Together Forever

The Cold Sterilized Hallway

There is a feint noise as you hear the clinging of keys searching for their entrance. A woman enters the front door. This woman is wearing black heels with a slick red dress that shows the outline of her curves very well. You can see that her make-up was carefully applied and her curly black hair danced to the movement of her body, floating over her shoulders. Her grey-blue eyes have a hypnotizing effect as if you are staring at the cosmos, trying to reveal its secrets of origin. Who is this woman? Where did she come from? Is she the same woman that she was and hour, a day or a week ago, or is this woman somebody completely different? What made her to change? As she walks across the cold tile floor you can hear the click-clack of her shoes, it echoes through the almost empty apartment. Carefully as it’s possible, she tries not to make too much noise, yet she’s somewhat unsucsessful in that endeavour, as she struggles to find her way through the dim light from the street, which is fighting to drive the shadows away.

She openend the door to the bedroom, which made a creaking noise. The man was already half awake and waiting for her entrance. “What took you so long?” the question came from the man as he reached over to the nightstand, searching for the lightswitch. “There was a situation at work today, so I went out with some friends” the woman replied. Was he truly worried about her, or was this question asked out of habbit? As the man sat upright in bed he held out his hand and said “come here, let me help you to relax.” Without hessitation, the woman walked over to the bed, slowly removing her shoes as she continues to move towards him.

In that light she looked mysterious as the shadows danced over her beautiful face, while her movements were seductive. She came to stand on the right side of the bed placing her tired hands on his shoulders, where he was waiting anxiously with a smile of care. Before anyone was any wiser, he grabed her by the waist and she fell on top of him, as gravity pulled them both to the bed and into a passionate kiss. As their breathing got heavy from this kiss, the man stretched his arms around the woman and both were locked in a warm embrace.

With a hessitant move, the woman began to pull her head back; breaking the kiss in the proses, she swept a strand of hair from her face. Her eyes locked onto those beautiful and mesmerizing blue eyes of her man where she found comfort, more than often. As she struggled to search for the right words she turned her head to the side and rolled onto the bed, sitting upright with her head bowed in sadness. She needed to tell him, but the fear of how he’ll react was overwhelming. It’s been a few weeks now that she was not herself, he could sense that something was bothering her. He could see the turmoil as her lips started to move as if they are in a war to try and shape the words that struggled to break free from an internal prison.

“Honey, there’s something that I need to tell you” the words finally floated through the air. With one hand on her leg the man gently moved his other hand up and down her arm as if he is trying to comfort her, all the while staring into her glinstening eyes. A small conscern started to appear on his forehead as he replied with his own question. “What is it, dear? You know, you can tell me anything.” As these words found their way to her ears, a tear started to form; this was just what she wanted to hear, yet a linguiring fear was still stirring in the pit of her stomach. “Good”, her reply came “there is something…” she paused for a minute to compose herself. “I’ve missed my last period” the words shattered the silence of the night.

Suddenly there’s a loud buzzing noize that directs his attention to the new development at hand. “Where am… what the hell…” the shock jerked him into knocking a waterbottle off of the nightstand. Half out of breath, with sweat dripping from his forehead he reached for his phone. “Oh s**t, it was just another dream” the relief came as he squinted at the screen to see who is calling him this early in the morning. “Hello?” he awnsered, his voice sounding sratchy from being asleep.

“Jonathan, you know it’s three in the morning…” the question was interrupted, before he could finish. “

Sean, there’s been an accident” the reply came as you could hear the shock and grief in Jonothan’s voice.

“What happened?” he asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting upright on the bed as to better comprehend the news.

“He is in the hospital, it was an accident” Jonothan repeated as he burst into tears.

“Who Jonothan? Who was in an accident?!” Sean asked with ever growing concern in his voice, almost feeling the panic of not knowing.

Jonothan struggled to compose himself and handed the phone to a friend “it was Kyle; we are at the Cleaverhill Hospital. Come now!” Silence remained.

