Chapter Thirteen
Mike rode in the ambulance with Lucy who's seizure had still been going for thirteen minutes. Once they arrived they took Lucy back and Mike sat in the waiting room of the pediatric ward waiting to see Lucy. Katherine still hadn't arrived yet, having gotten stuck in traffic with the other women. "Mike?" Julie said as she came into the waiting room. "Where's Katherine?" she asked him. "She hasn't arrived yet. How's Lucy?" he asked her. "She's fine, she's resting now, there are no signs of brain damage, she's lucky since she had been in a seizure for twenty minutes." Julie replied. "Can I see her?" Mike asked. "Of course, follow me. I'll tell Katherine when she arrives what room number she's in." Julie replied as she led Mike to Lucy's room. Mike walked in and sat beside Lucy holding her hand.
Lucy had woken up before her mother had arrived and saw her father. She instantly pulled her hand away and turned over. "Lucy...please...just talk to me..." he asked her. "Fine, but this will be the last time..." Lucy said to him as she turned over. "Lucy, why are you so upset?" he asked her. "Because Mrs. Delfino hates me, so does MJ, I heard you guys yelling from outside when I went on my walk. I'm just a reminder, a reminder that you and mom were once together. I'm a burden...and you would be better off without me. I deserve this...it's my punishment for being so horrible. Everyone would be better off if I never existed." Lucy said to him, as she started to cry.
Mike couldn't believe the way Lucy was talking about herself, but after remembering what Elijah had said he understood why Lucy thought the way she did. All of her life she had been told she was disgusting, scum, that she wasn't worth the effort people put into her, that she was useless and would never amount to anything, and to drill that in she had been beaten, molested, and raped. She believed this too, that she was a horrible person, even though it wasn't true at all. "So please...now that you know, will you forget about me? I'm just asking this one thing. Please, just go..." Lucy said in tears.
"Lucy...you aren't horrible...you are the one of the sweetest, and kindest girls I've ever met. You are always putting others ahead of yourself and always willing to drop anything to help someone in need. You are a good person. You have been through horrible things and yet you are still compassionate towards others and always willing to do something with a smile on your face. You are not a horrible person Lucy, the ones who treated you that way are the horrible ones, not you. I'm not going to forget about you, I love you and care about you and I always will. And you're family, whether you like it or not. Besides, Susan could never hate you, she hates the situation, but not you. Neither does MJ, he's just a moody teenager. Ignore him." Mike told her as he wiped away her tears.
Lucy sat up and hugged him tightly. Mike hugged her back, trying to keep her calm, but she just kept crying. Katherine and the others had watched the entire time. Once Lucy had calmed down she let go and Katherine as well as the others came in. "Hey Lulu." Katherine said to her as she came in and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Julie told me that you don't have any brain damage, we were so worried." Katherine told her. "Your dad is right Lucy, I don't hate you. You are a wonderful girl, I could never hate someone as sweet as you." Susan chimed in as she came closer. Lucy took what they said to heart. She continued to rest until she was released and was finally allowed to go home.
Three and a half months had passed since that day in the hospital. Lucy had started school and today was the day of track and field tryouts for her seventh grade class. Katherine had forgotten that today was the day they were doing back to back catering and wouldn't be able to pick up Lucy after her tryouts after school. She had no choice except to ask Mike for some help so that someone would be able to watch Lucy after school. She was old enough to watch herself, but with her seizures it was dangerous for her to be alone. Katherine walked over to Mike and Susan's house and knocked on the door, hoping that Mike was the one to answer it. "Oh hey Katherine, is something up?" Susan asked her after opening the door and finding Katherine at their door. "Is Mike here?" Katherine asked Susan. "Yeah, let me get him." Susan said as she left to go get Mike.
