Snapped
Punk was making his way up from the cafeteria, having oddly spending a couple hours talking to his mom, someone who was starting to do a pretty good job of appearing when he needed her.
He was waiting on the elevator, impatiently pushing the button as he paced around.
"Just because you push it more doesn't mean it'll come faster." An older man chuckled to himself as Punk turned around, watching him slowly walking to one of the seats at the waiting area. Punk could only predict he had to be in his nineties. He was hunched over, walking stick guiding him towards the chair.
Punk looked over at him, reaching over and pushing the button a few more times deliberately as the older man chuckled, losing his balance a little as he held onto the chair unsteadily.
"Hey, you ok?" Punk asked, walking over with concern and helping the older man.
"Beat it." The older man hit Punk with his walking stick, "I'm just fine." He insisted as Punk scoffed.
"You look one hundred years old." Punk nodded.
"I'm ninety three actually." He said, "It just… takes me a while to sit down." He explained.
"Well can I help you?" Punk asked him, "Let me help you." He corrected, giving the older man his hand, helping him sit down on the chair carefully, "Shouldn't you be in one of these rooms?" Punk scoffed.
"You're a cheeky one." The older man said, taking his beret hat off, "Visiting my wife." He told him as Punk took a seat beside him, "End of life care, you see." He nodded.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Punk said.
"Yeah, everyone is." The man nodded to himself, "What's your name, son?" He asked.
"Phil." Punk nodded.
"Joe." Joe said as Punk nodded, "Lot of people just walked by me. I've been trying to sit down on this seat for half an hour." He shook his head as Punk frowned, "All these terminally ill people can be so self-involved." He teased as Punk smiled.
"Your wife is in one of these rooms?" Punk asked him.
"Yeah, she's in the end one over there." Joe said, "Has been for a month now." He nodded, "I tried convincing the nurses to rent me a room in here but they won't allow it." He scoffed as Punk smiled. He was a typical sweet, stubborn and full of nonsense old man.
"You make your way here every day?" Punk asked as Joe nodded.
"Mhm. I'd go anywhere for my wife." Joe shook his head, leaning his hands on his walking stick in front of him, "Eileen. That's her name." He told Punk who smiled.
"How long you been together?" Punk asked him.
"Almost 76 years." Joe nodded to him as Punk raised his eyebrows.
"That's a lot of years." Punk nodded.
"Not enough." Joe shook his head, "I told Eileen, I said if you go I better blow my casket straight after you. I don't wanna be hanging around in this world without her." He shook his head, "No point in that." He said to himself as Punk smiled and nodded.
"Must be hard, having spent so much time together." Punk said as Joe nodded.
"It is." Joe nodded, "Spending seventy years with someone and then… going home to find they're gone… I don't want that." Joe shook his head, "Eileen is the head of the family, you see." He explained as Punk smiled.
"Yeah, woman can be like that, huh?" Punk smiled as Joe nodded.
"What she says goes. And I wouldn't dare argue." Joe chuckled, "She's always right." He nodded, "I don't like having my dinner on my own." He told Punk, "She would always… put the radio on and she'd be singing. I used to get annoyed at it but you know… I can't eat dinner now without having the radio on." He said as Punk nodded. He could tell this man hadn't been able to talk to anyone about this, and it made him sad.
"You got kids?" Punk asked him.
"Yeah, three." Joe nodded, "Two boys and a girl. Got four grandchildren and one great grandchildren too." He said as Punk nodded, "And they're all good kids. Smart. Take good care of me." He added, "But it's still just me in the house on my own." He said as Punk nodded, "What's a young lad like you doing here?"
"Young?" Punk chuckled a little.
"Well… you're no me." Joe said as Punk chuckled, looking at the old man.
"My wife is in intensive care upstairs." Punk nodded, "Car accident."
"Oh, poor thing." Joe sighed, "What's her name?"
"April." Punk nodded as Joe smiled.
"Like the month." Joe nodded to himself, "I like that." He said as Punk smiled, "I'll say a prayer for her." He assured Punk.
"Thank you." Punk nodded. Just because he didn't believe in that stuff, didn't mean he discredited other people's beliefs, "I appreciate that." He said as Joe nodded.
"How long you been together?" Joe asked him.
"Coming up for thirty six years." Punk said, "It's no seventy, I guess." He smiled.
"Ahh, you'll get there." Joe patted his arm, "You'll get there." He nodded, "Kids?"
"Yeah, three girls." Punk nodded.
"By God, I could barely handle one." Joe laughed, "You must have patience."
"It's my wife who has the patience." Punk nodded.
"Mhm." Joe smiled, "I can tell by the way you kept pushing that elevator button." He scoffed as Punk smiled and nodded, "Doesn't feel right, does it?" He understood.
