Secrets and Lies – Chapter 2.
The door closed softly behind Susan, and Abby turned her head away from the door. She pressed her cheek against the pillow, stared vacantly out the window. It was getting late, the sky had begun to darken. Night was falling, and her body was failing her.
Without a miracle, this would be the last time she saw nightfall. She wouldn't wake and see the dawn again. This reality had settled heavy on her heart in the past few hours.
The silence in the room was soothing to her racing mind. She could hear life outside in the corridors, but nobody disturbed her, alone on her deathbed. They were probably all afraid, and she couldn't blame them for that.
She was terrified too. Would death hurt? Would she even know it had happened? What happened afterwards? She had seen so much death in her career as a doctor, but she had never been so starkly brought face to face with her own mortality as she was now. Was there an afterlife? She wasn't sure what she believed.
Other questions raced in her mind as well. Would they come? Would Susan carry out her last wish despite the personal feelings that were involved? Would they make in time? There was nothing like leaving things until the last minute. Never do today what you can do tomorrow, but now she had no more tomorrows. Her chances had run out. And it was now or never.
She wasn't sure what she hoped to achieve by contacting them again. Peace? She let go of any concept of that an awful long time ago. Right about the time she started to drink again. Right after they had broken her life in half. Forgiveness? Was this for her or for them? Was she doing this to hurt them one more time? To break them as they had broken her.
She only hoped they would try to get back to her. If she had ever meant anything to either of them, they would. He had claimed to love her. She'd been one of her best friends. Could they come back? Had she meant enough to them?