on the brain. We've tried to relieve some of that pressure, but she has slipped into a coma following the surgery and we won't be able to know the extent of brain damage she might have acquired until her next brain scan."
The yelp was the first thing that sounded as the girl's mother buckled at the knees clinging onto her husband. His grip was firm on her, keeping her from falling. She buried her head in his chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"What are her chances? I mean... she could pull out of the coma and not have any brain damage?" The father looked confused but wanted statistics and math, because that he could understand.
"To be honest Mr. Jenkins, it's unlikely that she didn't suffer any brain damage. We realize you have some decisions to make so we will let you know the results of the brain scan as soon as we get them. I'm sorry." The surgeon had finished his analysis, giving a quick nod to the parents. His words were crushing and far from comforting even if it ended in sorry.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Her breath was stolen, she tried to gasp for the air that would fuel her destroyed cries. He had managed to take a hold of her before she could realize she was in the confines of his arms as if he anticipated this to happen.
It was like the first breath taken after being submerged in cold water longer than your lungs could handle. She felt her heart plummet into the depths of her chest, and her cries cut through the air like a scalpel to skin. And all he could do was let it happen. This was the hard part, the realization, the consequences, the reality.
She started to rock within his embrace. He made no attempt to let her go. She mumbled and chanted random words that were hard to decipher but were the slowing pains of breaking down. He felt her slipping and he slowly brought her back to with softened words placed next to her ear. "Ssh, Emily."
As he spoke his hand interlaced within the length of her locks pushing them away from her soaked cheeks, freeing them from the wetness that worked as plaster to cover her face. "You can't let it defeat you Emily. Don't go down that road."
She whimpered as she continued to fall into the void of nothingness that was ready to embrace her and keep her inside of herself. That feeling of emptiness that takes your soul and locks it away. He knew she was following its lead, and he was determined to pull her back from it. Her soul was his, and he was not going to let her throw it away.
"Come back to me Emily." He brushed his lips against her ear as he whispered, coddling her like a babe. He pulled back to look into her eyes, searching deep within them to gauge just how lost she was allowing herself to be.
"Why? She's dead, and I... I didn't stop her." She had squeezed her eyes shut so tightly as if it would rewind time and erase the errors that came flooding back to her like a river let loose.
"If this was your fault, you wouldn't be with me Emily. Remember... I said this was the hard part, but I also told you that you would have to trust me." He watched her eyes open releasing brand new tears.
"I don't even know who you are!" Her voice boomed with confusion, fear, sorrow, like a melting pot of emotions that made up the equal parts to a recipe for a break-down. She again jerked from him and brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them.
He didn't push to keep his lock on her, instead retracting from her while watching her carefully. He gave a slow sigh as he tried again to smooth this over as best he could. "My name is Thomas, but you are not ready to know who I am yet. In time you will."
To Be Continued...
The police had watched the distraught parents of the young girl approach them and shifted from their relaxed position to set down their cups. They ushered them to an isolated area of chairs in the waiting room. The waiting room still gave no real privacy for these types of matters, children were crying from determined fevers, people arguing about family issues over splinted broken bones, and staff were calling out the names of the next in line.
"Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins..." The first officer began the process slowly as the notepad had been opened up. A pen was taken from a shirt pocket and he continued on.
"Your daughter was involved in a car accident this evening on route 135. She was the passenger in the vehicle, the driver..." He gave a pause and cleared his throat. "The driver didn't make it. Do you know where your daughter was at tonight?"
The mother grabbed the wadded up tissue from her husband as she tried to keep her sobbing under control. Everything was happening so fast, and it would take strength to collect her thoughts as well as her recollection of her memory. "She was supposed to be out with her friends Melissa and Emily."
"Do you know where they were going ma'am?" The female officer asked, trying to find out more information.
"No, they just told us they were going to a friends house." The father watched with his eyes showing his mind was elsewhere.
"You had said she was with two other girls?" The first officer started to scribble in the notepad something far from legible.
"Yes." The father reiterated.
"A Miss... " The officer looked back over his notes from the scene of the accident to find the driver's last name. "A Miss Matthews was the only other occupant of the car besides your daughter. Do you know the last name of this Emily?"
