《A Completely Different Story》{Thirteen}
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Oh yes. But the way I see it, you can either from it or from it.
-Rafiki; The Lion King.
-Luke-
I sighed as I looked up at the ceiling, contemplating whether or not I should ask Sarah again how Maggie is doing. It was already half past six in the morning and I still haven't heard anything. Two seconds later I couldn't resist anymore. I grabbed my phone and started texting Maggie's number, knowing that Sarah had her phone.
Any news yet?
As I waited for an answer I headed downstairs. I decided to make myself some coffee so I headed to the kitchen. I hate that stuff but I need to stay awake somehow. There is no bloody way that I'm going to sleep while Maggie is in the hospital. My parents tried to get me to at least rest for an hour or so, but I immediately declined. They know Maggie is in the hospital, but they don't know the reason, and to be honest neither do I. Yes, I was told that she was found unconscious in her bathtub and wasn't breathing, but I refuse to think it was a suicidal case. I only know few things about Maggie, but I do know that this definitely doesn't seem like something she would do.
My phone buzzed on the counter top, dragging me out of my thoughts.
Maggie Mouse: for Christ's sake, you asked me the same exact thing five minutes ago. Luke please get some sleep. I promise to let you know when I hear something. Visiting hours haven't started yet but when they do I'll give you an address so you can see her. ONLY if you get rest though. Don't stress yourself.
I sighed and started typing.
Fine. I haven't asked how you're doing though. Are you okay? Do you need anything?
Right when I hit send a voice filled the kitchen. "I thought you found coffee disgusting." I looked up to see my dad and gave him a tired smile as he walked towards the fridge and pulled out orange juice. "I do, but I needed something to keep me awake until I hear at least something good." I explained. He looked up from the cup he was filling and sighed. "You haven't heard anything yet?" I frowned and looked down at the counter top as the coffee machine was brewing in the background. "I'll be able to see her when visiting hours start." I replied.
"Isn't that good news so far? You'll be able to see her." I looked up at my dad and shrugged. "I know. But I won't be able to see her green eyes, or hear that cheerful laugh of hers that seems so rare because it only comes once in awhile. I won't be able to see the smile she lets out even though she's hurting inside, because she believes that just because she's upset that it isn't a reason everyone else shouldn't be happy. I'll be able to see her in a state where her personality that only idiots wouldn't love is silent. Dad, w-what if she doesn't wake up?" My voice was pleading for an answer I wanted to hear. As long as it was something besides the line 'I don't know yet' I would be fine.
As is reading my mind my dad spoke up, but he gave me words I wasn't expecting. "Sit down for a second." He gestured towards one of the stools and I obliged, waiting until he did the same. Once he was sitting across from me he crossed his arms on the counter top. "You're here, asking what if, and that isn't going to help you cope. She is tired and she's giving everything she's got to try to wake up. Hearing those types of questions won't give her strength, they'll just give her doubt. For now, all you can do is stay by her side and be positive. Give her a reason to wake up sooner than later." He patted my hand twice before standing up and leaving with his glass of orange juice. Just then my phone buzzed again and I unlocked my phone immediately.
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Maggie Mouse: I'm good, thanks. I'll be seeing you at the hospital later.
Before I could answer the coffee machine beeped, signaling that it's rancid tasting liquid has completed brewing. I poured myself some in a mug and set it on the counter top, rethinking about drinking it. I'm not that tired anymore....
Okay maybe I am.
"Stop staring at it like it'll give you the new iPhone 7 and go get dressed to see Maggie. I'll drink it." My mom took the mug and grabbed the mini cup holding sugar cubes while gesturing for me to go upstairs and do as I was told. She gave me a smile and pecked my cheek. "Be safe too." I smiled at her and dashed out of the kitchen to go get ready. I put on the first pair of jeans I saw in my drawer and a red v neck t-shirt before sliding on my Nike shoes. "Mum, dad! I'll be back later!" I rushed to the front door and stepped out of the house before walking towards my truck and driving towards the direction of the mall. I'm gonna need a few things before heading to the hospital.
