Hoe to Cope
Chapter 6
The sound of beeping and clicking woke Makoto the next morning. She opened her eyes to see Ami awake and a nurse, she assumed, was checking her vitals. Ami looked sore and tired, as if she hadn't slept at all that night.
"Ami?" She said, "When did you wake up?" Makoto swings her legs off the edge of the chair.
"Earlier. I'm sorry for worrying you all. And for ruining your bed sheets and pajamas." She says.
"Did you see the other girls?"
"Yeah, they left for school an hour ago. They figured you had a rough night, so they let you sleep. Minako says she'll get your work for you." Ami looked at the young man working on her. "What's your name?" She wondered.
"My name's Ryo. I work with the younger patients." he hooks up another IV bag.
"You don't look old enough to work here." She comments.
"I'm 18, I just graduated from Mugen Gakken High School last year." He looks at her chart. "Crossroads High School." He shakes his head as he reads further on her paper. He picks up her hand to examine her wrists. "Now, Ami, why would you want to do that to yourself?"
"A lot of things on my mind." Was all she said before turning away.
"You're going to be moved to the psyche ward. Which is two floors above this. And I'll get to see more of you, because that's the floor I usually work on."
She turns back to him. "When are the moving me?"
"This afternoon. Does your mom know you're here?"
"Here, no. She thinks that Makoto here." she motions toward her tall friend. "is sick and I'm staying with her. Why?" She shouldn't have asked.
"Why didn't you tell her? Because it seems that she's your doctor while you're in here."
Ami felt all the color leave her face and neck. Makoto had the same reaction, If only they had told someone about Ami trying, well, jumping off the banister, this would not be happening right now.
"What are the odds of that?" Makoto breaks the silence. "There are a hundred doctors in this damn place and Ami end up with her own mother."
"Ami?"
"Great. What else could go wrong?" Ami mumbles as she heard her mother's voice.
Dr. Mizuno came around the curtain and tried to hold back her tears. Her baby girl was laying there with her wrists taped up, on that hospital bed.
"Mom, I'm sorry." She jumped when Ryo stuck her with a needle to draw blood. She turned her head away from her mother to face Makoto. Who simply nodded. "I did this last night. Before I went to bed."
"How did Makoto find you then?"
She looks back at her mother. "You didn't get my note. I went over to Makoto's, after I tried…I tried…"
Makoto stepped in. "After she tried to jump off your banister. I had seen her running by the Arcade and I called her. She was crying when she hung up on me. So I went over and got lucky because she left her door unlocked. I got over to the balcony just as she pushed herself off, I grabbed onto her hand."
Dr. Mizuno let the tears come. She looked back at her daughter who hung her head. "Is that true Ami? Did you actually do that?"
She nodded and bit her bottom lip.
Ryo handed Dr. Mizuno, Ami's chart and left the room. She read over the part where she had been in a coma for 4 hours. She gasps at the line that read "when we went in for the blood transfusion, we found that she lost nearly 3 pints worth of blood. Her body temperature had dropped to 91 degrees."
"Ami?" She looks at her. "Why?"
"I'm depressed. I don't care what you say. I just don't care about anything anymore. I've been reading mom and I know that's a sign of depression. And that people as young as 6 can be diagnosed with depression." Ami snapped.
Her mother took a step back and Makoto was in shock. They had never seen her like this. "I'm sorry."
She kept the attitude going. "Mom, you're never home. How do you know what the hell I'm doing while you're gone. Where do you think I got all those cuts on my legs. I did them myself, while you were at work. Dammit mom, who's more important, the god damned children here, or your own daughter?"
She waited for an answer.
"You are. I had no idea that you felt like this. How come you didn't say anything to me?" she was shocked at Ami's anger.
She pauses, just long enough to catch her breathe. "You're why I didn't tell anyone. I tried to tell you that I felt down and you just simply laughed at me. You said I'm to young for depression. Well I guess you thought wrong, look where I ended up."
"I was wrong, Ami, I should have listened to what you had to say."
"Because of you, I put everything off, I didn't tell my friends, I pushed it away, thinking I've been having bad days. But those bad days became worse days. And they never went away. I felt alone that my friends where only around me because they felt sorry for me. But after what happened yesterday, I learned differently. I do have friends." She looked at Makoto. "Especially Makoto. Without her quick thinking, I would be in the morgue rather then here talking to you. Telling you how much I hate you…"
"I had a feeling you felt like that. You never shared anything with me. You were always locked in your room. I have no idea what you were doing in there, but I know you were locked in there. I did notice there was a knife missing, I meant to ask you about it, I just thought that it fell between the counter and the refrigerator. But you had it?"
Ami clenches her hands in the blanket. "Yes." Was all she said before crying.
Makoto continued sitting there, listening to what Ami had been saying to her mother. She almost lost it when she said about the cuts on her legs. She steps up to her crying friend.
"We have to move her upstairs now." A nurse walks into the room. "Dr. Mizuno, there's an emergency downstairs with a six year old with burns all over his face."