"Oh hey Katherine, you need something?" Mike asked her as he wiped his hands on a towel. "Well Lulu is trying out for the track team, and unfortunately I have catering events back to back, I won't be able to pick her up from school after tryouts. Are you able to pick her up and keep an eye on her for me until I get back?" Katherine asked with a smile. "Yeah I can do that, but are you sure it's a good idea for Lucy to do track? Her asthma is pretty bad." Mike asked her. "Her doctor said she should be fine as long as she doesn't overdo it." Katherine reassured him. "What time do tryouts start? I want to make sure she is okay?" Mike asked her. "Three fifteen." Katherine replied. "Alright I'll be there to make sure Lucy doesn't overdo it." Mike told her. Katherine left and went to work, she had already dropped Lucy off at school.
It was in between first period and second period when gunshots rang out through the halls of Lucy's school. She hadn't heard anything at first as Lucy had her earbuds in, getting her sketchbook out for her art class. People screamed and started running away, and Lucy still hadn't noticed. Her earbuds were the noise canceling kind so Lucy was unable to hear what was around her. In fact Lucy hadn't even noticed the student shooting people in the halls of the school until she felt something hit her back several times. She looked down and saw blood pooling in her shirt before she collapsed to the floor, unable to move.
Lucy thought to herself about what was going to happen to her. She thought, this was it, this was how her life was going to end, laying in a puddle of her own blood, she would never see her mother again, or even her father. Her mother would be devastated, she knew this because she had known her mother was devastated when she went missing, this was even worse. The last thing she told her mother was goodbye and to be safe, but she herself wasn't safe, not by a long shot. Soon Lucy began to drift out of consciousness, wishing she was able to tell her parents goodbye at the very least. Within seconds Lucy had passed out.
Mike had been watching a Colts game while he waited for school to end, it was only ten in the morning so he had a while to go. The game was interrupted during a crucial part by a news story however, one that he would never forget. "Fairview Middle School has been on lock down for half an hour today due to a school shooter. Several gunshots were heard outside the school and the police have been unable to get inside. No one knows how many victims there are, but police are still trying to find a way to get the shooter to stand down and allow them inside." the news anchor said. Mike dropped his drink and his eyes grew wide. That was Lucy's school. "Lucy." he said as he quickly grabbed his phone. He had to call Lucy to make sure she was safe, however the phone went straight to voicemail.
"Damn it!" he said. "What's wrong?" Susan asked as she came into the room. "There's a shooter at Lucy's school and she's not answering her phone." Mike said. "Oh my god. Okay let me put on my shoes, grab my purse and we'll go to her school." Susan said as she hurried to get ready, Mike sent her a text "Lucy, text me back if you are okay." it read as he sent it. Once Susan was ready they both hurried to Mike's truck and drove to the school. There was already a crowd of parents, including Lynette and Tom as well as Will's mom Vicki. "Oh my god Lynette, have you heard anything?" Susan asked. "No, nothing, but there are still gunshots going on inside, the police have gotten in trying to stop the kid who's doing it." she said as she started to cry. "Where's Katherine?" Tom asked. "Susan tried to call her at work, but she's not answering, neither is Bree." Mike told him. They continued to wait patiently for what seemed like an eternity, but before long they brought out a young girl in cuffs who had been apparently bullied. The students who were still alive began to run out of the school, Paige and Will had come out of the school and run to their parents who hugged them.
Mike waited and waited to see Lucy, but when she didn't come out with the others he broke through the barricade and ran into the school. "LUCY! LUCY!" he called as he ran around looking at the bodies. He was about to give up when he suddenly saw a girl with red hair face down in a pool of blood. He knew it had to be her. "Lucy!" he yelled as he ran over to her and turned her over to confirm it was her. He felt for a pulse, which he found, but just barely. "HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!" he called as pair of paramedics came rushing forward. They took Lucy from him after he found himself covered in her blood. He then got up and said he was going with them.
Once Mike came out they saw him covered in blood. "Oh my god Mike!" Susan yelled as she ran over to him. "You're covered in blood, are you hurt?" Susan asked him. "It's Lucy's...she's been shot five times, she barely has a pulse, I'm going with them." he said as he handed the keys to his truck to Susan. "I'll go get Katherine, I know where she is." Susan said as she ran to Mike's truck. "Where's Lucy?" Lynette asked Susan. "She's been shot, she barely has a pulse. I'm going to get Katherine." Susan said to them. "We'll meet you at the hospital." Lynette said. Lucy and Paige had become good friends so Paige and Will were rather worried about Lucy.