Without thinking, Sean pulled the covers off and rushed over to find pants and a shirt that was on the floor, stumbeling to find his balance, leaning on his desk in front of the window. As he struggled to quickly dress, he looked over the town and the quiet of the night. For a moment he got lost thinking “what the hell happened?” Not wanting to waste any more time he run towards the front door, not thinking twice about his messed up hair. He was halfway towards the door when he remembered he left his phone the bedroom. “f**k, I do not have time for this” he almost shouted out of frustration as he quickly turned around to get this phone. “Stupid, stupid, stupid i***t…” he kept mumbling to himself as he rushed back. The keys to his car was exactly where he left them on the kitchen counter last night, right next to a few empty bottles of wine. “No wonder I feel like s**t, look at what happened here…” the thought entered his mind as he rushed past the evidence of the night before towards the door.

Running down the long hall of the building towards the elevator, he accidentily drops his keys “f**k!” he shouted as he had to stop and turn around to pick up the keys from the discoloured old carpet. Somewhat out of breath and a vein or two that started to pop up on his neck from frustration off his clumseyness he presses the button for the elevator. Waiting, for what feeled like and eternity for the elevator to arrive at the 10th floor, he slaps his hand on his ass to find his wallet. Moving his hand anxiously across his ass and over to the front of this black jeans he finally sighs with relief as he has found what he’s been looking for. With a swift whooshing sound the elevator stops and ding goes the bell as the doors started to open. “Come on, come on” he aggressively mutters while his fingers continuously presses the button for the lobby. “Come on, I don’t have time…” he grunts at the doors while they are slowly closing; moving uneasily around the empty space.

Grabbing his phone he tries to call Jonothan to let him know that he’s on his way “s**t, no signal!” He thows his head backwards as the frustration just keep on adding to his anxiety. “I hate this old building!” he thinks to himself as he quickly opened the messenger. “I am leaving the building now” his fingers struggles to type on the screen as they cannot stop from shaking. After reaching the lobby, with the phone still in one hand he rushes towards the parking garage, trying to avoid colliding with the cleaning guy who is busy mopping the tiles of the entrance. As the musty and warm air pushed in his face from entering the parking garage, he quickly gasps for air, but this cannot destract him now. “I hope that jackass did not park his SUV next to my car tonight” the memory of what one of his neighbours did last weekend enterend his mind. “Good, her husband is out of town” he whispered to himself as he approached his old Toyota Tazz. With a press of a button the alarm sounded and the doors opened. Sean hopped in the car and in haste he is out of the parking. As he dashed out of the building, the one night guard just shouted to slow down as went past him at the gate. “No time to slow down pal” he shouted in the car as he half mindedly turned into the alley.

As the hospital is 8km away from his flat he needs to get a move on. “At least there’s no traffic this time in the morning” he thinks to himself as he reaches for the hazard button on the dashboard. His head quickly shifts from right to left as he runs over the first stop sign. Driving abscent mindedly over the speed limit there is no red light that can stop him to get to the hospital now. “What the hell happened tonight?” he thought as he speeds down the road. “Why was he on the road in that part of town in the dead of night?” he keeps wondering, trying to understand the situation. Suddenly Sean leaned on the horn while stepping on the brake to swerve to the left side as a stray dog ran over the road by the old bridge that was on the outscurts of the city. “f*****g dog!” he screamed as the veins on his neck became visible again from the continued frustration. “Almost there. Just hold on Kyle, I’m almost there” he tries to calm himself as his eyes are starting to fill with tears.

Pulling his car into the parkinglot, almost right in front of the doors at the emergency room Sean jumped out without worrying about locking the car. At that point he could not care less about something as trivial as a car while Kyle needs him. Out of breath and feeling nauseated he bursts through the doors taking a whiff of that all too familiar smell of a hospital. He never did care for a hospital as it always made him feel sick to his stomach. Tonight is no different. If it’s at all possible he felt even worse, not knowing what waited at the end of that sterilized hallway. Rushing past the receptionist who was busy fiddling with her phone he ran towards the end of the hall where the waiting area was. There Jonothan was, with Michelle by his side.

