Chapter 6: Awakening
It had been two days since the suicide attempt and Andy was glued to Ephram's bedside. Ephram's condition had not changed. As the hours passed, Andy got more and more desperate. He rested his elbows on Ephram's bed watching his son sleep.
"Son, please wake up. Don't do this to me. I swear I'll take better care of you. You and Delia are my whole world, you hear? We still need you...I need you." Andy sobbed in despair as he buried his head in his arms.
Suddenly, Ephram started to wake. He breathed a quiet sigh and opened his eyes. Ephram had no idea where he was. He thought he died because he didn't feel any pain, but as his senses became more acute, the pain slowly spread throughout his body and he realized he was indeed alive. In pain, but still alive. He tried to move his arms but they weighed a ton. His mouth was parched and his tongue felt like sandpaper. It was a task trying to swallow. He glanced at his father, who was sobbing quite loudlyby his beside. Ephram hadn't seen his father cry this way since his mother's funeral. "Oh Ephram..I need you..." Andy kept saying. Ephram tried to say "Dad" but it came out as a loud grunt, which no doubt caught Andy's attention.
"Ephram? Ephram! You're awake!!" Andy exclaimed wiping his tears away. Ephram swallowed hard and sucked in oxygen deeply. He was gearing himself up to say something understandable. "You in pain? Maybe the nurse can give you something.." Andy continued as he was about to get up.
"Noo!.Da..don't go.." Ephram groaned. Yes, he was in pain but he didn't want his father to leave his side. He cleared his throat as his voice was returning.
"OK..I won't." Andy said. "You gave us quite a scare. You were out cold for two days. You had me so worried."
"Sorry." Ephram stared at the ceiling. His chin quivered and streams of tears flowed out of his greenish-gray eyes. Tears dripped in his ears and down his cheeks. Andy wanted to hold Ephram in his arms and never let go.
"Don't cry. Please don't cry, baby." Andy whispered and wiped Ephram's tears gently with his palm. "It wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong. I don't know what I have to do or say to make you believe that. You didn't have anything to do with it. It would've happpened regardless. It was her fate."
"I miss her." Ephram cried and stiffled a sob. He felt his heart race making the heart monitor beep faster. "I miss her so much!"
"I miss her too." Andy replied. "She may be dead but she's very much alive in spirit. And you know what's even better? She's alive in our hearts and she knows we loved her and that we miss her. She would've wanted us to move on and live life to the fullest. It's hard, but we gotta try and take one day at a time." Ephram closed his eyes tight but the tears continued to fall.
"I know we've never really talked about Julia's death when we should have. It just hurt too much. I didn't realize not talking about it hurt you more than it hurt me. And I'm sorry. Ephram, promise me you'll never do this again. I've already lost one person I loved, I can't bear to lose another one." Andy continued.
"I'm afraid!" Ephram yelled between uncontrollable sobs. He breathed deeply for oxygen.
"Afraid?" Andy asked confusedly and was beginning to notice the heart monitor beeping more rapidly.
"Afraid of losing you! What if I lost you like I lost mom? I'm afraid of losing you, dad. I." Ephram found it a bit difficult to breathe with all the excitement. He felt light-headed and gasped for air.
"It's ok, Ephram.. Calm down. I'm here. I won't leave you.ever." He said soothingly rubbing Ephram's shoulder for him to relax. "Come on, breathe.there you go. Relax."
Ephram calmed down a bit but was still crying. He hurt. His shoulders felt pinned down. He could barely move his arms. He felt nauseous but was too weak to vomit, though he didn't have anything in his stomach to throw up.
"Ephram? Are you in pain?" Andy asked worriedly. Ephram nodded. "I'll be right back." Andy went to get the nurse.
Mrs. Caine, the nurse on duty, made a big fuss over Ephram and he enjoyed the motherly affection he was getting. She gave Ephram a shot of antibiotics and told him that if he needed anything else, all he had to do was ask.
"Feeling any better?" Andy asked after a short while.
"A bit." Ephram winced. The tears had stopped. "What time is it?"
"A little after 8 pm, Saturday. I'm glad you're going to be ok. I didn't know how to explain this to Delia. I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. She thinks you had an accident. She wants to see you so badly. And your friends are outside. They were worried sick about you. If you want to see them.."
"No. I can't face them right now. Especially Delia. I just can't."
"It's ok, you don't have to see them if you don't want to. You'll see them when you're ready." Andy said seeing Ephram almost on the verge of tears again. "You'll be alright, Ephram. You'll see. We'll go thru this together."
