What the heck was I doing here? What other reason did I have to be here in the clouds once again? What happened to the hospital and my family? I felt like I was in a haze as I stood there in my black heels and white floral shirt, the same outfit I had been wearing when I had been in the car accident.
The car accident. Of course! That's why I was here. I more like severely injured if I was in a place like this.
"I know that look." My father appeared out of nowhere, sporting a gray suit and plain red tie. "You're ticked off at something."
"I'm not ticked off." My strawberry curls bounced around as I shook my head in disagreement. "I'm just trying to figure out why I'm here."
"Rayna, you're here because right now you're between life and death." He said simply as if me dying was nothing to him. It was everything to me that I was dying. I didn't want to die. It made the anger rise in me that he didn't seem to care.
"Well, that's too bad, because I'm not going anywhere."
"You always were a go-getter." He smirked, the corner of his lips raising as he loosened the tie around his neck. "Rayna, can I ask you a question?"
"Mmm."
"Are you happy?"
"Am I happy?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I crossed my arms across my chest. "You mean, am I happy right now?"
"Yeah, honey."
"Am I happy I was pulled away from my friends and family?" I began to feel super irritated, now pressing my hand to my hip. "No, I'm not. Frankly, I'm angry because I'm not with my family. I'm angry at myself because I put myself in this mess. I should have never gone to the office-"
"Rayna-"
"I should have never stopped by the office." I stated with so much regret in the tone of my voice as I brushed my hand over my forehead, then put my hand over my chest. "I can't...I can't catch my breath."
"That's because you're fighting for your life right now." My father warned me, the tie now hanging from his neck. "You need to breathe. Please breathe, Rayna."
"Please breathe, Rayna." It took me a moment to realize my father was no longer standing before me. Instead, it was Deacon, Daphne, and Maddie, sobbing uncontrollably as they stood around my bedside. "Please don't leave us." He pleaded with me, and I instantly wished I could promise him I wouldn't leave them again.
"Her pulse is stabilizing." My doctor announced as everyone in the room seemed to stare at the monitors in amazement, and the beeping ceased as I felt the air return to my chest.
"What does that mean?" Deacon held tightly onto Daphne and Maddie, who looked equally as stunned as they stood there at the foot of my bed. Of course, that could have been my imagination running away with me because I couldn't seem to focus on anything right now.
"It means she's not out the woods just yet." My doctor tried to explain to him, looking quite perplexed as he shot a glance my way. "I have no explanation to why she's still lying on that bed right now, but she is."
"I don't understand. What does that mean?" Maddie spoke up, wiping at the tears streaking her cheeks.
"It means we won't know anything until we do further testing."
"Further testing?" Maddie rounded the corner of the bed and squeezed my hand tightly, with no chance of her letting go for the remainder of this conversation with the good doctor.
"Because it took almost ten minutes for your mother to start breathing, we will be testing for brain function. We will be working to stabilize her blood pressure, and looking for any further complications that could cause problems further down the road."
"Does that mean she's going to be alright?" Daphne finally raised her head up from the chair she was sitting in.
"For the time being, yes. We won't know anything until we run the tests. I'll let you know what we find."
"Thank you, Dr. Fowler." Deacon said quietly as the doctor placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, before exiting the room and taking his place on the other side of the bed. "Hey, Ray." He looked down at me with the sweetest smile as he tenderly brushed his fingers through my hair. "I missed you. The girls missed you. The doctor says you're holding up. I want you to keep doing that, okay?"
I gave him a weak nod. It was all I could manage at the moment, even though I wished I could do more. Despite the partially good news, I glanced at my husband who was trying hard to be strong for me and the girls. I looked at Maddie by my side as she tried hard not to cry. I looked over at Daphne who looked lost and confused as she sat there huddled in the chair.
"I love you, Mom." Maddie stated with fresh tears in her eyes as she squeezed my hand even tighter. "You get some rest. We'll be back in the morning." I tried hard to silently convey my love to her through the look in my eye, but as she turned away I'm not sure she understood the message.
"I love you." Daphne mouthed to me, raising her sleeve to her mouth in apprehension. I didn't blame her. Now that I was alive, I was scared that I would go right back down that winding road towards death and I would never see them again if I closed my eyes.
"They're both scared." Deacon read my thoughts as we both looked towards the now empty doorway. "Give them some time to process this." Leaning down to my level, he pressed a kiss to my forehead and forced a smile for my benefit. "Get some rest, sweetheart."