*************
-Sarah-
I have seen many movies and read many romance books where the boy does the most cutest things that even though it's so cliché you gush because, damn, who wouldn't? What's my point? Well sit down child and I'll explain to you. Once visiting hours began, I had sent Luke the address of the hospital and told him that I would meet him there later. I had woken up and got Graham dressed after changing his diaper, heading downstairs to fix him a bottle. Dad was most likely working and mom was probably at the country club, telling everyone that Maggie was in the hospital only because she got surgery or broke something. Who knows what would happen to her if people found out one of her daughters attempted suicide? *gasps*
I rolled my eyes, not believing how narcissistic they could be. If I were Maggie I would've left the second dad or mom sent me a disgusted look. After Graham was fed and ready to go, I headed to the pharmacy and bought a bouquet of yellow roses for Maggie. Those are her favorite besides Philadelphia orchids. Out of all days of the week today was the one with mist traffic. I mean come on, really? There shouldn't be traffic on a Sunday! Everyone is supposed to be sleeping in! At least that's what I do every weekend. What is everyone out on the road for? I swear to God if its because the friggin sheriff O'Malley decided to stand in the middle of the road to scrape off another dead pigeon that was flattened by a tire I will-
Oh my God it's a food truck.
Okay, that's reasonable. Even I would come out on a Sunday to face the sun for food. Two hours later- yes, two hours, I was finally able to drive the rest of the way to the hospital without any set backs, just to find no available parking spots. After circling the large parking lot about five times I cheered when I found a free spot up ahead, until some idiot sped in it, almost hitting my car in the process. My blood started to boil and I began to yell at the man coming out of his car "You little son of a-" I stopped short and looked back at Graham, innocently sitting in his car seat. I sighed in frustration and continued driving, resisting the urge to run over the guy walking away with a smirk on his face and flattening him like one of those pigeons sheriff O'Malley has to scrape off the road once in a while.
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Oh by the way, I am not a morning person. At least not on weekends. I managed to spot another free space and started driving a little bit faster so I could pull in. "About time!" I exclaimed, but that little cheerfulness I had inside me disappeared when I saw that the spot was taken by a friggin smart car. Who the heck invented this car and why? I slammed the steering wheel and looked around, immediately spotting another free space, except this one was handicapped. I don't have a card with me..... "What to do, what do to?" I asked myself quietly.
I looked at the car that was in my parking space and widened my eyes when I saw a rectangular blue card hanging from the review mirror. Bingo. I bit my lip and contemplated my choices.
1- take the card and hang it on my mirror.
2- be a good girl and park somewhere else.
3- drive straight through the hospital doors and park in front of the reception desk.
As much as number three sounded really awesome, I want to see my sister, not get arrested...again. Anyways that's not the point. I found myself in a crossroad between option number one and two. What will I choose?
*************
"Graham, you didn't see anything at all. Okay bud? Now, the moral of this story is don't cut people off on the road and never leave your car door unlocked." I shut the backseat car door behind him and made sure the card was hanging correctly on my mirror. Graham let out a giggle as if imagining me getting a fine after getting caught 'borrowing' the idiot's handicapped card. "Forgive me lord for my sins." I muttered. After saying that, Brendon Urie in a red suit popped in my mind and I smirked, walking with Graham towards the hospital entrance. I didn't bother walking towards the reception desk, I just went straight to Maggie's room, just to find another surprise, but this one was actually good. After walking in the room I was shocked to see it decorated once I looked up from placing down the bouquet of flowers and Graham's baby bag down on a chair.
Instead of just plain white walls, ceiling, and counter tops, there were colors. On the counter tops were stuffed animals. A panda, a fox, an elephant, a tiger, a monkey, and even a kangaroo. Hanging from the ceiling were origami hearts and flowers made out of different colors of construction paper, and on some of the walls, there were twenty colored envelopes taped to the wall. It looked really beautiful in my opinion, and there was even a jar of sweets on and a bouquet of sunflowers in a vase on the table by Maggie's bed along with a plain white envelope. It had her name on it and I was curious, but I knew I should let Maggie read it first.
