Pain from his bandaged wrists caused Bright to wake up and realize that he was not only laying back down, he was also covered by several blankets with a soft pillow supporting his head.
Ignoring the pounding in his head, Bright blinked as he looked around and for the first time in a long time, felt unnerved by the silence surrounding him. He didn't want to be alone anymore.
Tears came to his eyes as the continual shock of what he had tried to do to himself hit him full force. If he had actually succeeded, his parents would have lost their only son, but did they care?
Swallowing hard, Bright rolled on to his right side and stared hard at his bandaged wrists. He hadn't told anyone but Amy about the break-up text from Hannah that had sent him into such a depressive funk and he had pleaded with her to keep it secret, but she had told Ephram about it.
That was probably what the liquor was for, Bright reasoned. Ephram and Amy were probably going to get drunk and make fun of Bright's failures as a person; everyone else already was.
Constant disappointment from his parents made Bright often feel if it was worth even giving anything meaningful in life a try; he would just do something careless and blow it.
Suddenly, nausea hit Bright like a speeding truck, causing him to close his eyes and moan.
No doubt the nausea was a side-effect of his utter stupidity, Bright thought, as he slowly pulled himself over to the edge of the bed so that he could puke gracefully all over the floor.
It took a lot of effort for Bright to get a grip on the railing of his bed and as he began to puke all over the floor, he failed to notice that the door to his room had opened and someone had entered.
Coughing, Bright rested his head against the cool rail and took a deep, tired breath.
"Well, that's sure an interesting way to decorate a hospital floor," a gentle voice commented.
Unable to figure out who was talking, Bright forced his head back on to the pillow and stared listlessly at the far wall; he felt tired enough to sleep, yet he didn't have the will to do it.
"Bright?" the voice spoke again, this time with a tone of concern. "Are you okay?"
Bright replied with a deep sigh, "I'm not," he whispered. "That's why I did this..."
"Well, kiddo, do you wanna turn and face me so I can see how you're doing?" the voice, which Bright could now identify as a brisk, yet soft feminine tone. "I am a nurse, after all."
Not wanting to be in more trouble that he was already in, Bright painstakingly rolled on to his back and saw that a tall, rather thin nurse with greying hair and a set of pink scrubs with matching pink sneakers was standing there, watching him through a pair of silver bifocals and a smile.
Seeing the medical equipment that the nurse had with her made Bright flinch, "What is all that stuff?" he asked, surprised about how groggy he sounded. "I'm feeling just fine."
The nurse gave Bright a look, "I just saw you decorate the floor with the contents of your stomach, kiddo," she replied. "Not only that, but you passed out in front of Doctor Brown, Doctor Mitchell, and I earlier...Chronic exhaustion is a sure-fire sign of depression, which explains the antidepressants that were pumped out of your stomach...it doesn't explain the vodka, though."
Bright looked down and suddenly noticed the IV's in his arms down from near his shoulders all the way down to the bandages covering his wrists. He also saw a strange clip on the middle finger of his left hand and saw a smaller line taped to his right hand, just above the bandages.
"I have to check your vitals," the nurse said in a calm tone, not able to help but feel sympathetic about her young patient's current situation. "Or would you rather have another nurse do it?"
Bright was silent for a moment, "Can you tell me your name first?" he asked. "If you HAVE to take care of me for a while, I'd at least like to know who you are and why they made you do this."
"First of all, young man, my name is Helen Mitchell and I am an intensive care nurse," Nurse Mitchell said, giving Bright a sharp look. "Secondly, I don't have to take care of you, I want to."
Again, Bright was silent for a moment, "Can you keep my parents and sisters from coming to visit me whenever they show up?" he asked quietly. "I don't want them to see me like this..."
Nurse Mitchell nodded, "After I do the vitals, you sleep and I'll go relay that request to Doctor Mitchell and Doctor Brown," she replied in a gentle tone. "For now, just relax, okay?"
Bright nodded and silently watched as Nurse Mitchell carefully placed a thermometer in his mouth and wrapped a blood pressure cuff around a free spot on his left arm. He was so tired.
The thermometer beeped suddenly and Nurse Mitchell removed it from Bright's mouth with a smile.
"Would you hate me if I went back to sleep?" Bright asked. "I don't have a lot of energy right now."
"It's not in my nature to hate patients, even if they want me to," Nurse Mitchell said in a gentle tone as she began checking Bright's blood pressure. "Nobody expects you to have a lot of energy."
