About five minutes later, Annie had calmed down a bit. She turned to speak to her family, her face red and tearstained. "I am going to take the twins to the hospital with me. They don't need to be out here seeing this. If any of you want to come with me you are welcome to. If you are staying, call me on my cell phone the second you hear anything."
"I'll stay" Matt immediately answered.
"Me too" Ruthie and Robbie said together.
"I'll go" Mary volunteered. "You know, to watch the twins" she added when she realized that everyone was giving her a strange look. The truth was, that she could no longer stand to watch the house she had grown up in burn to the ground, especially knowing that it was her fault.
"Ok" Annie said, picking up David from where he sat on the grass. "Let's go". With one last hug and kiss from her husband, she headed toward the car. Mary picked Sam up and followed her, mumbling a quick goodbye to her family.
The car ride was silent except for the slow, even breathing of Sam and David after they had fallen asleep. Mary was too ashamed and guilty to look at her mother, knowing that she was responsible for all of the pain she was feeling. Please, God Mary prayed silently. If Lucy and Simon survive, I will never, ever make a mistake like this again.
When they arrived at the hospital, they each quickly grabbed a twin and headed toward the ER. They were greeted there by a young nurse with a handful of papers for Annie to sign. The nurse, whose name tag read Cindy picked up the twins, promising Annie that she would find a place for them to sleep comfortably. Mary sunk into a hard, plastic chair in the waiting room and tried to occupy herself with the year old golf magazine she found on the table. She began flipping through the pages, but all she could concentrate on was the horrible guilt she was feeling. To her embarrassment, she felt her eyes filling up with tears. Her mother noticed and set down the papers she was reading.
"Honey" she began, putting her arm around Mary. "I'm sure they are both fine. They're smart; they know how to protect themselves." Mary couldn't make herself confess, even though a part of her wanted to, so she buried her head in her mother's shoulder and began to sob. Annie held Mary as she cried, talking softly to her. Mary wondered if her mother would still hold her and keep her safe when she knew what she had done.
About twenty minutes later, Annie's cell phone rang, the sudden loud noise almost giving Mary a heart attack. "Hello?" Annie answered nervously. "Uh huh…uh huh…OK …all right" she said into the phone. Mary tried desperately to figure out what was going on. Please, please let her be alright! She thought. "Thank God" Annie finally said, tears streaming down her face. "Ok, we are in the ER waiting room…No, we don't know yet…Ok see you…I love you too."
"So?" Mary asked the second her mother hung up.
"They found her. She is still alive, but is unconscious and having trouble breathing. They are bringing her in right now."
"She's alive?" Mary asked, relief spreading through her.
"For now" her mother answered quietly.
Just then, a doctor dressed in scrubs came through a door and stood in front of Mrs. Camden. "We are finished examining your son, Ma'm. He was hit in the head and has a concussion and also a broken leg. He suffered minor smoke inhalation and a few burns but he should be fine."
"Thank you" Annie gasped, her eyes filling with tears. "When can we see him? When can he come home?"
"You can see him now, but we gave him some pain medication and he will be asleep for a few hours. Because he had a head injury, we want to keep him for about two days." He's Ok! And they found Lucy! But what if she is dead? And it's my fault? I have to tell mom now, before I go crazy!
But before Mary could say anything, another door opened and Rev. Camden, Matt, Robbie, and Ruthie entered the room. After exchanging hugs, the doctor repeated what he had just told Annie and Mary. Rev. Camden told them that Lucy was being examined now.
"Why don't we go see Simon now?" Annie suggested. "We can only go two at a time, so Mary and I will go while the rest of you get a drink and rest a bit. Are you ready, Mary?"
"Um, sure Mom" Mary answered reluctantly. She didn't want to see what other damage her stupid mistake had caused.
She stepped into the room, squinting in the bright, florescent lights. When she could see again, she looked toward the bed in the middle of the room where Simon lay. His leg was in a large white cast, and his left arm was also bandaged. There was an IV in his hand, and a dark purple bruise on his forehead. Oh no! I did this! It's my fault! Mary's mother must have sensed her panic because she walked over and squeezed her hand. "He's Ok, Honey. You heard the doctor; he'll go home in a few days." You don't understand! Mary wanted to scream. This is my fault! My brother is laying here unconscious and my sister may be dying because of me! She couldn't deal with her mother's sympathy for another second. If she knew what Mary had done, she would be furious with her, not concerned for her. Without a word Mary turned and fled the room.
By the time Mary arrived back in the waiting room, another doctor was there. Annie came up behind Mary and asked "Is Lucy OK?"
The doctor took a deep breath before answering. "She has a broken arm and several 2nd degree burns on her right side. She suffered major smoke inhalation, so she is hooked up to an oxygen mask. At the moment she is not breathing well on her own. She was also hit pretty hard on her head. She's in a coma"
"What's a coma?" Ruthie spoke up timidly. Until she said something, Mary had almost forgotten that she was in the room.
"A coma is the body's way of protecting the brain when it suffers a major injury. She could wake up tomorrow." The doctor said gently.
Robbie suddenly began talking, "I saw a TV show where this guy was in a coma for his whole life and-" He was silenced by a glare from Annie that said, "Stop, you'll scare Ruthie." It was too late though, Ruthie had already turned white.
"What I meant was I saw this science fiction movie one time where that happened but of course it wasn't real." Robbie babbled, trying get rid of the terrified look on Ruthie's face.
"OK" Rev. Camden announced, "Matt, I want you to drive Robbie, Mary, Ruthie, and the twins to your Aunt Julie's house where you can go to sleep for awhile. It's 6 in the morning and you have been up for hours. Your mother and I will stay here. You can come back after you wake up."
"Ok" Matt answered immediately, recognizing the mood his father was in and knowing not to argue. Unfortunately Ruthie was too scared and tired to see what kind of mood Reverend Camden was in and began to whine.
"I don't wa-na! I wa-na stay he-re!" Even though she usually sounded older than 11, right now she sounded like she was 3. Matt grabbed her hand and talked to her softly before their father could get angry and she was quiet. Mary was too tired and shocked and guilt stricken to argue and she numbly followed her siblings and Robbie toward the car. Annie came with them, holding the twins, but after kissing everyone goodbye, she headed back toward the hospital.
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