"I'm not going to see a shrink." Ephram said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Nobody said you had to." It forced a tiny smile on Andy's lips. "Kiddo, the first thing I'm gonna do when you get outta here is feed you. You're just skin and bones now."
Ephram was a little surprised to hear his dad call him 'Kiddo' since he hadn't been called that pet name by him since he was five. It was comforting to know that his dad remembered.
"And once you've recovered and been well fed, what say you and I spend a weekend camping? Everwood's gotta be good for something. It'll be just the two of us. Kinda like a getting-to-know-each-other outting? Delia can sleep over at Nina's. She'd like that. Delia and Sam seem to be inseparable these days. What do you say?" Andy rambled.
"OK." Ephram cracked a tiny smile. Andy hadn't seen his son smile in a long time. The drugs were starting to work on Ephram. He felt a bit drowsy no matter how hard he tried to fight it.
"You alright?" Andy touched Ephram's arm.
"Hmmmm. Yea, just a bit tired."
"You'd better get some rest then." Ephram refused to sleep because he was afraid his father would leave his side. He just looked at his father without saying a word. "Go on, sleep. Close your eyes. I'll be right here. Promise."
Andy pulled the covers up and tucked Ephram in. He loved Ephram so much. He gently placed one of Ephram's bandaged hand into his. Ephram was only able to wiggle his fingers but he wanted to hold his father's hand.
"Kiddo, go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake. Trust me. I will." Andy said in almost a whisper. Ephram closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"Dad?" Ephram said sleepily.
"Yep?" Andy answered.
"I love you." Ephram whispered. Andy smiled as he heard those words come out of his son's mouth. Words he longed to hear. He reached over and kissed Ephram on the forehead.
"I love you too Ephram." Andy said and watched Ephram sleep. It would be the first good sleep he's had in months. Somehow, Andy and Ephram knew in their hearts that things will work out for them given one day at a time. Ephram was not sure how to face his friends after this ordeal, but he figures he'll take it slow. The pain and grief was still there, but now he didn't have to bottle up his emotions. He had someone to walk the mile with. He was not alone. He hadn't realized it before, but he knows it now. His father loved and cared about him immensely. It was a beginning.
***** The Start ******
It had been two days since the suicide attempt and Andy was glued to Ephram's bedside. Ephram's condition had not changed. As the hours passed, Andy got more and more desperate. He rested his elbows on Ephram's bed watching his son sleep.
"Son, please wake up. Don't do this to me. I swear I'll take better care of you. You and Delia are my whole world, you hear? We still need you...I need you." Andy sobbed in despair as he buried his head in his arms.
Suddenly, Ephram started to wake. He breathed a quiet sigh and opened his eyes. Ephram had no idea where he was. He thought he died because he didn't feel any pain, but as his senses became more acute, the pain slowly spread throughout his body and he realized he was indeed alive. In pain, but still alive. He tried to move his arms but they weighed a ton. His mouth was parched and his tongue felt like sandpaper. It was a task trying to swallow. He glanced at his father, who was sobbing quite loudlyby his beside. Ephram hadn't seen his father cry this way since his mother's funeral. "Oh Ephram..I need you..." Andy kept saying. Ephram tried to say "Dad" but it came out as a loud grunt, which no doubt caught Andy's attention.
"Ephram? Ephram! You're awake!!" Andy exclaimed wiping his tears away. Ephram swallowed hard and sucked in oxygen deeply. He was gearing himself up to say something understandable. "You in pain? Maybe the nurse can give you something.." Andy continued as he was about to get up.
"Noo!.Da..don't go.." Ephram groaned. Yes, he was in pain but he didn't want his father to leave his side. He cleared his throat as his voice was returning.
"OK..I won't." Andy said. "You gave us quite a scare. You were out cold for two days. You had me so worried."
"Sorry." Ephram stared at the ceiling. His chin quivered and streams of tears flowed out of his greenish-gray eyes. Tears dripped in his ears and down his cheeks. Andy wanted to hold Ephram in his arms and never let go.
"Don't cry. Please don't cry, baby." Andy whispered and wiped Ephram's tears gently with his palm. "It wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong. I don't know what I have to do or say to make you believe that. You didn't have anything to do with it. It would've happpened regardless. It was her fate."
"I miss her." Ephram cried and stiffled a sob. He felt his heart race making the heart monitor beep faster. "I miss her so much!"