When Bright didn't respond right away, Nurse Mitchell looked up and saw that Bright had fallen back asleep with his hands on his chest. She smiled and quickly checked his blood pressure in silence, as she didn't want to wake the young man unless it was absolutely necessary.
This was a serious situation and Dr. Mitchell would eventually need to visit with Bright himself, but that could wait until the young man was feeling better.
For now, however, Nurse Mitchell simply finished her work and after removing the velcro cuff from Bright's arm, she carefully moved his arms underneath the blanket and pulled it further up his body.
As she left the room to let Bright sleep, Nurse Mitchell silently promised that she would make it clear that Bright didn't want to see his parents or siblings for the time being. She hadn't known him long, but now that he was under her care, she would do her best to be of assistance.
While Bright rested, Nurse Mitchell would find Dr. Brown and see what more they could do.
"...Do you really think observation in a psychiatric ward is the best thing for Bright?" Andy asked as he and Nurse Mitchell walked down the ICU hallway back towards Bright's room.
Nurse Mitchell sighed; she wasn't sure how to answer, as to her, Bright seemed like a scared young man who was desperately crying for some positive attention.
However, the hospital policy on attempted suicide patients was very clear and there was a chance that it would be implemented.
After leaving Bright to sleep, Nurse Mitchell had run into Dr. Brown coming back from the cafeteria, where he had left Ephram and Sam to get some much-needed breakfast.
She had told Dr. Brown that Bright had woken up again after drifting off and Dr. Brown had immediately asked how Bright was doing.
Now, as they headed back towards Bright's room to keep him company, Andy found himself concerned about what would happen to Bright now that he had survived his suicide attempt.
"No, I don't think a long spell in a locked unit would help Bright at all," Andy replied, knowing that such a thing would only cause Bright to try suicide again. "However, as a medical professional, I do think that he needs counseling and reassurance that the future can be better for him."
Nurse Mitchell nodded, but before she could reply, an elevator door opened and a tall, well-built man with pale skin and a crew cut of salt and pepper hair that was cropped just above his ears stepped off the elevator and smiled upon spotting them.
In turn, Nurse Mitchell smiled and waved at the newcomer, as if they knew each other very well.
Andy immediately took stock of the man; he was wearing sneakers with duct tape around the tips, a pair of baggy green scrubs, and a white coat that had a hospital ID clipped to the left breast pocket and a stethoscope around the collar. There was a pair of bifocals covering his green eyes.
"Helen, have you seen my research journals?" the man asked as he walked over to them.
Nurse Mitchell smiled, "Devon, it's not a good time for a conversation, not yet anyway," she replied in a gentle tone as she put her hands in her pockets. "Doctor Mitchell, this is Doctor Brown."
"Ah, Doctor Brown," Doctor Mitchell said, a smile on his face. "I've heard a lot about you."
Suddenly recognizing the doctor from in the ER from when Bright first woke up, Andy smiled, "You did a good job reacting when Bright fell asleep earlier," he commented. "Not many doctors would think to make sure he was comfortable and let him rest...a lot of doctors would have woken him up, have nurses poke and prod him into irritation, and then prescribe some sort of tranquilizer."
"Well, Doctor Brown, I am certainly not most doctors," Dr. Mitchell replied, his tone soft. "Even though I am a doctor, I am also a fully qualified psychologist and I know for a fact that medication really won't help with Bright's situation. Besides, what was I going to do since Doctor Lefay stormed from the room with puke all over his scrubs? I had to intervene in that situation somehow."
Andy nodded and paused, seeing the look on Dr. Mitchell's face, "Although I am almost certain that Bright is exhausted, I do need to have a very serious talk with him," Dr. Mitchell stated. "I would like to involve Bright's parents eventually, but since he is an adult, I'll chat privately with him first."
Before Nurse Mitchell could reply, a cell-phone began vibrating in Andy's pocket, "Excuse me a moment," Andy said as he moved away and pulled the cell-phone from his pocket.
While Andy talked on his cell-phone, Nurse Mitchell looked at Dr. Mitchell, "Bright's really regretting what he did and he doesn't want to talk to his parents or sisters right now," she stated. "Do you want me to go and talk to him about how he feels about you talking with him for a little bit?"
"I'm concerned that Bright doesn't want to talk to his parents about this, it means that there's a potential for him to attempt this again," Dr. Mitchell said in a hushed tone full of concern.
