Love Conquers All
::Chapter 8: How Do I Live::
Eric, Annie, Lucy, Simon, Sam, David, Ben, and Mary all sat waiting in silence. Ben and Mary caught a flight to Glenoak as soon as they found out that Kevin and Ruthie had been in an accident. The only sound to be heard amongst them was the twins playing with some toy cars, not fully aware of the fear in the eyes of their family, or the seriousness of the situation. Lucy sat there almost lifelessly, as many emotions drifted through her mind. Love, anger, fear, sadness, and hope swirled together in her mind, sharpened by the apprehension she was feeling. She didn't know how to react, what to think, or who to turn to. Her parents were just as shocked as she was.
It had been a few hours now, and still they awaited an answer from a doctor. Finally, after what seemed like thousands of years had passed, a doctor stepped into the room. "Annie? Lucy?" Hank, their doctor asked. They had been patients of his for several years.
"How are they?" Annie blurted out with fear evident in her voice.
"Well, Ruthie looked bad when first arriving to the hospital, but it was not as severe as we thought. She will be okay, she miraculously only suffered a moderate concussion, a broken arm and leg, and some cuts and bruises. She will be fine. Lucy, as with regards to Kevin…I'm afraid…" he said, his voice trailing off. The way the words left his mouth nearly left Lucy's heart in pieces. "Lucy…Kevin is in a coma. I'm sorry," Hank said.
The words burned into Lucy's soul, as they echoed in her mind. Kevin is in a coma. This sentence did not cease to repeat over and over again in her mind. She stood there, not breathing, nor blinking. As if a mannequin in a store's window, she stood, completely motionless, staring off into space. A lone tear spilled from the corner of her eye. Time seemed to be idle all in this short period of only a few seconds. Emotions continued to race around in Lucy's mind. Soon tears began to stream from Lucy's expressionless, forsaken eyes. Pain and grief struck her. She seemed in a vacant state, as if her very soul had left her. Annie cried softly, as everyone's faces presented a shocked, blank stare. No one said a word.
"I'm so sorry Lucy," Annie finally said, still crying for her daughter and son-in-law. She and Eric hugged Lucy gently. Lucy still had not spoken a word when Hank came up to her.
"Lucy, you may see Kevin if you'd like to," he said, placing his hand gently on her shoulder, "Talk to him, it might help him along. Although he might not answer you, he still may be listening." Lucy nodded slightly assuring that she had heard him. She turned and looked at Annie with a deeply saddened look and slowly followed Hank to Kevin's room.
Eric and Annie, on the other hand, went right to Ruthie's room. It wasn't that they loved Ruthie more than Kevin. That wasn't the case at all. It was just that Ruthie was their youngest daughter and they wanted to make sure that she would be okay first, and then come to visit Kevin. When they walked in her room, she was still asleep. Eric, Annie, Simon, and Mary were heartbroken when they saw their strong-willed, determined Ruthie, lying in a hospital bed.
When Lucy entered the white, unwelcoming room, what she saw devastated her. Kevin lay there, appearing lifeless. His face was covered with gashes and bruises, and several monitors were attached to him. Ben gave Lucy some time alone with Kevin. Lucy walked up beside Kevin and took his hand into hers, and more tears fell from her blue eyes. As she lifted his hand it felt cooler, and she desperately prayed to feel a squeeze in response, but did not get her wish. He did not respond, and Lucy's hope and faith began would soon begin to deteriorate. She kneeled to the ground and with Kevin's hand still in hers, laid her head on her arm, cried, and prayed in silence that she would receive a miracle. After a few moments of silence, she spoke to Kevin, whether he was conscious or not.
"Kev, baby, I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry. You don't deserve this. Why? Why you? I can't bear to see you like this. It kills me. I just want to hear you're comforting voice. I just want to feel your arms holding me close, protecting me from the world. How could this have happened? I love you so much sweetie. Please…please wake up soon. I love you with all my heart, and our children and I need you. Please, wake up soon," she whispered with a quivering voice choked with tears…
How do I,
Get through one night without you?
If I had to live without you,
What kind of life would that be?
Oh, I,
I need you in my arms, need you to hold,
You're my world, my heart, my soul,
If you ever leave,
Baby you would take away everything good in my life,
And tell me now
How do I live without you?
I want to know
How do I breathe without you,
If you ever go
How do I ever, ever survive?
How do I, oh how do I live?
Without you,
There'd be no sun in my sky,
There would be no love in my life,
There'd be no world left for me,
And I
Baby I don't know what I would do,
I'd be lost if I lost you
If you ever leave
Baby you would take away everything real in my life,
And tell me now,
How do I live without you?
I want to know,
How do I breathe without you?
If you ever go
How do I ever, ever survive?
How do I, oh how do I live
Lucy cried until she eventually fell asleep, as she sat by Kevin's side, praying that Kevin be spared and that their lives could move on.
The next morning, a nurse, who was checking Kevin's monitors, awakened Lucy. "Oh, good morning Miss," said the nurse. Lucy rubbed her red, tear-stained eyes and yawned. She smiled slightly in reply. The nurse saw the worry and fear in Lucy's eyes. "Have faith. All you can do is have faith, and hope for the best. It'll be ok-."
"-No! Don't tell me it will all be okay! It's not going to be okay! My husband is in a coma! What if he never comes out of it? Don't even tell me it's all going to be okay!" Lucy screamed, upset. The nurse didn't say a word, just looked at her almost appalled. "I-I'm sorry," Lucy apologized, "I shouldn't have screamed at you. It's not your fault. I'm sorry," she said, her voice trailing off. The nurse put a hand on Lucy's shoulder, "Don't lose your faith." She left the room and left Lucy alone with Kevin. Lucy took his hand, and again, she prayed.
A few moments later, Kevin's hand squeezed hers for a brief moment. "Kevin?!" Lucy cried. No response or squeeze came again. "KEVIN!" she screamed. Hank walked in to see what was the matter. "Lucy is something the matter?" he asked.
"He just squeezed my hand!" Lucy said hopefully.
"I don't mean to disappoint you, but sometimes coma victims exhibit reflex activities which mimic conscious activities. It may appear to you that he's conscious now, but he probably is not," Hank said truthfully, but gently.
"Oh…" was all that Lucy could manage to say. Tears started to run down her cheeks. Why can't you just let him come out of this? What have we done to deserve this?? Lucy thought.
Lucy sat and watched her husband. Every second, her faith slowly began to tick away.