Jonothan was sitting in one of the chairs with his head in his hands and Sean could see him sobbing, though he did not hear any distinct sounds. Michelle was sitting next to him, her eyes puffy and red with a few tears still rolling down the side of her face as she tried to calm Jonothan. As Sean was witnessing this scene in front of him, there was no keeping it together anymore. An even greater panic gripped his chest as he could feel the air leave his lungs. Michelle was the first one to notice Sean standing in front of them and she sprung to her feet, almost leaping towards Sean. Her arms grabbed him around the neck as she cried in the warmth of his shoulder. Sean embraced her and gave her a comforting hug; letting her know that he also feels frightened. With as much strength as possible he worked up the courage to ask “where’s Kyle? What is going on?”

Michelle lifted her head from his chest, looked him straight in the eye and said “he’s still in surgery. All we know is; that it’s bad. The doctors haven’t said anything yet. They just rushed him straight into surgery.” Trying to seek comfort, he gave Michelle another hug. With a whipering voice he asked, “how long has he been in there?” “Well we got here and hour ago and by then they were already busy operating on him” she said, trying to catch a breath between the crying.

“What the hell happened out there tonight?” Sean asked with shock in his eyes. “Aparently Kyle was driving in his car when he wrapped it around a tree along the side of Pelican Ave.” Michelle responded while folding her tissue. “Did anyone see how it happened? Was anyone with him?” Sean looked at Michelle, trying to find the awnser in her expression. “No, he was alone. Well that’s what they told me.” Staring at her with confusion Sean asked “it’s what ‘they’ told you? Who’s ‘they’?” Michelle broke free from his embrace and turned around to look over at Jonothan “the paramedics who were on the scene. One of the guys knows Jonothan and called him enroute from the scene.” Sean was shocked by this news “what… are you telling me Jonothan was the one that got the call?” “Yes, they called him and he immediately called me. I got in my car and went to pick him up at house and we both came directly here.” Michelle replied as she walked over to the chairs. “And here we all are, still waiting to hear what is going on” she said, as she sat down next to Jonothan.

“How is he taking it?” Sean asked as he took a seat next to her while resting his arm around her shoulders, glancing over at Jonothan who is still in a haze of crying. Removing the tears with a tissue and holding it up to her nose she replied “he’s taking it real bad. I’ve tried to keep him calm, but they had to inject him with a mild relaxant, after having an episode. All he’s been doing for the past twenty minutes is cry.” Sean got up and walked over to take a seat on the other side of Jonothan; without saying a word he just placed his arm around his shoulders and let him continiue to cry. Sean looked up in Michelle’s face and saw the growing fear in her eyes and he just let his own head hang in grief as the tears dripped down onto the floor.

“Se… Sean…?” the question came with a hessistant tone from Jonothan. “Yes…?” he replied. “Sean, will my brother be allright?” Jonothan asked with a destinctive crack in his voice. “P.. please, tell me that… that he’ll be allright.” Sean leaned over to hug the boy “I sure as hell hope so buddy. I sure hope so.” “I cannot loose him, he’s all I’ve got left” Jonothan said as he burst into tears again; his whole body shaking. Michelle put her arms around him and the three of them sat there in silence for almost thirty minutes, crying. It was not long before Jonothan fell asleep as the injection started to kick in. Sean made him more comfortable as he put his head down on the chairs and stretched out his legs. As he got up to look at this twenty four year old boy, he could not help to feel empathy for him, going through this difficult shock so soon after what happened.