Before Nurse Mitchell could reply, Andy walked back over to them as he returned the phone to his pocket, "That was Doctor Abbott," he stated. "Him and Mrs. Abbott are on their way here."
"Doctor Brown, can you do me a favor and call Doctor Abbott back?" Dr. Mitchell said, realizing that he would have to move very fast if he was going to be any help to Bright. "I'm thinking we shouldn't force Bright to see his parents before he's ready...Do you agree, Helen."
Helen nodded and looked at Dr. Brown, "I just have to check on Ephram and Sam in the cafeteria and then I'll phone Doctor Abbott," Dr. Brown said in a pleasant tone. "Maybe I should phone Nina to come and pick Ephram and Sam up...I can stick around for a while."
"Pay phones are in the cafeteria," Dr. Mitchell replied shortly. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be in my office for a bit and then I intend to talk with Bright myself."
Nurse Mitchell nodded and watched as Dr. Mitchell walked off, "Is Doctor Mitchell all right?" Andy asked, concerned that the doctor looked a little tired. "Perhaps he's overworked."
Nurse Mitchell was silent and then taking Andy's arm, she led him towards the elevators as a sign that she didn't want to talk about her husband anymore; she just wanted to get on with her work.
From her seat in the booth at the interstate McDonald's, Nina swallowed to offset the nausea that was threatening to surface in the form of her digested breakfast as she watched Delia stand at the counter, waiting for one of the many uniformed employees to take their lunch order.
Despite feeling sick, Nina's mind was reeling about the phone call she had gotten from Ephram nearly four hours ago while he and Sam were hanging out in a hospital cafeteria in Denver; in response to it, she had roused Delia and they had gotten in the car and hit the road.
In all honesty, she couldn't believe it; Bright Abbott attempting suicide was unthinkable.
Then again, Nina silently reasoned, Bright had been acting odd ever since right before she and Andy had gotten married. She didn't understand how nobody could have noticed the signs.
"...Harold, please try and relax," a worried voice filtered into the restaurant as the door swung open and footsteps entered the restaurant. "...Bright needs time to come to terms with this..."
Nina looked over to the entrance and watched in shock as Rose Abbott led a frustrated looking Harold into the restaurant and over to a table near one of the windows that needed washing.
"Rose, we need to become involved in this," Harold stated in an aggravated tone. "As far as I'm concerned, the minute this happened, Bright lost the right to make his own decisions..."
Nausea filled Nina's throat and as she rose from the table to run for the bathroom, she ended up puking on the floor; she coughed and immediately sank back down, her head spinning and her senses cloudy.
"Doctor Abbott, Nina got sick!" Nina, who was fighting the urge to cough, suddenly heard Delia shout.
Swallowing hard, Nina looked over just in time to see Delia leading a concerned looking Dr. Abbott over to her table, "All right, what other symptoms do you have?" Dr. Abbott asked in a concerned voice.
"Delia, why don't you go and visit with Mrs. Abbott?" Nina suggested in a nervous tone, avoiding Dr. Abbott's concerned gaze. "I need to talk with Doctor Abbott for a minute….privately."
Delia nodded and Nina watched as she walked over to the table where Rose was sitting, "I don't want judgment, I just want you to listen," Nina said as Dr. Abbott sat down across from her. "Andy and I had relations before we got married and I've been late twice…I think I might be pregnant, but I'm not sure."
"Have you mentioned this to Andy or anyone else yet?" Dr. Abbott asked in a concerned tone.
Nina shook her head, "I'm too scared to say anything until I know for sure," she said in a worried voice. "I was planning on getting one of those home pregnancy tests from the drugstore. Then I got the call about Bright and I brought Delia out here with me without a second thought about my own worries."
"Since Rose and I won't be able to visit Bright until he decides he wants us to visit, we're going back to Everwood after lunch," Dr. Abbott stated in a resigned tone. "It seems that Bright told a nurse that he didn't want family visitors and so far, his wishes are being respected by the hospital staff. Anyway, you and Delia follow us back to Everwood after lunch and you can come by the office for an examination."
Nina nodded, "Now, I suggest that you sit here and I'll go get you something to eat," Dr. Abbott stated as he stood up. "If you are pregnant, you need to think about the health of the baby and eat something."
As Dr. Abbott walked off towards the counter, Nina swallowed hard and gazed over at the Abbott's table, where Rose and Delia seemed to be having a pleasant conversation; life was becoming very confusing.