She just nods and walks out of the room…
Chapter 6
The sound of beeping and clicking woke Makoto the next morning. She opened her eyes to see Ami awake and a nurse, she assumed, was checking her vitals. Ami looked sore and tired, as if she hadn't slept at all that night.
"Ami?" She said, "When did you wake up?" Makoto swings her legs off the edge of the chair.
"Earlier. I'm sorry for worrying you all. And for ruining your bed sheets and pajamas." She says.
"Did you see the other girls?"
"Yeah, they left for school an hour ago. They figured you had a rough night, so they let you sleep. Minako says she'll get your work for you." Ami looked at the young man working on her. "What's your name?" She wondered.
"My name's Ryo. I work with the younger patients." he hooks up another IV bag.
"You don't look old enough to work here." She comments.
"I'm 18, I just graduated from Mugen Gakken High School last year." He looks at her chart. "Crossroads High School." He shakes his head as he reads further on her paper. He picks up her hand to examine her wrists. "Now, Ami, why would you want to do that to yourself?"
"A lot of things on my mind." Was all she said before turning away.
"You're going to be moved to the psyche ward. Which is two floors above this. And I'll get to see more of you, because that's the floor I usually work on."
She turns back to him. "When are the moving me?"
"This afternoon. Does your mom know you're here?"
"Here, no. She thinks that Makoto here." she motions toward her tall friend. "is sick and I'm staying with her. Why?" She shouldn't have asked.
"Why didn't you tell her? Because it seems that she's your doctor while you're in here."
Ami felt all the color leave her face and neck. Makoto had the same reaction, If only they had told someone about Ami trying, well, jumping off the banister, this would not be happening right now.
"What are the odds of that?" Makoto breaks the silence. "There are a hundred doctors in this damn place and Ami end up with her own mother."
"Ami?"
"Great. What else could go wrong?" Ami mumbles as she heard her mother's voice.
Dr. Mizuno came around the curtain and tried to hold back her tears. Her baby girl was laying there with her wrists taped up, on that hospital bed.
"Mom, I'm sorry." She jumped when Ryo stuck her with a needle to draw blood. She turned her head away from her mother to face Makoto. Who simply nodded. "I did this last night. Before I went to bed."
"How did Makoto find you then?"
She looks back at her mother. "You didn't get my note. I went over to Makoto's, after I tried…I tried…"
Makoto stepped in. "After she tried to jump off your banister. I had seen her running by the Arcade and I called her. She was crying when she hung up on me. So I went over and got lucky because she left her door unlocked. I got over to the balcony just as she pushed herself off, I grabbed onto her hand."
Dr. Mizuno let the tears come. She looked back at her daughter who hung her head. "Is that true Ami? Did you actually do that?"
She nodded and bit her bottom lip.
Ryo handed Dr. Mizuno, Ami's chart and left the room. She read over the part where she had been in a coma for 4 hours. She gasps at the line that read "when we went in for the blood transfusion, we found that she lost nearly 3 pints worth of blood. Her body temperature had dropped to 91 degrees."
"Ami?" She looks at her. "Why?"
"I'm depressed. I don't care what you say. I just don't care about anything anymore. I've been reading mom and I know that's a sign of depression. And that people as young as 6 can be diagnosed with depression." Ami snapped.
Her mother took a step back and Makoto was in shock. They had never seen her like this. "I'm sorry."
She kept the attitude going. "Mom, you're never home. How do you know what the hell I'm doing while you're gone. Where do you think I got all those cuts on my legs. I did them myself, while you were at work. Dammit mom, who's more important, the god damned children here, or your own daughter?"
She waited for an answer.
"You are. I had no idea that you felt like this. How come you didn't say anything to me?" she was shocked at Ami's anger.
She pauses, just long enough to catch her breathe. "You're why I didn't tell anyone. I tried to tell you that I felt down and you just simply laughed at me. You said I'm to young for depression. Well I guess you thought wrong, look where I ended up."
"I was wrong, Ami, I should have listened to what you had to say."
"Because of you, I put everything off, I didn't tell my friends, I pushed it away, thinking I've been having bad days. But those bad days became worse days. And they never went away. I felt alone that my friends where only around me because they felt sorry for me. But after what happened yesterday, I learned differently. I do have friends." She looked at Makoto. "Especially Makoto. Without her quick thinking, I would be in the morgue rather then here talking to you. Telling you how much I hate you…"
"I had a feeling you felt like that. You never shared anything with me. You were always locked in your room. I have no idea what you were doing in there, but I know you were locked in there. I did notice there was a knife missing, I meant to ask you about it, I just thought that it fell between the counter and the refrigerator. But you had it?"
Ami clenches her hands in the blanket. "Yes." Was all she said before crying.
Makoto continued sitting there, listening to what Ami had been saying to her mother. She almost lost it when she said about the cuts on her legs. She steps up to her crying friend.
"We have to move her upstairs now." A nurse walks into the room. "Dr. Mizuno, there's an emergency downstairs with a six year old with burns all over his face."
She just nods and walks out of the room…