Who in the world could've done this?
Haha, just kidding. I'm not one of those clueless girls in books. I have a feeling I know exactly who did this. Yeah, I am so pinning this. I went up to the tiny envelopes taped on the wall and smiled as I read what they said on the outside. The first one was light pink, and in loopy cursive writing it said, 'Open when you're lacking entertainment'. The second one is blue and read, 'Open when you're tired'. All of them had different times to open, but one caught my eye. 'Open when you're missing home'.
I smiled at it and adjusted it a little from its slanted position. Just as I finished it a voice spoke out. "You must be Sarah?" I turned and lifted my eyebrows after spotting a really cute guy in front of me. "Yes, I'm guessing you're Luke?" He nodded his head and smiled at the baby in my hands. "It's nice to finally meet you. How's he been managing?" I looked at Graham and was about to speak, until Graham gasped, leaned forward, and extended his arms towards Luke. To say I was shocked was an understatement. Graham is very hesitant around people he barely knows. I know that he's seen Luke before by what Maggie told me, but when Maggie told me she didn't want Graham getting too attached, I thought she was over reacting.
"May I?" Luke asked me, gesturing to Graham. I nodded, still a little bit surprised and handed Graham over. I looked over at Maggie and sighed. "Damn Maggie. A cute English guy and a baby magnet. Where'd you find him, eBay?" I widened my eyes when her heart monitor started beating a little bit faster. Crap, I must've pissed her off. I didn't think she could hear me! Something tells me that I'll be replacing her spot when she wakes up. I heard a chuckle and looked at Luke. He was blowing his cheeks into a bubble and Graham would reach up to pop them with his hands with a small giggle. I couldn't resist the urge to take out my phone and take a few photos along with a video. Graham looked like he was having a great time, and earlier he seemed a little bit down, most likely because Maggie wasn't around to be with him.
"He scrunches up his nose when he gets curious, just like Maggie does." Like stated. I laughed and nodded my head as I continued looking at him and Graham. "I noticed that too, but Maggie always refuses to admit she does that." There was a knock on the door and for a second, only for a second, I thought that maybe it could be mom and dad, but then a nurse in salmon colored scrubs came walking in with a gray chart binder thingy.
She gave Luke and I a smile as she walked towards Maggie to check on her. Luke paid no mind to her though, he was to busy playing peekaboo with Graham, occasionally laughs from both of them filling the room.
The nurse looked up at Luke and Graham as she checked the tube connected to Maggie's stomach and smiled again. "You two are one of the most cutest father son relationships I have ever seen. Maggie must be happy to know you got everything under control while she continues resting." She complimented. I widened my eyes and looked over at Luke, who was, blushing? He smiled down at Graham and looked back at the nurse. "Thank you." I raised my eyebrows but decided to question him later when the nurse was gone. Right now I had other questions. "Excuse me ma'am, is there any way that we could tell at least around when my sister will wake up?" I asked.
The nurse gave me an apologetic smile and shook her head. "Hopefully in a few weeks, if not then the longest would be at least a month." I bit my lip and nodded, reaching my hand to grab Maggie's and giving it a small squeeze. "Well I guess we'll just have to wait till then." The nurse left soon after and I let a few seconds go by before looking up at Luke, who was now pacing around the room with a sleeping Graham.
"You never denied being his dad." I stated. Luke sighed and leaned against one of the counters. "Denying it is like denying him. I'm not saying that I'm just going to swoop in Maggie's life and take over that role, that'll just stress her. But I can still be a supportive friend. Who wouldn't be? Your sister is an amazing girl and she has an amazing son." I smiled at him and nodded my head. "Can I ask you for a favor?" Luke nodded his head and gestured for me to continue. I looked at Maggie as I spoke.