Susan drove as quickly as she could to where Katherine and Bree's first event was at and ran inside. "Bree!" Susan called out as soon as she saw her. "Susan? What are you doing here?" Bree asked her. "Where's Katherine? It's an emergency!" Susan said with an extremely worried tone in her voice. "She's in the kitchen. What's wrong?" Bree asked her. "It's Lucy, Fairview Middle School had a school shooter, and Lucy was shot, she barely has a pulse." Susan said to her. "Go get Katherine, tell her I will take care of everything." Bree said as she hurried Susan to the kitchen. "Katherine! You need to get to Fairiew Memorial Hospital now!" Susan said, she was obviously crying. "Susan what's wrong?" Katherine asked her. "It's Lucy, there was a school shooter, she was shot, she barely has a pulse. Bree said she will take care of everything, but we need to go now!" Susan told her.
Katherine's heart nearly stopped when she heard this. She took off her apron and ran with Susan to her car, following behind Susan. She nearly caused several accidents as she raced to the hospital. Her daughter might die, she might lose her forever, all because of some girl who was bullied and shot Lucy who would have never harmed a fly. She was a mess, sobbing uncontrollably in her car as she drove. Once she arrived she ran into the emergency room where she saw Mike who hugged her. "Katherine, everything is going to be okay, Lucy's a strong girl, she's been through hell and back she's going to be fine." Mike reassured her. Lynette came and hugged Katherine too as well as Susan. They then waited for several hours, hoping Lucy would live through what happened.
"It's been four hours! I need to know if Lulu is still alive! I can't lose her!" Katherine said as she had started to cry again. Mike was remembering when he got to the hospital with Lucy. "Do you know her blood type sir?" they asked Mike. "It's the same as mine AB negative." he told them. He had found this out a while back when Lucy was doing an experiment for school to find out her blood type. They both had the rarest blood type. He snapped out of his memories when he heard Katherine yelling. "Katherine, she was shot at least five times, we need to be patient." he told her.
Another hour passed by and Katherine was about to lose it. "Why haven't they told us anything?" Katherine asked angrily. "It's been five hours, why haven't they told us anything?" Katherine repeated herself. She just need needed to hear that Lucy was alive, that she was going to be fine, but it had been five hours and Katherine was starting to lose hope. She just needed to hear those words, but so far they weren't coming. Thirty minutes later a doctor found them. "Mr. Delfino?" the doctor asked for. Mike stood up so the doctor would find them. The doctor walked over to Mike and Katherine as Katherine stood up as well. "How is she? Please tell me my baby will be alright?" Katherine asked. "Lucy was shot seven times total in the back, one of the bullets barely missed her heart and other vital organs." the doctor told them.
"She's currently in critical condition. The next twenty-four hours are critical." he added. "When can we see her?" Mike asked him. "She's in PICU right now, but you can see her." the doctor replied as he led them to Lucy. Once Katherine saw Lucy she ran over to her. "No, no, no, no, no...Lulu...I need you to pull through this...don't give up, please, please stay with me Lulu. Don't leave me all alone." Katherine begged her as she took her hand and kissed it. Everyone else followed Katherine into the room as she begged Lucy to not leave her all alone. Mike and the others looked at Lucy who was hooked up to various machines. Bree showed up twenty minutes later having finished both events. She saw Katherine crying as she held Lucy's hand, begging her not to go.
"How is she?" Bree asked her friends. "She was shot seven times in the back. She might not make it." Gaby told her. She had arrived an hour before Bree had and was also worried about Lucy. Gaby liked Lucy, she was always willing to lend a hand and her baked goods were amazing. Paige and Will were crying, afraid that their best friend would die on them. "Katherine I heard what happened. I just want you to know that you can take as much time as you need to." Bree told her. "Thank you." Katherine replied as she moved a piece of hair out of Lucy's face. Soon visiting hours were over, and they would only let one parent stay with Lucy. "I'm sorry, visiting hours are over. Only the one parent is allowed to stay at a time." the nurse told them. "I'm staying, I can't leave her." Katherine told the nurse.
