Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical.
A.N. Here we are at Chapter 2. I want to thank all of your for your reviews for the first chapter! I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far. Again, this is all for EndlessDreamer1024.
(Taylor POV)
***RING***
Taylor jumped up from her desk as her phone rang her awake. She had been trying to study for one of her exams so she could get her Doctorate in Education but she kept falling asleep. Her father's failing health and this point in her career has been stressing her out so much that she had developed insomnia and couldn't sleep for the life of her. She didn't recognize the number on the caller ID and thought about cursing whomever was on the other line out but she stopped to read the ID and when it read the University of New Mexico Medical Center, her heart dropped. She immediately thought the worst when she answered the telephone in a shaky voice.
"Hello?"
"Is this Taylor McKessie?" a female said into the phone on the other line.
"Yes, who's this?"
"I'm Nurse Faulkner from the University of New Mexico Medical Center and I'm sorry to tell you this but your father was involved in a car accident not too long ago."
"Where is he?" Taylor said getting up from her place hurriedly and began looking for her keys.
"Your father's in critical condition and its imperative that you get down here soon so that you can make a decision in case his conditions worsens."
"What do you mean 'worsens'? He's in critical condition; the only way he can worsen is if he dies!" Taylor yelled into the phone. The nurse on the other end was silent.
"Is he going to die?" Taylor asked scared.
"I can't answer that right now, but your father needs you right now so it's best that you get here when he gets out of surgery," the nurse replied, careful not to make Taylor more frantic than she already was.
"I'm on my way," said Taylor hanging up the phone without another word. She didn't care if she woke up her roommates Sharpay or Kelsi in the process, all she cared about was getting to her father before it was too late.
She all but flew to the hospital in her care and nearly lost it when she some guy bumped into her and had the nerve to call her a bitch. She decided not to tell him off like she would usually do but her pride didn't let her walk away from the situation without calling back to him.
"Dick," she said countering his bitch statement and hurried towards the nurse's station.
"Hi, my name is Taylor McKessie; I was told that my father, Robert McKessie was involved in a car accident?"
The nurse looked up at Taylor with sad eyes. She noticed her name plate read 'Faulkner' and she realized she was the same nurse she spoke to on the phone.
"Your father is still in surgery but as soon as he's out, you'll be notified."
"But do you have any idea of when that'll be?"
The nurse shook her head, "I'm not completely sure. Just know that he's in good hands and the doctor will come to you as soon as your father is out of surgery." Taylor gave a short nod to the nurse's statement and brushed her hand through her hair. She looked down at her appearance and looked down at the pajama bottoms and tank tops she had on and felt seriously underdressed. She closed her jacket over herself more and walked over to the waiting area to wait for the doctor with bated breath.
When the nurse finally came out hours later, Taylor immediately stood up to face him. Her look of hope faded when his face was solemn.
"What's wrong, is my father alright?" she asked with anxiousness.
"You're father's alive but he's…" the doctor trailed off.
"He's what?"
"Your father's in a coma. His injuries were pretty serious and although we've stopped the internal bleeding so far, he's unconscious as of now and frankly we don't know how long he's going to be coma or if he'll regain consciousness at all."
Taylor's heart stopped. She fell back in the chair that was next to her and her chest started heaving up and down. She was hyperventilating and soon the doctor called a nurse for her. When she finally calmed down and her blood pressure was under control, she spoke again.
"Wha…What do you mean 'if he'll regain consciousness?"
"Your father lost a lot of blood during the time it took him to get to the hospital and his oxygen flow was cut off for some time. He's lucky to be alive at all."
Taylor couldn't believe what he was saying. It was like he had no compassion for her father at all, like it was just a routine.
"Where is he?"
"He's in room 215 but he's needs his rest so I'd advise you to spend his stress level to a minimum."
"He's in a fucking coma! How can I affect his stress level?" Taylor yelled do the insensitive doctor who didn't have anything to say after her outburst. She walked away and raced down the hall towards her father's room. If her heart didn't break when she heard the news of the accident, it broke when she saw her father with all those tubes in his body. She walked over to him and pulled a chair up to his bedside. She placed her hand in his and stroked it gently.
"Oh daddy….daddy, you have to wake up. You can't leave me. You're all I have."
It had been her and her father since she was 10 years old. Her mother had decided that motherhood was too much for her and just up and left. Taylor's tears had long since dried and all that was left was anger. Her father did the best he could raising her and now his life was hanging in the balance. He had to get better, if he didn't what other family would she have? Sure she had her friends Sharpay and Kelsi but they weren't blood. Her father's health had been failing ever since the year before but the accident made losing him all too real. Taylor heard some yelling from the room over and thought about going over to them and telling them to shut the hell up but she decided against it and spent as much time as she could with her father before the nurse said she had to leave. She promised her father that she'd be back the next day and kissed him on the forehead before leaving for her apartment.
A.N. I promise Troy and Taylor will have more interaction in the upcoming chapters but for now, please review!
-ED