"Allen." The mother had said through the now tearing tissue. Her eyes searched over the officers as if they could give her all the answers to the questions that flooded her mind.
"Mrs. Jenkins, do you know if your daughter was or would have been drinking this evening?" The female officer took her turn in asking the parents the needed questions.
The shock of the question brought more tears to her already welled eyes. The question felt more insulting then routine. "I... I, I don't know. Amanda is a good kid." She felt the need to clarify that her daughter wasn't the type to do this sort of thing.
"Do you..." The male officer began his sentence only to be interrupted by the nurse that called out the parents' names from the door that led out into the hallway. They stood up immediately and ceased the interrogation.
The officers didn't try to continue and started to put their pens away. The basic questions were answered, the follow up could be done later. They remained in the waiting room calling into their squad leader to notify him of their update.
The parents had raced over to the nurse that ushered them into the hallway were two surgeons awaited them. The surgeons were covered in sterile scrubs and had grim looks on their faces as they began to address the parents about their daughter.
"Your daughter sustained severe injuries to her abdomen and chest. They were created when she was crushed between the dashboard and her seat. These we were able to get under control." This gave her parents a false sense of hope, but the doctors weren't finished with their update.
"However, on impact your daughter had sustained trauma to her head when it collided with the windshield which created swelling and pressure on the brain. We've tried to relieve some of that pressure, but she has slipped into a coma following the surgery and we won't be able to know the extent of brain damage she might have acquired until her next brain scan."
The yelp was the first thing that sounded as the girl's mother buckled at the knees clinging onto her husband. His grip was firm on her, keeping her from falling. She buried her head in his chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"What are her chances? I mean... she could pull out of the coma and not have any brain damage?" The father looked confused but wanted statistics and math, because that he could understand.
"To be honest Mr. Jenkins, it's unlikely that she didn't suffer any brain damage. We realize you have some decisions to make so we will let you know the results of the brain scan as soon as we get them. I'm sorry." The surgeon had finished his analysis, giving a quick nod to the parents. His words were crushing and far from comforting even if it ended in sorry.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Her breath was stolen, she tried to gasp for the air that would fuel her destroyed cries. He had managed to take a hold of her before she could realize she was in the confines of his arms as if he anticipated this to happen.
It was like the first breath taken after being submerged in cold water longer than your lungs could handle. She felt her heart plummet into the depths of her chest, and her cries cut through the air like a scalpel to skin. And all he could do was let it happen. This was the hard part, the realization, the consequences, the reality.
She started to rock within his embrace. He made no attempt to let her go. She mumbled and chanted random words that were hard to decipher but were the slowing pains of breaking down. He felt her slipping and he slowly brought her back to with softened words placed next to her ear. "Ssh, Emily."
As he spoke his hand interlaced within the length of her locks pushing them away from her soaked cheeks, freeing them from the wetness that worked as plaster to cover her face. "You can't let it defeat you Emily. Don't go down that road."
She whimpered as she continued to fall into the void of nothingness that was ready to embrace her and keep her inside of herself. That feeling of emptiness that takes your soul and locks it away. He knew she was following its lead, and he was determined to pull her back from it. Her soul was his, and he was not going to let her throw it away.
"Come back to me Emily." He brushed his lips against her ear as he whispered, coddling her like a babe. He pulled back to look into her eyes, searching deep within them to gauge just how lost she was allowing herself to be.
"Why? She's dead, and I... I didn't stop her." She had squeezed her eyes shut so tightly as if it would rewind time and erase the errors that came flooding back to her like a river let loose.
"If this was your fault, you wouldn't be with me Emily. Remember... I said this was the hard part, but I also told you that you would have to trust me." He watched her eyes open releasing brand new tears.
"I don't even know who you are!" Her voice boomed with confusion, fear, sorrow, like a melting pot of emotions that made up the equal parts to a recipe for a break-down. She again jerked from him and brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them.
He didn't push to keep his lock on her, instead retracting from her while watching her carefully. He gave a slow sigh as he tried again to smooth this over as best he could. "My name is Thomas, but you are not ready to know who I am yet. In time you will."
To Be Continued...