"No." Punk shook his head, "Everything just feels wrong. Not hearing her voice. Not seeing her eyes. Just watching her is… killing me." He sighed to himself as Joe nodded.
"Mhm." Joe agreed, "And all you can do is sit there." He shook his head, "Love can be cruel in the end." He nodded, "It can change you. Leave you feeling like you have nothing." He said as Punk nodded, "What's her injuries?" He asked.
"Trauma to the head." Punk said, "She's in a coma." He nodded as Joe sighed.
"And you're only young too." Joe shook his head, "I like to think I lived a happy and long life with my wife but… I'm still greedy." He nodded, "You still have years and years." He shook his head, "I will be praying for you and your wife." He made clear, patting Punk on the leg.
"Thank you." Punk nodded, "How long do you stay here?" He asked.
"All day." Joe said, "Yeah, the nurses are kind enough to give me lunch. My son picks me up and takes me home later on." He explained as Punk nodded, "I just want to spend as much time as I can with her." He said as Punk nodded.
"I'm sorry you have to go through this." Punk said as Joe smiled.
"It's life, son." Joe nodded, "To have all the good, the great… you gotta have some of the bad." He said as Punk nodded slowly.
"I better head up and see my daughters." Punk nodded to him.
"Yeah, go." Joe nodded, waving his stick at Punk who chuckled and stood up, "And try just hitting that elevator button once." He advised as Punk nodded, walking over the elevator, extending his hand out and pressing the button once.
He took a deep breath, standing still in front of the elevator as he waited patiently, turning around to Joe who nodded to him.
Punk turned back around, watching the elevator doors open up.
"See!" Joe called as Punk chuckled, stepping into the elevator as the doors closed over and took him up a floor.
Punk got out of the elevator, walking down the corridor and noticing his three daughters were standing outside of the room, which made him incredibly nervous.
"What's going on?" Punk asked.
"The doctor is in with her. She was having an absent seizure." Thea said.
"What the hell is that?" Punk shook his head.
"It means you can't see it. It's not like a seizure where you start shaking. It's in the brain." Thea explained, "It can stop oxygen getting to the brain." She gulped as Punk looked at them, walking past them and heading into the hospital room where the doctor was with AJ.
"What's going on?" Punk asked, "You said the swelling had gone down." He said frantically.
"Your wife has taken an absent seizure-"
"Yeah and what the hell is that? You said the swelling had gone down." Punk said angrily as Thea walked into the room.
"Dad, I think you should come out of here. Let the doctor help mom." Thea pulled at Punk's arm which he just shook away from her.
"No, I'm not going anywhere." Punk shook his head, "Why is she having a seizure?" Punk questioned, "She was stable."
"The brain can be unpredictable. Brain injuries can differ with symptoms and complications-"
"Stop telling me the brain is unpredictable. Is that what you went to med school for? Is that all you learnt? That the brain is fucking unpredictable?" Punk spat.
"Dad!" Thea yelled angrily, grabbing Punk by the arm, "You need to calm down." She warned him.
"I understand this is a difficult time, mister Brooks, but I can assure you I learnt a lot more at medical school, and your wife is in good care right now. I've managed to stabilise her." Paul nodded as Punk looked across at him.
"Then get out of the room." Punk said as Paul looked across at him, "Go. Leave me alone with my wife." He spat.
"I am so sorry." Thea shook her head as the doctor headed out of the room, "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologise. I see it quite often." Paul assured her, leaving the room as Thea turned around and looked at her father.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Thea spat angrily, "These doctors are doing everything they can to help mom right now. You don't get to talk to them like that." Thea spat, "She has a brain injury. He's right. There will be complications. You have to understand that." She said.
"Just get the hell out, Thea." Punk spat.
"Excuse me?" Thea looked at him.
"Get out of the room." Punk looked across at her.
"You know you're not the only one who is hurting right now." Thea said, "You don't get to behave like this. You're supposed to be the one telling us it's going to be ok. Like mom did when you weren't here. She didn't ever carry on like this. She didn't get mad or… or raise her voice because things weren't right. She got on with it. She told us to keep our heads up and keep moving forward." She said, "And all you have to say to me is get out?" She questioned as Punk sat down by the bed, holding onto AJ's hand.
"Yeah, that's all I have to say." Punk nodded.
"You need to go home. You need to sleep. You're not behaving like some street kid in here. Cursing at doctors because you're scared." She shook her head, "We're all scared, dad."
"Let me feel how I wanna feel." Punk mumbled, looking on at AJ.
"Thea." Jude opened up the room door.
"No, don't think I won't call you out on this shit. This isn't an excuse for you to treat people like shit." Thea said as Punk ignored her, "Are you listening to me?" Thea spat angrily.
"Thea." Jude said louder.
"What?" Thea snapped, turning around and noticing Jude was standing funny.
"My waters just broke." Jude gulped as Punk turned around.
