Sorry for the lack of updating on this story in...wow a year exactly. Life got away from me, what can I say? I got caught up in other writing projects and haven't had time to even watch Degrassi, let alone write about it. Now that it's summer and I started watching again, I realized that I wanted to write more to this. I don't know if anyone is still reading it or remembers it but hopefully someone will read...
Craig awoke the next morning, his hands still stinging from the cuts. He had fallen asleep on the couch after cleaning up the mess he had made. He sat up slowly, his temples pounding, the light piercing his eyes. When he finally gathered his thoughts, the first thing that came to mind was Ellie. Sitting up with a wince he reached for the phone. He dialed Ellie's cell phone. When there was no answer he tried the hospital.
"Hi I'm looking for Ellie Nash. Her mother is a patient in ICU. This is her, um, fiance, Craig."
The receptionist who answered the phone placed him on hold for a minute before coming back on the line. "We were unable to locate her but her father is here. Would you like to speak with him?"
"Yes please."
Mr. Nash came on the phone a minute later. "Craig?"
"Hi. How is…everything?"
Mr. Nash took a deep breath. "Not good, Craig. Not good."
Ellie awoke that morning with a painful ache of her own, her's in her neck from her slumped position on the chair in the hospital waiting room. She shifted and realized that her father must have laid his jacket over her sometime during the night. She opened her eyes carefully and squinted as she looked around the room. Her father was nowhere in sight. She guessed he was either getting them some breakfast or in her mother's room.
She sat up and stretched, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Picking up her father's jacket, she stood up and went down the hall towards her mother's room. She peered though the window, seeing that her mother was the room's only occupant. She knocked gently before pushing the door open and stepping inside. The room was dimly lit, the curtains still drawn. The only sound was the steady beeping of the heart monitor and the sound of Ellie's boots on the tile. She turned around to gently close the door and when she turned back, her mother's eyes were open.
"Hi honey," Mrs. Nash said in a hoarse whisper.
"Hi," Ellie replied after a moment of surprised silence. She slowly came over to the side of the bed. "H-how are you feeling?"
"Okay. Where's your father?"
"I don't know. He was gone when I woke up."
Mrs. Nash nodded. "Did you talk to any doctors?"
Ellie shook her head slowly. "No, not today. Why?" She felt her mother take her hand and dreaded what was coming.
"Ellie…"
"What, Mom? What is it?"
Mrs. Nash smiled slightly. "You've gotten so beautiful."
Ellie felt her chest tighten. "Mom, please...just tell me."
"The surgery that they did yesterday…" Mrs. Nash paused as the effort to speak was obviously taking its toll on her. "It was unsuccessful."
"What do you mean it was unsuccessful?"
"Well without all the technical doctor babble…my body can't accept a new liver." Mrs. Nash put her other hand over her daughter's, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Wh-what…what does that mean?" Ellie asked in a tiny voice.
"It means…" Mrs. Nash took a deep breath and looked away. "We need to say goodbye."
Short but a pivotal moment nonetheless. I hope my updates will be quick (less than a year in between this time!) but I'm not sure when the next one will be up. In the meantime let me know if you're still reading and enjoying!