Walking over to Michelle who was busy sending a text, he asked “why isn’t Kelly with him?” As she pressed send, Michelle looked up at Sean “she had a shift tonight. I just updated her on the situation. Not that there’s really anything to say…” “When does her shift end?” Sean asked while tapping nervously with his fingers as his arms are crossed. There’s a ping sound and Michelle looked at her phone. “She says she’ll be here just after six.” Her fingers moved to reply to the text. “Good, Jonothan will need all the support he can get.” Sean said as he became more uneasy from the waiting.

“Argh, this waiting is killing me” Sean whispered in a frustrated tone as he let his head rest in the palm of his right hand. “Why can’t anyone just tell us what is going on…?” he asked as Michelle just looked at Jonothan who was finally at peace, all the while Sean paced up and down. “Someone is coming this way” Sean said as he quickly walked to look around the corner. Michelle got up and walked over to where Sean almost completely disappeared, not straying too far as she cannot leave Jonothan alone. She peeked around the corner and saw Sean walking towards the doctor. “How is he… will he be allright… can we see him?” Sean rambled the questions, anxiously searching for an awnser. “I’d rather want to speak to everyone” the doctor replied as he pointed to Michelle and Jonothan who’s just around the corner. “Allright” Sean said with a sigh as he walked with the doctor.

“Jonny… Jonny, wake up” Michelle whispered as she tried to wake him. “Wha… What? He replied being a bit disoriented. “The doctor is finally here with some news” she said as she brushed her hand along his shoulder. He rubbed his eyes to try and be more alert, while Michelle helped him to get up as the doctor approached them, with Sean following in his footsteps. “So, what is his condition, doctor?” Michelle asked with great concern in her eyes. “Well, he’s stable, for now” the doctor said as everyone could see from the expression on his face that this was not all. “He sustained severe injuries. His right leg is broken and the ligaments in his left ankle are torn” the doctor continued to lay out the severity of the situation. “Further he has three broken ribs and severe head trauma.”

Jonothan turned into Michelle’s arms to cry. “Will he be allright, doctor?” Sean asked as he stood next to Michelle with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. “It’s too soon to tell for sure, as there is still severe swelling on the brain. We have to releave some of the pressure, so I’ve scheduled him for surgery as soon as they are ready” the doctor said as he tried to reassure them as best he could. “Could we see him” Jonothan asked as he was struggling to catch his breath. “His vitals are stable, but he is not awake at the moment. No, we are prepping him” he replied with concern in his voice; placing his hand on Michelle’s elbow. “What do you mean he’s not awake yet?” Sean asked as his voice trembles. “The swelling caused him to go into a semi-coma. Untill that is corrected, we cannot be sure what his condition really is.” “How long before we can see him?” Michelle asked. “We will have a better idea after the surgery. Perhaps about two hours” the doctor said as he looked at his watch. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to make sure they are ready for the surgeon” the words came as he started to turn around and walk away, down the hall towards the room where all the machines are beeping like crazy.

“Hello” the greeting came in a tired tone as they were still waiting for the surgery to end. Sean did not even notice what time it was.

“Hi, sweety, I’m so glad that you are here” Mihelle replied, getting up to greet Kelly. She was still standing in her nurse’ uniform.

“How is Kyle?” she asked looking over at Sean.

“He’s still in surgery” he replied, looking tired and scared at the same time.

“They should be done, soon. It’s been more than two hours now” Michelle said as she took a sip of coffee. “It’s the swelling on the brain that they are concerned about.”

“s**t, it does not sound good.” Kelly said as she walked over to where Jonothan was already asleep again.

“No it does not. This waiting is killing us.” Michelle answered while she took a seet again. “He’s asleep” looking over to Jonothan “they had to sedate him.”

“It’s probably for the best” Kelly whispered as she stroked him lightly on the shoulder as she watched his breathing.

“Would you like some cofffee?” Sean interrupted her gaze.

“Yes, please. That would be nice.” Kelly said without even looking in his direction.