"Katherine I can stay with her." Mike told her as he walked over to Lucy. "No, you should go home and get cleaned up." Katherine told him as she continued to look at Lucy, running her fingers on her cheeks gently. "Can I bring you anything Katherine?" Mike asked her. "No...you should go." Katherine told him. Mike walked over to Lucy and kissed her forehead before leaving. Katherine continued to watch her daughter lie there and started to cry once more, she thought by this point that she would be out of tears to cry out, but she was still going. Eventually Katherine cried herself to sleep, dreaming about Lucy the entire time.
It had been a week since the shooting and Katherine hadn't left Lucy's side. She was exhausted and could use a shower as well, but she refused to leave Lucy by herself. What if she died while she was gone? What if she woke up and saw that her mother wasn't there and thought that she hated her? No, she couldn't leave, not until she was sure that Lucy was going to be alright. Katherine had been softly singing to Lucy in hopes that she would hear her and wake up, but she hadn't. She started to softly sing You Are My Sunshine while alone with Lucy. Mike had walked in while she was softly singing to Lucy.
"Katherine, it's been a week...you should go home, get cleaned up, and get some sleep." Mike told her. "No...I-I'm not leaving Lulu..." Katherine said to him. He noticed that she was shaking, like she hadn't eaten anything in days. He then gently grabbed Katherine's wrist and pressed his thumb down before lifting it up. "You're dehydrated, and have you even eaten anything today?" Mike asked her, starting to get angry that Katherine wasn't taking care of herself. "I'm not hungry..." Katherine told him."What would Lucy think if she saw you like this?" Mike asked her. Katherine looked away from him. "I'm not going to let you do this to yourself Katherine. Go home, get cleaned up, and some rest. Eat something and get something to drink or so help me I will have you admitted to the hospital for a psych evaluation." Mike threatened.
"I-I can't...I can't leave her...what if she dies while I'm gone Mike? What if I'm not here for her last moments? Do you understand?! I can't leave her! Not until I know she's going to be okay!" Katherine yelled before bursting into tears. Mike pulled her into a hug while she sobbed, trying to stop, but failing miserably at it. Susan came in and saw Mike comforting Katherine. At first she was extremely jealous, but once she looked at Lucy she eventually let it subside. "Katherine I will call you if anything happens alright. I will be right here with Lucy when you get back. Susan can you take Katherine home and make sure she eats, has something to drink, sleeps, and takes a shower? She's dehydrated and she hasn't had anything to eat in days." Mike asked his wife. "Yeah sure, no problem. Come on Katherine." Susan said, but Katherine wasn't budging.
"Katherine, come on, I'm worried about you, Lucy wouldn't want you to do this to yourself...you know this." Susan begged her. Katherine nodded and wiped away her tears, following Susan out of the hospital. Once they arrived at Katherine's house, Katherine opened the door and walked in. "Katherine, why don't you take a nice hot shower and I'll order us some Chinese okay?" Susan said to her. Katherine nodded once more and went upstairs to take a shower. She couldn't help but cry to herself as she cleaned up, thinking about her daughter and how someone could shoot someone as sweet as Lucy. She also thought about the ninety nine other students who were shot and how Lucy was the only one of them to survive so far.
She stayed in the shower until all the hot water was used up before getting out. She then got dressed again and went downstairs to find the food had already been delivered. Susan got Katherine some water and Katherine sat down, staring at her food, poking it with chopsticks. "Katherine, you've got to eat. For Lucy. If you don't keep your strength up then how are you going to be there for her?" Susan asked Katherine as she placed her hand on Katherine's. She thought for a moment before starting to eat, she was doing this for Lucy.
Katherine took a sip of her water before continuing to eat her food. Once she was finished with her food and water, she felt a bit better. "Okay, go get some rest Katherine. I'll be right here if you need anything." Susan told her. "Alright...oh and Susan...thank you." Katherine told her before heading upstairs to take a nap. She laid down on her bed and started to cry again, her head was hurting from the lack of sleep and all the crying she had done. She closed her eyes and eventually fell asleep, dreaming of Lucy.