"Her heart, it's something beautiful yet fragile. She may be stubborn most times, and it's hard for her to open up, but don't give up on her. She needs as much people as possible right now." I looked back at him for confirmation and was replied to with a smile. "I promise. And if you ever need anything too you can ask me, okay?" I laughed and gave him a thumbs up. "Got it. I like what you did here. Al this stuff is nice." I scanned the room again and was growing even more curious as to what the letter by the flowers said.
Mind your own business Sarah!
Luke looked up at the paper hearts and flowers hanging from the ceiling and sighed. "Thanks. I just hope none of these fall on Maggie. You can read the cards on the wall if you want. They're for her when visiting hours are over and I hear it gets extremely lonely in here." I nodded my head in agreement and looked at Graham's sleeping form. His left hand was on Luke's chest and his right hand was on Luke's shoulder while his cheek was pressed his chest as well. We sat in a comfortable silence for awhile after that. Usually when two people meet they ask things about each other, but I felt like that could be another time. Right now we're here for Maggie. We did throw questions at each other occasionally though, when it got too quiet, if that makes sense.
Someone's footsteps entered the room and once I looked up I wasn't just shocked. Oh no, I was gob smacked. "It's you." I stated. She turned towards me and nodded. "Yes, it's me. I'm her mom, what do you expect?" Before I could even retort to that she continued to speak. "Where's Graham? I thought he would be with you."
I nodded and cleared my throat slightly before gesturing behind her. "He's asleep right behind you." Mom furrowed her eyebrows and turned her head. She looked perplexed to see Luke standing there carrying Graham, while giving her a nod of acknowledgement since his arms were being used right now. "It's nice to meet you ma'am. I'm Luke Banfield." Mom gave him a small smile and nodded back. "I'm Hannah Brown, Maggie's mom. Are you a friend of hers?" Luke nodded his head and looked at Maggie. "Yeah, I'm glad she's okay. We'll just have to wait for her to wake up now." Mom smiled- yes, she smiled, and looked around the room. "Sarah honey did you do this?" She asked, looking over at me.
I shook my head and pointed at Luke again. "It was all him actually. Beautiful isn't it?" She nodded hr head and looked over at Luke. "You did an amazing job. I'm sure Maggie will love it. Thank you Luke." He shook his head and smiled. "It was all my pleasure." Mom hummed and turned to face me. "Sarah, is it okay if I speak with you outside for a second?" I nodded my head hesitantly and stood up as mom excused herself and left the room behind me. I turned around and was about to beg her to be nice with Luke until she beat me with two words.
"I'm sorry." She said with a sincere expression. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and let her continue. "As a mom I should've been there for Maggie, regardless of what she did or does. I'm gonna start doing that again, starting now. Just like I should." After she finished speaking I let all her words sink in for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "Mom, that's great, that you finally realized what's right, but it's nit me you should be telling. Maggie might be in a coma but her brain is still awake. She can hear everything, so if you tell her now there's no doubt she'll wake up with half of the weight on her shoulders gone." Mom nodded slowly and smiled at me.
"Thank you, for speaking up. It helped me, a lot. Anyways, I tried reasoning with your dad but he's very stubborn, so it'll take time, and by time I mean a really long time, but he'll come around." I nodded my head and gave her a hug. She laughed and hugged me back, both of us just standing here embracing. After we pulled apart mom smirked. "Okay, so who in the world is that boy?" I laughed and shook my head. "Well that's Maggie's place to tell, but even though she denies it, I see something between them happening soon. He's a great guy, Maggie's just hesitant." I explained.
We began talking about random things to distract ourselves, and mom even shared an idea she had with me. It wasn't so bad, and I was all up for it. This people, is the Hannah Brown. The woman who smiles and laughs with her kids, not the one who acts awkward. Thus is the woman Maggie has been waiting for to return and has finally gotten her back. Once we entered the room about half an hour later, we stopped short in the doorway, looking at Luke.
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