Even though Kyle is in surgery, she could not help to be concerned on how this is affecting Jonothan. He’s in a very fragile state and this is not helping at all. She took a seat next to where he was sleeping, placed her hand on his head, staring at him; speechless.

“Here you go” she was ripped from a deep thought as Sean held out a cup of coffee. You could smell the strong aroma, yet it looked so weak.

“Thank, you darling” she replied with half a smile.

Looking at this face in the mirror, he felt empty inside. Emtpy and cold. His heart was heavy, his lungs breathing intensely. A million thoughts tried to push their way though his mind, but the fog was too much for one to make any sense. Confused and scared, he reached for his phone. “I need to talk to you” his fingers typed, hessitating for a moment, before sending it. Slowly he opened the tap to splash water on his face.

“I cannot do this anymore!” he shouted as he threw his hands into the air.

“What to you want me to do?!” the replied snapped back at him.

“I need things to change! It cannot continue like this! It feels like I do not know you anymore.” The anger on his face was visible, but it’s the hurt, that deepend hurt that darkened his eyes.

“You’re putting me in a difficult situaion…” but before he could finish this argument Kyle stormed out the door, the room became queit.

“I should’ve never let him leave” Sean thought to himself as he lifted his head to stare back at the reflection in the mirror, water dripping from his face. “I should have never…” He was pulled back to reality when he noticed voices outside in the hall. He dried his face and opened the door.

As he emereged from the bathroom, the doctor was standing with Michelle and Kelly. The look on his face was not hard to miss. He appeared to be tired. Perhaps it was the surgery that took its toll. Perhaps it’s Kyle. The doctor turned his head around to look at Sean as he approaced them.

“The surgery was a success.” He said as Sean came to stand next to him.

“We were able to relieve the pressure. All we can do now is wait for him to wake up.” He spoke while observing the expressions on their faces.

“Doctor, when will he wake up?” Sean was the first to jump at the question.

“As I said, we’ll have to wait. There is nothing else we can do now, but wait” he replied.

“Can we see him?” Michelle asked, almost out of breath.

“Only for a minute” Doctor Connors replied as he turned around, arm stretched to his side to indicate that she could follow him.

“You go ahead. I’ll stay here with Jonny for a while.” Kelly said as she turned around to sit back down.

Sean wrapped his arm around Michelle and they walked with Doctor Connors down the hall. That cold and setrelized hallway. With every step the alarming sounds from the machines echoed in a deafaning tone. He could tasted the tension forming in his stomach. Is this my punishent? Am I responsible for what happened? The thoughts raced in his mind; twisting the tension even more.

Doctor conners pulled the curtain away “I’ll give you a minute” he said as he walked out into the hall. She looked at Kyle, lying without movement. She jerked her head to the side and fell into Sean’ arms. “I cannot look at him like this” she cried. She pushed her way from his arms and stormed out of the room “I cannot look at him like this” she mumbled as her shadow disappeard around the corner into the hall. Sean stood there, frrozen in disbelief. Tubes and wires were all over his face. It looked if they strangled him. Strangled the last bit of life that was visible. His face was pink, blue, green and red from all the bruses. His leg in a cast. His breathing was silenced by the noise the machines made. “Kyle” he whispered “I’m so sorry...” he soflty cried as he took Kyle’s hand into his own. “Please, I need you to know” he just stood next to him, crying.

There was a voice speaking behind him and he turned around “we’re going to move him to a room now.” The nurse said as she walked around to the other side of the bed. Letting go of his hand, placing it gently besides his body; the body without movement, he turned to join the others who was still waiting down the hall. That cold, sterilized hallway. Walking, slowly, the tears kept on coming. No need for approval, no need for worry, they just… Startled by a familiar noise, he lifted his phone to read the text. It was Vicky. “Not now! We’ll talk later” was the only reply. He kept walking, feeling as if his entire world was being ripped apart. Not knowing what to think anymore. What to feel anymore. What to do. He continued down the hallway. That cold sterilized hallway.