Chapter 10: Grim Reality

"Ma'am…Mr. Turner…" The doctor said sadly, "I have some bad news…" I thought, No…Not that, please! He looked at me and continued: "William Joseph Turner…is alive." Mr. Turner and I sighed of relief. "But…he's in a loss of consciousness because of the accident. His vitals are normal, but he lost consciousness. I am so sorry. If you want to see him, he's in the first door on this hallway…" I sat down on a chair and wept loudly. Mr. Turner just walked away and went to the elevator. The doctor sat right next to me and I said:

"William…is he going to be alright?" the doctor nodded with a sad expression. "Will he?"

"Well…he's alive for now…let's make sure he's up…he is sleeping after all. You want to stay here a little longer?" I nodded and the doctor smiled because I am the only person that cares for William…Even his dad cared for him. "Ms. Harrison…ask Mr. Turner if you can stay…I can't take of you right now…a lot of people are in the infirmary right now and well…yeah…I am pretty stuck with patients up to my neck…" The doctor walked away and went back to his duties. I see Mr. Turner and he is waiting for the elevator with tears running down his face:

"Jude…I am sorry…I rarely cry in a moment like this…I lost someone dear…I lost my wife…now this…" The elevator bell rang and Mr. Turner came inside the elevator. "Jude…I'll see you soon…"

"Mr. Turner...Is it okay to stay here for a while?"

"Of course…You're staying because of William, huh?" I nodded honestly. "All right…you can stay in William's room for now." The elevator doors closed and the elevator went down. I pressed the button to call the elevator. When the second elevator came, I went inside immediately.

I pressed the 12th floor button and the elevator went up moderately fast. The elevator doors opened and I went inside his room. I walked around the room and it was almost 3 in the morning. I called my mom with William's home phone. I picked up the cordless and dialed home. Sadie picked up the phone after the second tone:

"Hello?"

"Sadie…"

"Jude…where are you?" I neglected to answer but I have to:

"I am in William's place right now…"

"Mom wants to talk to you…" I hung up the phone and put the cordless back in the charger. The phone rang again and I knew it was mom. I didn't pick up the phone and the answering machine came up:

"This is William Turner…I am not here right now…so please send me a message after the beep…"

"Jude…This is mom…are you okay? Come on, pick up... please." I picked up the cordless again. I answered back:

"Mom…William's not okay…" I said sadly…Damn it I can't go home right now, I thought.

"Jude…its okay to stay there because William needs you right now…" Exactly what the doctor told me.

"Thanks mom…I owe you one…" I hung up the phone and lie down on the couch and sleep the night off. William…I want to see you right now…I am so…so…I don't want to lose you, I thought.

Then morning came and I see a mirage of a person as soon as I opened my eyes. The mirage was the doctor who wheeled off William. He spoke in a happy tone:

"Jude…William's okay…" I stood up and hugged him.

"Really?" I asked. He nodded and I continued: "Where is he?" He walked away to the elevator and I followed. The elevator came up quickly and we both went inside. He pressed the 3rd floor button and went instantly to the floor. The doctor and I walked to the other side of the infirmary and wind up in this room. He opened the door and William is wide awake. I walked inside the room and the doctor said:

"I'll leave you guys alone…" The doctor left us alone and walked away to go back to his duties.

"Thanks, doc…"William said. I somehow felt relieved that William is okay. William looked at me assiduously and laughed: "Jude…you looked so worried…"

"You were going to die, William…it's not funny…It's not." I interrupted.

"Jude…"William said. Then his voice changed to someone else: 'Wake up…" I hear a sharp gasp, saying "Welcome back to reality…"

It was all a dreadful dream. The doctor had a sad expression beaming all over his face:

"Jude…I am sorry to say that…" He sighed again and continued quickly: "William…died during his coma…he flatlined two minutes ago..." I walked to him and with a puckered brow I said:

"No…he can't…he can't…you guys save people…but you lose one instead of saving one…" I held my tears for a little longer until I leave the building. The doctor sighed and said:

"Ms. Harrison…we tried everything to keep him alive…but none of them worked on William…his injuries are at a grand scale...It's almost beyond repair." I walked to the elevator and pressed a button to call it. The elevator came up real fast and went inside. "Ms. Harrison…I am so sorry…blame it on me..." I ignored him and closed the elevator. William…he's gone…why? The elevator stopped on the lobby. There were a lot of "William: you will not be forgotten" posters on the lobby. The receptionist looked at me as I went to the information desk and said:

"Jude…I am sorry to hear about William…" I walked away and ignored her plead. When I went outside, bright and sunny as always, I met with Mr. Jenkins. He isn't bothered with the whole news:

"Mr. Jenkins…"

"Yes, Ms Harrison?" He asked.

"Never mind…"

"You need a cab…Jude…" He asked. I nodded and Mr. Jenkins waved for a cab to come to our direction. After 2 seconds of waving, he sees a cab. He opened the car door and I went inside. "Ms. Harrison…see you soon…"

"Right…see you soon…" I said dejectedly. Mr. Jenkins closed the door and the cab sped off on the clear day.