"I miss her too." Andy replied. "She may be dead but she's very much alive in spirit. And you know what's even better? She's alive in our hearts and she knows we loved her and that we miss her. She would've wanted us to move on and live life to the fullest. It's hard, but we gotta try and take one day at a time." Ephram closed his eyes tight but the tears continued to fall.
"I know we've never really talked about Julia's death when we should have. It just hurt too much. I didn't realize not talking about it hurt you more than it hurt me. And I'm sorry. Ephram, promise me you'll never do this again. I've already lost one person I loved, I can't bear to lose another one." Andy continued.
"I'm afraid!" Ephram yelled between uncontrollable sobs. He breathed deeply for oxygen.
"Afraid?" Andy asked confusedly and was beginning to notice the heart monitor beeping more rapidly.
"Afraid of losing you! What if I lost you like I lost mom? I'm afraid of losing you, dad. I." Ephram found it a bit difficult to breathe with all the excitement. He felt light-headed and gasped for air.
"It's ok, Ephram.. Calm down. I'm here. I won't leave you.ever." He said soothingly rubbing Ephram's shoulder for him to relax. "Come on, breathe.there you go. Relax."
Ephram calmed down a bit but was still crying. He hurt. His shoulders felt pinned down. He could barely move his arms. He felt nauseous but was too weak to vomit, though he didn't have anything in his stomach to throw up.
"Ephram? Are you in pain?" Andy asked worriedly. Ephram nodded. "I'll be right back." Andy went to get the nurse.
Mrs. Caine, the nurse on duty, made a big fuss over Ephram and he enjoyed the motherly affection he was getting. She gave Ephram a shot of antibiotics and told him that if he needed anything else, all he had to do was ask.
"Feeling any better?" Andy asked after a short while.
"A bit." Ephram winced. The tears had stopped. "What time is it?"
"A little after 8 pm, Saturday. I'm glad you're going to be ok. I didn't know how to explain this to Delia. I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. She thinks you had an accident. She wants to see you so badly. And your friends are outside. They were worried sick about you. If you want to see them.."
"No. I can't face them right now. Especially Delia. I just can't."
"It's ok, you don't have to see them if you don't want to. You'll see them when you're ready." Andy said seeing Ephram almost on the verge of tears again. "You'll be alright, Ephram. You'll see. We'll go thru this together."
"I'm not going to see a shrink." Ephram said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Nobody said you had to." It forced a tiny smile on Andy's lips. "Kiddo, the first thing I'm gonna do when you get outta here is feed you. You're just skin and bones now."
Ephram was a little surprised to hear his dad call him 'Kiddo' since he hadn't been called that pet name by him since he was five. It was comforting to know that his dad remembered.
"And once you've recovered and been well fed, what say you and I spend a weekend camping? Everwood's gotta be good for something. It'll be just the two of us. Kinda like a getting-to-know-each-other outting? Delia can sleep over at Nina's. She'd like that. Delia and Sam seem to be inseparable these days. What do you say?" Andy rambled.
"OK." Ephram cracked a tiny smile. Andy hadn't seen his son smile in a long time. The drugs were starting to work on Ephram. He felt a bit drowsy no matter how hard he tried to fight it.
"You alright?" Andy touched Ephram's arm.
"Hmmmm. Yea, just a bit tired."
"You'd better get some rest then." Ephram refused to sleep because he was afraid his father would leave his side. He just looked at his father without saying a word. "Go on, sleep. Close your eyes. I'll be right here. Promise."
Andy pulled the covers up and tucked Ephram in. He loved Ephram so much. He gently placed one of Ephram's bandaged hand into his. Ephram was only able to wiggle his fingers but he wanted to hold his father's hand.
"Kiddo, go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake. Trust me. I will." Andy said in almost a whisper. Ephram closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"Dad?" Ephram said sleepily.
"Yep?" Andy answered.
"I love you." Ephram whispered. Andy smiled as he heard those words come out of his son's mouth. Words he longed to hear. He reached over and kissed Ephram on the forehead.
"I love you too Ephram." Andy said and watched Ephram sleep. It would be the first good sleep he's had in months. Somehow, Andy and Ephram knew in their hearts that things will work out for them given one day at a time. Ephram was not sure how to face his friends after this ordeal, but he figures he'll take it slow. The pain and grief was still there, but now he didn't have to bottle up his emotions. He had someone to walk the mile with. He was not alone. He hadn't realized it before, but he knows it now. His father loved and cared about him immensely. It was a beginning.
***** The Start ******
